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Peeps? Butterbutts? What are these birders talking about?
Birders love to share, so don’t feel like you have to know everything
© Gregg Thompson
People who watch birds have developed nicknames and a whole lingo to talk about the birds they love. But don’t feel like you have to know everything – or anything! Birders love to share. Peeps are sandpipers. Can you guess what butterbutts are? Listen to today’s episode and find out!
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BirdNote®
Birdwatcher Lingo
Written by Monica Gokey
[birdsong]
This is BirdNote.
Birds communicate with each other in the most enchanting ways.
[birdsong]
Birdwatchers also have their own way of saying things. Say you’re birding and you hear this,
[song of a House Wren]
A birder might say, “Aww, another LBB.” That’s short for “little brown bird.” It’s a bird that’s small, brown, and common… and sometimes… impossible to figure out.
[song of a House Wren]
Ah, of course! It’s a lovely little House Wren.
What do you think a birder might say when she hears this?
[whistle of a Snowy Owl]
If it’s a first-in-a-lifetime sighting, you might call this Snowy Owl a lifer.
And if you saw it in a field in New Jersey—[whistle] it’d be a vagrant - someone who doesn’t belong ‘round these parts.
There’s also slang for different species. Peeps? Sandpipers.
Can you guess what a “butterbutt” is?
[short song of a Yellow-rumped Warbler]
It’s a Yellow-rumped Warbler! The “butterbutt” is for the bright yellow patch above its tail feathers.
Birders love to share, so don’t feel like you have to know everything. Just ask somebody with binoculars! There’s always more to learn about birds.
Until next time, I’m Mary McCann.
###
Producer: John Kessler
Managing Producer: Jason Saul
Editor: Ashley Ahearn
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Assistant Producer: Mark Bramhill
Narrator: Mary McCann
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. House Wren ML 210537 recorded by B Rideout; Snowy Owl ML 137339 by P Taylor; Yellow-rumped Warbler ML 129418 by G Keller.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2019 BirdNote June 2019
ID# birding-27-2019-06-10 birding-27
Pig = rock pigeon
Butter butt = yellow-rumped warbler
Modo = mourning dove
Peeps = sandpipers
Sights & Sounds
