Birding glossary

A short and light-hearted glossary of birding terms you might hear the more enthusiastic birder use if you fail to hear the alarm call and are not quick enough to leave the hide while you have the opportunity. Birder, birding – Someone interested in watching birds, their avian-related hobby (not to be confused with Falco subbuteo). Twitcher, twitching (derog.) – A person who will apply unusual effort or expense to see a rare bird they have not seen before, their hobby. Ornithology – The branch of the zoological sciences that deals with birds, the endothermic vertebrates known as aves. Ave – Any of the 10500 or so known species of bird all of which have common evolutionary ancestry in the theropod dinosaurs of which Tyrannosaurus rex is one example. RSPB – Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, charitable organisation with an obvious mission statement; also likes nature in general. BTO – British Trust for Ornithology, pretty much just birds, thank you. Hide – A screened area or wooden hut on a reserve, often with narrow viewing windows obscured by raisable flaps to allow birders to remain hidden from the birds they intend to watch. Often the cause of BVD. Beardie – Bearded Reedling (Bearded Tit), Panurus biarmicus. The species is neither bearded, nor a tit. Also derog. of celebrity birdwatcher Bill Oddie. Reed Bunt – Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniculus) Yaffle – East Anglian vernacular for Picus viridis (Euro...
Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Science Source Type: blogs