Big Garden Birdwatch 2020 is on the horizon! RSPB Scotland's Molly Martin shares some Scots names for our birds so you can impress your friends and family on the day.
Scots words for birds
The winter months are a great time to get to know the birds in your garden; they’re probably taking advantage of food you’re putting out for them, they’re likely to be bolder on feeders as there’s less wild food available, and there are fewer leaves for them to hide amongst! With Big Garden Birdwatch just around the corner, it’s time to brush up on the names of some of your feathery friends, but how good is your Old Scots?
Shelfie
This is just one of the 27(!) names for the chaffinch. With chaffinches coming in at #3 in Scotland in 2019’s Big Garden Birdwatch, shelfie, or pink shelfie, is definitely one to remember.
Gold shelfie
You might be able to figure this one out if you think about which bird is similar to a shelfie but gold… That’s right! It’s the goldfinch! These charming birds are fond of niger seeds, so it’s a great idea to put some out in your garden to attract some of these in time for your count!
Bullie and greenie
Finishing off the finches on this list, we have bullies (bullfinches) and greenies (greenfinches). Bullie males are very striking with their black heads and bright red fronts, and greenies are quite a large, olive-green finch, with a big, seed-crunching beak. Both will happily visit hanging feeders in your garden, and bullies will also go for suet balls.
Merle or blackie
These are two names for the blackbird, another garden favourite in Scotland. Blackbirds were the fifth most common bird seen in Scottish gardens last year! You’re most likely to see them eating on the ground underneath hanging feeders or tables, picking up bits dropped by other birds. Closely related ring ouzels are also referred to as blackies, but these are mountain or heather blackies, and blackbirds are ground, hedge or dyke blackies.
Yellow Yorlin
Yellow yorlin is the Old Scots for yellowhammer, a vibrant yellow bird known for its “a little bit of bread and no cheese” call. These birds are also sometimes called the Scotch canary. They can be seen feeding in mixed flocks of finches over winter, coming to gardens that offer corn and seeds.
Jackie
This is a friendly Old Scots name for a jackdaw, our smallest member of the crow family. Jackdaws will eat almost any type of food you put out, and last year were seen in a quarter of gardens in Scotland.
Phasie
Phasie is the name given to pheasants in Old Scots. Pheasants are a non-native species, but last year they were the 22nd most common visitor for Big Garden Birdwatch in Scotland. They are easily recognisable with their bright colours, loud sound in flight, and streaming tail feathers.
Peasie
This comes from ‘peewit’, which is another name for lapwings. ‘Peewit’ describes the sound of their display call. These are wading birds, so if you live near a wetland you might see some peasies feeding on small invertebrates on the surface of the ground. They’re found throughout the year in Scotland, but in higher numbers in winter as lapwing from Europe migrate to the UK.
Mochrum elder
This is one of the various Scots names for cormorants. Mochrum elder refers to the large numbers of cormorants found at Mochrum loch, and the birds’ resemblance to senior kirk members in long black robes. Cormorants are found along the coast or near inland freshwater, such as Mochrum.
Gled
Gled comes from the Norse word for gliding, describing the characteristic flight pattern of the red kite. Gleds are large, powerful, birds of prey, easy to distinguish from similar birds by their forked tail. They are very impressive to see in flight, and a lucky 0.3% of 2019 Big Garden Birdwatch participants had them land during their count! Will you be visited by a gled this year?
Big Garden Birdwatch is from 25-27 January 2020. Registration is now open, and you can request a free pack online or through the post.
Scotland’s top garden birds last year were: