Subject: Re: Help with bird names
Date: Nov 20 11:18:59 1995
From: Christopher Hill - cehill at u.washington.edu




On Sun, 19 Nov 1995, Dale Goble wrote:

>
> Once again I am seeking soem help with identifying the identity of
> several species that appear in some legal materials -- this time a
> statute from 1566:

I'll take a stab at some of them, although Stuart or Serge could probably
tell you more about birds from that side of the Atlantic.

[snip]
> old Crowes
Well, you probably didn't need my help on this one! I don't know which
crow they meant, as the English countryside is blessed with several:
Carrion Crows, Jackdaws, Rooks, and probably others I'm leaving out.

> Chawghes
Currently spelled "Chough" and pronounced "chuff," they look like a crow
with a smaller red (or yellow, depending on species) bill and legs. I
believe that in the past, there was looser usage, and the term chough (or
Chawghe) might sometimes have been applied to crows, as well as true
choughs.

> Pyes
European Magpies _Pica pica_

> Rookes
aka Rooks, another crow-like corvid.

> Stares
Starlings, maybe?

> Martyn
Several eurasian swallows are known as martins in the british isles,
among them the sand martin _Riparia riparia_, which we call a bank
swallow over here. Why they should be considered "vermyn" is beyond me..

> Hawkes
Maybe this and the previous go together - Martyn Hawkes. If so, I
still don't know what species they might mean.

> Fursekytte
some kind of kite?

> Moldkytte
ditto, don't know which though.

> Busarde
Buzzard, _Buteo buteo_

> Schagge
A cormorant (some cormorants are called Shags, some are called
Cormorants, I've never been quite sure why the distinction)

> Carmera[n]t
Cormorant

> Ryngtayle
?

> Iron
?

> Osprayes
Same osprey as here.

> Woodwall
?

> Pye
Magpie again

> Jaye
European Jay

Raven
Obvious

Kyte
don't know which Kite

> Kyng Fyssher
European Kingfisher, sorry I don't have scientific names handy, Serge
please come to the rescue here :-)

Bullfynche or other Byrde
There is still a bird called a bullfinch in England.

[mammals snipped]

Chris Hill
Seattle and Everett, WA
cehill at u.washington.edu