[Tart_Birder]

Just curious.......having heard the expression "Tarts tick" for an obvious sighting.....that even a woman could identify..what is the male equivalent?
And to refresh your memories.....the RSPB was started by us girls you know....

Tara for now

[halftwo]

Originally Posted by Tart_Birder

Just curious.......having heard the expression "Tarts tick" for an obvious sighting.....that even a woman could identify..what is the male equivalent?
And to refresh your memories.....the RSPB was started by us girls you know....

Tara for now

It was certainly in very common usage during the eighties (& possibly still is today). We used it to describe any tick deamed unworthy because it was too common. ( this then became to mean any tick YOU have already got on anyone else! eg. Black-browed albatross, Steller's eider, etc etc.!!)
I don't think the term tart referred to women in particular - since there were so few female twitchers then that that use would have been redundant. And besides the only one we came across - the late Enid - had a bigger list than almost anyone!!
The term was used in the same derogatory way you would call a bloke a tart for any reason - there was no PC then!
In fact a whole language of terms grew out of twitching & much of it was/is of this nature!
But in answer to the question - no I don't think there is.

Halftwo

[Tart_Birder]

Originally Posted by halftwo

It was certainly in very common usage during the eighties (& possibly still is today). We used it to describe any tick deamed unworthy because it was too common. ( this then became to mean any tick YOU have already got on anyone else! eg. Black-browed albatross, Steller's eider, etc etc.!!)
I don't think the term tart referred to women in particular - since there were so few female twitchers then that that use would have been redundant. And besides the only one we came across - the late Enid - had a bigger list than almost anyone!!
The term was used in the same derogatory way you would call a bloke a tart for any reason - there was no PC then!
In fact a whole language of terms grew out of twitching & much of it was/is of this nature!
But in answer to the question - no I don't think there is.

Halftwo

Thanks for your post.....I guess my best "tarts tick" would be the Jameson's wattle-eye i saw in Kakamega forest, Kenya.....

[halftwo]

Katie, Now you're just showing off! I don't think many things in Kakamega could be called that! Maybe K-Mega-tick?
Halftwo

[cuckooroller]

Katie,
Coin one yourself. A rather unwieldy suggestion - "Manwhore Tick"!

[gyrfalcon]

Katie, Kakamega forest is an incredible place and you must feel very fortunate to have visited it. You must be eternally grateful to whoever took you there !
One question.. did you see any Turacao's there? if so, which ones?!

[Farnboro John]

Originally Posted by cuckooroller

Katie,
Coin one yourself. A rather unwieldy suggestion - "Manwhore Tick"!

The UK "Rent boy" might be better - not least because having a tart over someone isn't likely to last long!

John

[Tranquility Base]

I'm not convinced (IMHO!) that the original meaning of 'Tart's Tick' is being used in this thread. In 1980 Norfolk, TT definitely meant '...a bird one should've / could've seen a lot earlier, but possibly didn't make the effort'. As in: 'I finally went to Scotland and got Caper: bit of a tart's, to be honest!'

[Jane Turner]

The reason I have avoided Rose-coloured Starling all this time is to avoid a Tart's Tick.
The same is true of Purple Heron!

Its one of the sad fact of life that there are many more derrogatory terms applied to women than men. A bit of a lad's tick doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

[POP]

Originally Posted by Jane Turner

The reason I have avoided Rose-coloured Starling all this time is to avoid a Tart's Tick.
The same is true of Purple Heron!

Its one of the sad fact of life that there are many more derrogatory terms applied to women than men. A bit of a lad's tick doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

I think you will find, with out turning it into a competition,more apply to men, particularly if one has served in the services. A "tarts tick" was helped along by dell boy.

POP

[Tart_Birder]

Originally Posted by gyrfalcon

Katie, Kakamega forest is an incredible place and you must feel very fortunate to have visited it. You must be eternally grateful to whoever took you there !
One question.. did you see any Turacao's there? if so, which ones?!

Indeed, Kakamega was incredible, and I have been promised a return visit someday... Yes I saw a Ross' Turacao whilst there. Although feeding the blue monkeys in the afternoon, that were wandering through the grounds was quite a highlight too !

[Farnboro John]

Originally Posted by Tranquility Base

I'm not convinced (IMHO!) that the original meaning of 'Tart's Tick' is being used in this thread. In 1980 Norfolk, TT definitely meant '...a bird one should've / could've seen a lot earlier, but possibly didn't make the effort'. As in: 'I finally went to Scotland and got Caper: bit of a tart's, to be honest!'

Agree: my big tart is still Lanceolated Warbler and another year has gone past without it giving itself up easily!

John

[dbradnum]

Originally Posted by Tranquility Base

I'm not convinced (IMHO!) that the original meaning of 'Tart's Tick' is being used in this thread. In 1980 Norfolk, TT definitely meant '...a bird one should've / could've seen a lot earlier, but possibly didn't make the effort'. As in: 'I finally went to Scotland and got Caper: bit of a tart's, to be honest!'

That's exactly what I understand by the phrase as well...

[halftwo]

Originally Posted by Jane Turner

The reason I have avoided Rose-coloured Starling all this time is to avoid a Tart's Tick.
The same is true of Purple Heron!

Its one of the sad fact of life that there are many more derrogatory terms applied to women than men. A bit of a lad's tick doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

Ah, Jane but so many more nice names for them too!!

[Sancho]

Okay, now I´m completely confused. In all my (broken) 35 years´ birding I never heard the term "tart´s tick". And up above in the thread, there seem to be at least 3 conflicting definitions. Actually I don´t think the term tart is used widely in any context in Ireland (except what you make with apples or blackberries). Is "tart´s tick" just a UK expression? Do I need to learn it? What if I misuse it? Shall I be outcast? I only just got used to the adjective "stringy" (as in a report that "sounds a bit stringy to me..."). I could cope with "string" as a noun or a verb, but birding semantics are getting a bit complicated. Just wait till it becomes an adverb: "He insinuated stringily that he had just seen.....". Does anyone know of an on-line lexicon of birding terms? And a propos of the reference to women listers in an earlier post on this thread, is Phoebe Snetzinger still the world top lister?

[Mike Pennington]

Originally Posted by Tranquility Base

I'm not convinced (IMHO!) that the original meaning of 'Tart's Tick' is being used in this thread. In 1980 Norfolk, TT definitely meant '...a bird one should've / could've seen a lot earlier, but possibly didn't make the effort'. As in: 'I finally went to Scotland and got Caper: bit of a tart's, to be honest!'

THis is the correct definition IMO, and most people seem to agree.

What is being confused is what the word 'tart' means here and AFAIW it means someone who is 'a bit soft' or 'a bit pathetic' and has nothing to do with the other meaning, which can only apply to women.

[dbradnum]

I believe Phoebe Snetsinger has now been overtaken... but the details escape my memory. Sure someone will come along with the name soon.

[aythya_hybrid]

To be honest I think the phrase is indicative of a pervasive sexism among some sections of the birding community, which I find rather objectionable.

[halftwo]

Sancho,
What a lot of questions!!
I think that the definition(s) I gave people have misread & actually we're all in agreement that a tart's tick is just an easy to get bird. BUT that is as always taken to its (il)logical conclusion & hyperbole tends to set in; so the term is deliberately misused to take the p**s. This happened in the pub tonight when it became apparent that one of the birders needed Bufflehead. We said that it was a tart's tick (of course it isn't - it was just that he was the only one there that still needed it!)- which is what I was alluding to in my first thread.
To answer the last question: no Phoebe S is no longer the biggest lister, as she can't keep up with living souls, there have been a couple that have overtaken her fantastic total.
Halftwo

[bitterntwisted]

Originally Posted by halftwo

To answer the last question: no Phoebe S is no longer the biggest lister, as she can't keep up with living souls, there have been a couple that have overtaken her fantastic total.

Oh, I don't know, halftwo. She could still be going strong - up there with the Great Auks, Moas, and Dodos. She might think Ivory Billed Woodpecker is a tart's tick.

[Farnboro John]

Originally Posted by Jane Turner

The reason I have avoided Rose-coloured Starling all this time is to avoid a Tart's Tick.
The same is true of Purple Heron!

Its one of the sad fact of life that there are many more derrogatory terms applied to women than men. A bit of a lad's tick doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

Another good reason for avoiding Rosy Starlings is to avoid ticking a Pink Stink or Fawn Yawn, which also demonstrates the lack of malice in the use of derogatory terms by birders.

I think the reason there may be fewer anti-lad terms is just that they have less effect, and trying to rile a target that either doesn't bite at all or treats your comment as a compliment (I have certainly seen "you sick b*****d" so treated) lacks the fun factor. To some, that is - I disclaim involvement!

John

[Sancho]

Originally Posted by halftwo

Sancho,
What a lot of questions!!
I think that the definition(s) I gave people have misread & actually we're all in agreement that a tart's tick is just an easy to get bird. BUT that is as always taken to its (il)logical conclusion & hyperbole tends to set in; so the term is deliberately misused to take the p**s. This happened in the pub tonight when it became apparent that one of the birders needed Bufflehead. We said that it was a tart's tick (of course it isn't - it was just that he was the only one there that still needed it!)- which is what I was alluding to in my first thread.
To answer the last question: no Phoebe S is no longer the biggest lister, as she can't keep up with living souls, there have been a couple that have overtaken her fantastic total.
Halftwo

Thanks Halftwo for the explanation, and the info re. Phoebe being overtaken. I think I´ll just avoid the "tart´s tick" term, I don´t think anyone here would know what I was talking about (I usually don´t myself). Happy Birding weekend!

[Gavin Haig]

Originally Posted by Farnboro John

Agree: my big tart is still Lanceolated Warbler and another year has gone past without it giving itself up easily!

John

A bogey, maybe, and a birdy, though not an eagle, nor a tart, unless presented in a pastry case, nor a blocker, unless ingested whole maybe. Not even a tart's tick. Unless hyperbole being employed, along with derisive quips like 'you low-lister' etc. Think that's sorted now.........

[PaulD]

I always thought there were two explanations of tart's tick:-

1. A rare bird that gives itself up very easily - no fieldcraft is needed to see it, it just swans around in front of you.
2. A rare bird that's so easy even a female birdwatcher could see it.

Incidentally you do see people who swap and change their mortgage frequently in order to get the lowest rate described as "mortgage tarts".

[Gavin Haig]

Originally Posted by PaulD

Incidentally you do see people who swap and change their mortgage frequently in order to get the lowest rate described as "mortgage tarts".

And anglers who must have the latest bit of kit, maintain it with fastidious care, then bin it when the new version comes out, are called 'Tackle Tarts'. I kid you not!