Pass

Earlier today I was reading the comments section from a blog post, and then of course I went and closed the tab that it was in so I can't even show you the example, not that it matters: I don't like to make fun of people's comments (because they can't edit them, because nobody else can either, and because they're not usually professional writers). But I was puzzled to see the expression "miner bird", because not only did it sound familiar and yet wrong at the same time, but I couldn't figure out what the writer could possibly have meant. Eventually it dawned on me that the intended expression was "mynah bird".

The entirety of the so-useful Online Etymology Dictionary listing for the word "mynah" reads,

type of passerine bird of India and the East, "talking starling," 1769, from Hindi maina "a starling," from Skt. madana-s "love, passion," with a special sense of "bird."

That's pretty clear, except for the "'love, passion' with a special sense of 'bird'". In what sort of special sense do love and passion have anything to do with birds? (Except lovebirds.)

Anyway, that led to "passerine", which luckily I remembered I already did almost two years ago, so you can read that if you're interested.