Bird Watching Jargon For Enthusiasts

Bird watching is like an addiction. Once you are hooked, there is no getting away from it. Since doing so is hopeless, you need to understand the terminology you will here.

Hawking is a form of food gathering. As the name suggest, the bird will wait at a high point and inspect below for food. When it sights said food, it swoops down and snatches it.

Orientation refers to the navigation ability of birds. Some can orient to a particular direction during migration while others seem to be effected by the length of the day. Surprisingly, little is understood about how this happens.

Ornithosis is a nasty disease found in some birds. The symptoms are diarrhea and weight loss. It is often fatal. Found most prominently in parrot species and pigeons.

Paddling is a term that carries a different meaning than you might think. It does not refer to peddling through the water. Instead, it refers to stamping the ground to motivate food such as worms to pop up where they can be eaten.

The term Papilla refers to a colorful knob often found on the beak or mouth of a hatchling. It acts as a target for the parent to place food upon return to the nest.

Photoperiodism refers to the reaction of birds as well as other animals and plants to the changing amounts of sunlight in a day during the year. Breeding periods and migration are believed to be triggered by it.

Bird designated as dabblers are ones that sit on the water and tip down to eat food, whether plants or animals, below the surface. Ducks are classic dabblers.

The act of stooping refers to a predator bird hunting smaller birds. It is the equivalent of the car chase in a movie. The predator will chase the smaller bird until it captures or fails.

When it comes to birds, their display is all about communication. The display involves positioning their body in such a way to convey meanings regarding territoriality, mating and such.

A diurnal species refers to a bird that feeds and is active primarily during the day, the opposite of how most birds customarily act.

Totipalmate is another way to identify a bird. The term refers to the webbing or lack thereof between the toes. Those birds with webbing have totipalmate. Non-totipalmate birds tend to have unconnected toes facing different directions.

Twitchers do not refer to birds, but those of us that watch them. If you get head over heals about it, you can get very excited and even nervous about a new sighting. This is known as twitching and you are a twitcher!

The act of gleaning refers to birds that pick their food off of upright structures such as trees. Some do it while hovering, but many may just land on the structure and whip their head back and forth to find food.

Being able to speak Birdinese is important, but hardly the key to enjoying your time on sighting trips. If you feel overwhelmed by the terms, forget them and just enjoy yourself.

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