I'm about to bird-word-nerd show off, but ever since reading this I have had the word Zygodactyl going around in my head to the tune of Basement Jaxx Where's your head at?
Aahhh I wrote a bit about zygodactyl and how people saying ‘oh that’s a great scrabble word’ probably haven’t thought that it has ten letters so you’d have to play ‘zygo’ in front of the pre-existing ‘dactyl’ or (even better) ‘zy’ and ‘actyl’ around ‘god’ but then you’d have to have both the ‘y’s which is pretty bad tile management tbqfhwy. But it got a bit rambly so I cut it. And now I have the same thing going round my head so thanks for that.
Your writing, as always is delightful, Lev, and brings a smile and copious chuckles. Particularly enjoyed the Karen Carpenter clip and also the new fact about woodpecker tongues. Sending The Year of 100 Birds to a friend/ fellow bird-lover. Thanks for your labour of love!
Long tailed tits are my favourite bird. I saw a solitary one this morning and wondered where the rest of their commune was. I loved the nicknames for them in your essay - I’ve never heard those before! Any idea what the collective noun is for them?
All these things I too adore. My first visit to Snettisham was last year and an highlight of the year. A hot drink was essential. This morning the sparrows who hang out in my garden were chattering away and the sun is in full force. My mood seems to lift when there is the tiniest bit of light at 7am. And a rare but joyful sighting of a goldcrest in the local woods has made my day, that in spite of a major logging operation which I need to find out more about.
The swirling knots are awesome. And the tailies, I must watch for possible goldcrests with them, thanks for that tip, and all the glories, as always, including sentences that get lost!
RSPB Snettisham is a great place to witness the swirling masses of Knot on the Norfolk coast side of The Wash. Best to check RSPB Titchwell website. They advertise high tide spectaculars.
I didn't know there was a middle spotted woodpecker! though surely with a greater and lesser it might'v been better called an 'averagely spotted woodpecker' or perhaps median spotted woodpecker' as 'middle' implies the spots are only around its centre which is confusing, unless they are around its middle
Bird names are often confusingly inaccurate (the bearded tit isn’t a member of the tit family and the markings on its face resemble a moustache more than a beard). In these cases, the great/middle/lesser refers to the size of the bird and has nothing to do with the size of the spots.
I'm about to bird-word-nerd show off, but ever since reading this I have had the word Zygodactyl going around in my head to the tune of Basement Jaxx Where's your head at?
Aahhh I wrote a bit about zygodactyl and how people saying ‘oh that’s a great scrabble word’ probably haven’t thought that it has ten letters so you’d have to play ‘zygo’ in front of the pre-existing ‘dactyl’ or (even better) ‘zy’ and ‘actyl’ around ‘god’ but then you’d have to have both the ‘y’s which is pretty bad tile management tbqfhwy. But it got a bit rambly so I cut it. And now I have the same thing going round my head so thanks for that.
Your writing, as always is delightful, Lev, and brings a smile and copious chuckles. Particularly enjoyed the Karen Carpenter clip and also the new fact about woodpecker tongues. Sending The Year of 100 Birds to a friend/ fellow bird-lover. Thanks for your labour of love!
Thank you!
Long tailed tits are my favourite bird. I saw a solitary one this morning and wondered where the rest of their commune was. I loved the nicknames for them in your essay - I’ve never heard those before! Any idea what the collective noun is for them?
All these things I too adore. My first visit to Snettisham was last year and an highlight of the year. A hot drink was essential. This morning the sparrows who hang out in my garden were chattering away and the sun is in full force. My mood seems to lift when there is the tiniest bit of light at 7am. And a rare but joyful sighting of a goldcrest in the local woods has made my day, that in spite of a major logging operation which I need to find out more about.
We have just seen our first flock of long-tailed tits in the garden, they are such good fun to watch!
The swirling knots are awesome. And the tailies, I must watch for possible goldcrests with them, thanks for that tip, and all the glories, as always, including sentences that get lost!
Great read again Lev.
RSPB Snettisham is a great place to witness the swirling masses of Knot on the Norfolk coast side of The Wash. Best to check RSPB Titchwell website. They advertise high tide spectaculars.
I didn't know there was a middle spotted woodpecker! though surely with a greater and lesser it might'v been better called an 'averagely spotted woodpecker' or perhaps median spotted woodpecker' as 'middle' implies the spots are only around its centre which is confusing, unless they are around its middle
Bird names are often confusingly inaccurate (the bearded tit isn’t a member of the tit family and the markings on its face resemble a moustache more than a beard). In these cases, the great/middle/lesser refers to the size of the bird and has nothing to do with the size of the spots.
This is awful news