What's In a Name?

The wacky, wonderful world of (unofficial) birding terminology - including some I invented myself.

Fox Sparrow

Twitchers, Listers, lifers; Eiders, Pipers, Warblers - enter into the world of birding, and there’s no shortage of terminology to learn about birds and birders themselves. Some are scientific, others most definitely not. For example, if a bird is small, dark coloured, and you’re not sure what it is, you can always declare it to be an LBB or LBJ – a “little brown bird” or “little brown job.” The Fox Sparrow (above) is an excellent example of an LBB, along with the very similar looking Song Sparrow (below), plus other sparrows and wrens.

Song Sparrow

Then there are also widely known colloquial terms that aren’t quite correct but everyone knows what you’re talking about – like referring to hummingbirds as “hummers,” Canada Geese as “Canadian Geese,” and in my area, Stellar’s Jays as “blue jays” (they are blue and jays after all!)

Those who hang out with me also have to learn a few of my own personal terms for various bird species which have gradually shown up in my vocabulary over the past couple of decades. Some of these are likely used by others, while some I’m sure are uniquely mine. In my world, chickadees are chickies (or chickees?), chick-er-dees, or even cheekies; combine a couple to get cheeky chick-er-dees. Nuthatches are nutties; towhees are toe-toes (though I guess that should be tow-tows? hmmm…); and jays are inevitably jay-jays. I also often pronounce juncos more like d’uncoohs. Baby birds (fledglings or nestlings) may get called “baby burdies,” which at some point I began to shortened to “bubies” (or is it bubbies? The problem with making up your own words is deciding just how they ought to be spelt!) Collectively, I refer to the birds in my backyard, some of whom fly directly to me to get a peanut or seed to eat, as my “tweethearts.” Now how cute is that.

One of my chickee tweethearts

Now, some of you will likely think I’m being very silly with all these little nicknames and yes, perhaps I am. (And I haven’t even touched on names I’ve given to individual birds!) But I’m betting others of you reading this have your own terms for the bird species that have a special place in your heart and lives. What unofficial birding terminology you have heard or made up yourself? Please drop me a comment, I’d love to know.

Blessings to you,

Lindsay