Common Bird Lingo (1 Viewer)

[Paisley_Tx]

Forgive my newbieness, but I was wondering about some bird lingo I've been reading here. I did a search for a post to see if this subject has been asked before, but didn't find one.

Here are the ones I'm wondering about, what do they mean?

twitching/twitchers
tick
lifer - I know it's a term for when you see a bird you've never seen before (lifer or adding it to your lifelist), but are there other terms that other folk use (since we have people from all over who frequent these forums)

Are there any websites y'all know of that list familiar terms with birding?

again, thanks in advance! I'm learning so much already... :bounce:
Paisley

 

[birdman]

Hi Paisley,

There is a thread going around with this info on, but I can't find it at the moment either!

To answer briefly, "Twitchers" participate in "Twitching" as I am sure you have worked out. It perhaps depends who you speak to exactly what this means, but twitching is loosely analogous to "chasing" rare birds - that is, you here of a such and such 400 miles away, and you immediately set off to see it to "tick" it.

However, not all people who chase rare birds would necessarily consider themselves twitchers, and not all twitchers necessarily only chase rare birds.

A "tick" is simply a bird you have seen today, or this year, or at that location, etc. etc. etc. and is called such as you tick it off your list - either actually or metaphorically.

A tick in British English is a check mark in US English, I believe.

Lifer? Well you're dead right, and the only other English equivalent I can think of is a life tick, which is now self-explanatory.

:t:

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Hi Paisley,

twitching/twitchers - travelling a long distance specifically to see a rare bird/ people who do this on a regular basis
tick - a new bird for your list. One to 'tick' off on the list.

I think there might be some threads somewhere on BF that go through some of these terms. Anyone know where they are?

 

[alan_rymer]

Forgive my newbieness, but I was wondering about some bird lingo I've been reading here. I did a search for a post to see if this subject has been asked before, but didn't find one.

Here are the ones I'm wondering about, what do they mean?

twitching/twitchers
tick
lifer - I know it's a term for when you see a bird you've never seen before (lifer or adding it to your lifelist), but are there other terms that other folk use (since we have people from all over who frequent these forums)

Are there any websites y'all know of that list familiar terms with birding?

again, thanks in advance! I'm learning so much already... :bounce:
Paisley

Here are links that I found which covers some of the words
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=7500&highlight=dude

Some nicknames of British Birds
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=2201&highlight=dude


HTH

 

[Paisley_Tx]

Yay! that helps - thanks for the help and links!

 

[gthang]

Hey, Paisley_Tx, you should create a life list, with birds you've ticked off (no pun intended).

Other bird lingo include the parts of the bird itself. like supralorals, malars, primaries, secondaries, underwing coverts, etc.... So this way, using the field guide you have or plan to purchase, will be a breeze. Recommended field guides include The Sibley Guide to Birds, The Sibley Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, The Sibley Guide to Birds of Western North America, Peterson, National Geographic. The Sibley Guide to Birds is expensive for a field guide, but it's more of a reference book than a field guide due to its large size. The regional Sibleys are field guide-sized, and the Eastern covers all states from the Great Plains eastward (very large section of eastern NA). The Western Sibley covers the Rocky Mountains westward. Most field guides have an introductory section introducing new birders to the hobby, with parts of birds labeled in one section, describing the ways to ID a bird in another section. Also, some guides may tell you how common birds are. I haven't seen a bird guide with a glossary yet, though!

Anyway, glad to have you aboard!