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Bird Wirds: Sundry Nicknames

A list of 709 words by reesetee.

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A list of birders' "shorthand" names, traditional nicknames, non-English names, and obsolete names for feathered creatures worldwide.

Interesting blog entry here on naming U.S. birds.

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  • reesetee Added, thanks! Apr 18, 2012

  • ruzuzu krieker Apr 16, 2012

  • reesetee Thanks, m. Jun 12, 2011

  • mollusque baldface Jun 11, 2011

  • reesetee Good one--thanks, mollusque. Jan 22, 2011

  • mollusque Yakamilk! Jan 21, 2011

  • reesetee Thank you, hernesheir. I added wallcreeper (wall-creeper) to my Still More Birds list because that's its standard name rather than a nickname. Same goes for wheatear, on More Birds list. Many of the others I've already listed (hard to tell, I know, because the list is so long). A few are listed as unhyphenated. Jan 7, 2011

  • hernesheir fireflirt Dec 25, 2010

  • hernesheir hill-tit, nettlebird, nettle-creeper Dec 22, 2010

  • hernesheir sea-pigeon, meadow-hen Dec 21, 2010

  • hernesheir pickcheese, bluebreast, more-pork, yellowbird Dec 18, 2010

  • hernesheir See additional names synonymous with stilt-bird. Dec 15, 2010

  • hernesheir See whitetail - a name for a hummingbird, and the wheatear. Dec 13, 2010

  • reesetee Wow, h--you've been busy! Thanks for all the tips. :-) Dec 12, 2010

  • hernesheir You might be interested in the godwit name info in the definitions of barge and goathead. Dec 11, 2010

  • hernesheir half-bird Dec 11, 2010

  • hernesheir wall-creeper, spider-catcher Dec 11, 2010

  • hernesheir phip Dec 10, 2010

  • hernesheir I love this one: hill-star. Dec 10, 2010

  • hernesheir You list looby in your "Like 'em" L list. It's also a nickname for the ruddy duck. Dec 10, 2010

  • hernesheir whiteside - nickname for the golden-eye. Dec 10, 2010

  • reesetee Hecko! Thanks--already had one; added the other. Dec 6, 2010

  • hernesheir hecco, a.k.a. hickwall, NOT hecko. Dec 6, 2010

  • reesetee Got it! Actually, I'd mis-listed it on another bird list, so I'm glad you mentioned it. Jul 21, 2010

  • ruzuzu zoozoo! Jul 21, 2010

  • reesetee You bet. I'm enjoying your bird list, too. :-) Jul 21, 2010

  • ruzuzu These are great - thanks, treeeees! Jul 21, 2010

  • reesetee Great suggestion--thanks, mollusque. Aug 27, 2009

  • mollusque How about coddy-moddy? Aug 27, 2009

  • reesetee No, he's Presbyterian. Apr 4, 2009

  • mollusque Is that a quakerbird around your neck? Apr 4, 2009

  • reesetee Added. :-) Mar 2, 2009

  • mollusque Picucule and woodhewer. Mar 2, 2009

  • reesetee Yes, the Dunlin--or what used to be called the Red-Backed Sandpiper. Thanks, m. Feb 22, 2009

  • mollusque How about leadback, a kind of sandpiper. Feb 22, 2009

  • reesetee Thanks, guys! Mollusque, I'd forgotten all about that one. She, I had "parson bird" but forgot to add it here. :-) Feb 21, 2009

  • mollusque Embergoose! Feb 21, 2009

  • she Ooh, oh: poë's another I came across recently. Aug 9, 2008

  • reesetee Thanks, mollusque! Good ones. :-) Jul 21, 2008

  • mollusque And coalgoose? Jul 17, 2008

  • mollusque How about cargoose? Jul 17, 2008

  • reesetee Thanks, M--added, though why anyone needed to improve on bobolink is beyond me. ;-) Dec 31, 2007

  • mollusque Will do. How about meadowwink? Dec 29, 2007

  • reesetee Thanks, mollusque! Keep them coming. :-) By the way, I already listed hoot-amaganzy (with hyphen). One of my new favorites to say aloud. Repeatedly. Dec 29, 2007

  • mollusque Two more nicknames for woodcocks: hookumpake (American Midland) in MW3 and beccaccia (Italian) in OED2. I think they refer to different species. Also hootamaganzy for hooded merganser in MW3. Dec 22, 2007

  • reesetee Good grief, mollusque--what a glaring omission! And it's one of my favorite birds! Added to the U.S. list. Thanks for pointing that out. (I do like "timberdoodle," though.) Dec 21, 2007

  • mollusque Woodcock isn't on a bird wird list. You prefer timberdoodle and bogsucker? Dec 21, 2007

  • reesetee Fair enough! Added. :-) Dec 20, 2007

  • mollusque Yes, reesetee, but your description of the list included obsolete names. Dec 20, 2007

  • reesetee Wasn't that a species classification, though, mollusque, rather than a nickname? Dec 18, 2007

  • mollusque How about onocrotal or onocrotalus, obsolete words for pelican. Dec 18, 2007

  • reesetee Okay, now that is a much better name: Niblicks, Timberdoodles, and Fewmets. How do we turn that into a URL? Dec 13, 2007

  • bilby Deep in my heart, I knew that niblicks, timberdoodles and fewmets would confound the revolution. All is lost. Dec 12, 2007

  • reesetee Er, uh...maybe we should stick with Wordie. Dec 12, 2007

  • bilby A new triad AND a new name for the site: Sportie, Birdie & Shittie. Dec 12, 2007

  • reesetee Well, there is a preponderance of excrement-related lists, too.... Dec 12, 2007

  • uselessness Somehow I knew my lists, none of which include birds or sports, were useless. Carry on. Dec 12, 2007

  • chained_bear Well, dammit, we can't have nice things! Dec 12, 2007

  • bilby Birdie and Sportie then. We can get rid of all this other rubbish. Dec 11, 2007

  • reesetee Or perhaps Sportie?? Dec 11, 2007

  • bilby Can we change the name of the whole site to Birdie? ;-) Dec 11, 2007

  • reesetee Yep, they're all bona fide. Most of them come directly from old ornithology publications. :-) Amazing, no?

    Note, though, that it's not "jerk-or-perk bird" but "jerk-or perk-bird." I couldn't tell you why. But if you're familiar with any of the calls or songs of some of these birds, the goofy nicknames start to make a little more sense. Dec 11, 2007

  • sionnach r-t: You swear these are all boney-fidey? There are so many, it makes my head spin. And the porn star nickname hypothesis does have a certain ring of plausibility....

    jerk-or-perk bird???? tee-hee. :) Dec 11, 2007

  • bilby "You think I'm a porn star? You bet!" crowed the timberdoodle cockily. Dec 7, 2007

  • reesetee I was very much expecting that remark. :-) I daresay birding was a bit more entertaining back in the day. Dec 7, 2007

  • bilby You sure these aren't porn star nicknames? Dec 7, 2007

  • reesetee Haha! Trivet, is your family really as hilarious as you describe it? :-)

    Thanks, O--still working on it. Chime in with suggestions! Dec 6, 2007

  • trivet Does it count that my family calls all jays Gus and all Canada geese Rupert? Dec 6, 2007

  • oroboros HEY!! Great list, Reesetee! Dec 6, 2007