[Joern Lehmhus]

Can you guess the birds?
Old german names, sometimes regional names and their english translations
-what are today´s english or german names?

1. Fen ox = Moorochse
2. Knight woodpecker = Ritterspecht
3. Pentecost bird = Pfingstvogel
4. Little miller = Müllerchen
5. Beach magpie = Strandelster
6. Fighting Cock = Kampfhahn
7. Sea raven = Meerrabe
8. Nun = Nonne
9. Snow goose = Schneegans
10. Little Snow goose = Kleine Schneegans
11. Groom = Bräutigam
12. Town Mayor = Bürgermeister
13. English Stormbird = Englischer Sturmvogel
14. Greenland pigeon = Grönlandtaube
15. Rattler = Rassler

[Edward]

Moin Jörn
here are my guesses after a quick glance (and no googling). More guesses later perhaps!
5. Oystercatcher
6. Ruff
8. Barnacle Goose
12. Glaucous Gull
14. Ivory Gull

E

[jurek]

Just a wild guess - no googling!

1. Black Grouse
2. Black Woodpecker
3. Waxwing
4. White Wagtail
5. Oystercatcher
6. Ruff
7. Cormorant
8. Marsh Tit
9. Bean Goose
10. Pink-footed Goose
11. Roller
12. Glaucous Gull
13. British Storm-Petrel
14. Fulmar
15. Wren

[Joern Lehmhus]

Moin Edward,
3 Correct!
Hi Jurek,
you got 5 correct! and were quite close with some others...

[ortolan10]

Originally Posted by Joern Lehmhus

Can you guess the birds?
Old german names, sometimes regional names and their english translations
-what are today´s english or german names?

1. Fen ox = Moorochse
2. Knight woodpecker = Ritterspecht
3. Pentecost bird = Pfingstvogel
4. Little miller = Müllerchen
5. Beach magpie = Strandelster
6. Fighting Cock = Kampfhahn
7. Sea raven = Meerrabe
8. Nun = Nonne
9. Snow goose = Schneegans
10. Little Snow goose = Kleine Schneegans
11. Groom = Bräutigam
12. Town Mayor = Bürgermeister
13. English Stormbird = Englischer Sturmvogel
14. Greenland pigeon = Grönlandtaube
15. Rattler = Rassler

I know from Childhood:

1) Bittern , because of the call
3) Pirol or Golden Oreole, because of the late coming
4) Lesser White Throat, because of the song resembling noise of a mill
7) Cormorant, for obvious reasons

The other names I never heard. ( I am not from the cost).

Greetings
Ortolan10

[Joern Lehmhus]

Yep, all correct, Ortolan!

[Joern Lehmhus]

Some of these names really give a connection to the species (like eg. Moorochse for Great Bittern or Müllerchen for Lesser Whitethroat), but with others I totally fail to see any connection...Rassler for example-there I don´t see how that name ever could happen...I have collected those names over some timewhen I heard them- and I have some more-so we could go on when this is solved...

[M Cowming]

Hi Joern,

Having spent the last few months in germany and having seen some lovely birds, i have to say that my favourite German name which seems very apt is Eichelhäher- Jay.
I believe it literally means "Acorn Gatherer"!

From now on throughout the Autumn, jays can be seen everywhere over here doing exactly that!

Regards,

[alanhill]

Pardon my addled brain, Joern, but could you give us the full list now with all the answers.

Alan Hill

[Joern Lehmhus]

OK, probably some of this was too specific...



1. Fen ox = Moorochse: is the great bittern due to its voice
2. Knight woodpecker = Ritterspecht: is the Black woodpecker, probably due to his aggressiveness in defending his territory and his nesting hole as wellas to his size and beauty
3. Pentecost bird = Pfingstvogel: is the Golden Oriole, due to his late arrive around or slightly before Pentecost
4. Little miller = Müllerchen: Is the Lesser Whitethroat due to it´s sound which resembles the (clapping) sound of a distant watermill
5. Beach magpie = Strandelster: is the Oystercatcher due to its colours and common occurrance
6. Fighting Cock = Kampfhahn: Is the Ruff, due to his display battles
7. Sea raven = Meerrabe: Cormorant, because of coloration
8. Nun = Nonne: is the smew, similar name "nonnetje" in dutch, due to the white habit of the nuns of a certain order (I forgot which one)

That´s the first set, have to work again now , will give the others later...

[Joern Lehmhus]

9. Snow goose = Schneegans: Is -astonishingly!- Greylag goose, because when these geese migrate through, snow is not far (heard from old people at the middle part of the Elbe river, where the species winters)
10. Little Snow goose = Kleine Schneegans: Is Bean goose, for which the same applies as for greylag, but it is slightly smaller (heard from the same people in the same area)

So these are the birds that bring the snow, it has nothing to do with the colour of the bird itself.

11. Groom = Bräutigam (the Chaffinch, because in spring the males arrive earlier than the females and look already very beautiful, but have to wait for marriage until the females arive a short time later)
12. Town Mayor = Bürgermeister- Glaucous Gull, due to the fact that they are breeding on top of the arctic seebird colonies, overlooking all the other birds of the "Town" ( a name coined by the whalers that went to the arctic)- I have heard the same name also in dutch and the old english "Burgomaster Gull" comes from that, I´d guess.
13. English Stormbird = Englischer Sturmvogel: Leachs storm petrel - beats my why this and not Hydrobates pelagicus-or perhaps people did not distinguish them in former times?
14. Greenland pigeon = Grönlandtaube: The Black Guilliemot- but I can´t say why
15. Rattler = Rassler: little stint- this also remains a mystery to me