Monday, June 12, 2006

Bird-isms

I really don't know if this is original. When I first talked to Cindy at RAPTOR, Inc, I said something was "a hoot", and she commented on how many "birdisms" there were in the English language.
Ever since then, I have wanted to try and list as many as I could think of. If you think of one that I haven't listed, let me know!

1. That's a hoot.
2. Birds of a feather flock together.
3. "Flighty"
4. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
5. Chick...as in girl
6. "Parroting" what someone else says
7. "Looney"
8. Don't be such a "chicken"
9. Eyes like a hawk
10. Eagle eye
11. Pregnant women get a "nesting" instinct
12. If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck...
13. The early bird gets the worm (but the second mouse gets the cheese!)
14. She eats like a bird
15. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's....reaching.
16. Freeze, turkey!
17. Bird brain
18. Feathered bangs
19. Sing like a canary
20. "On the wings of loooooove..."
21. Okay...I'm out.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Geoff Williams said...

Julia's "crow's nest" made me think of the expression,"as far as the crow flies." But that's all I've got. In any case, I'm thinking how lucky birders are to have all of those expressions in the lexicon. If birders were into say, watching and studying, otters, you'd all be out of luck.

Geoff Williams said...

I'm sure after that last bit of wisdom, my wife's going to have an even better understanding of how lucky she is to have me around to give her my insight.

MojoMan said...

Geoff didn't come up with "hen-pecked", but I'm sure he wouldn't know anything about that.

Susan Gets Native said...

Good ones, guys!
My Mom came up with "For the birds" and...oh, shoot. I forgot the other one.
Julia: Mom and I thought up a few that only birdwatchers would get, maybe: Cute as a baby flicker.
Of course, me being the eloquent soul that I am, said it as "Blaby Ficker."

Anonymous said...

The Blue Bird of Happiness
Old Coot
Pigeon [An uneducated, naive, or unsophisticated gambler]
goose [pinch on the bum]
quack [my physcian?]
loon [someone like me]
eagle [2 under par on a hole in golf]
vulture investor [invest in or buy distressed or bankrupt companies]
hawk or dove [aggressive or mild (dovish)or an issue]
dead as a dodo

Geoff Williams said...

All of those are excellent, from the "crazy as a loon," who I suspect is my father. Why, I'm as proud as a peacock.

Susan Gets Native said...

Clever, Geoff. Maybe you should be a writer.

Anonymous said...

I'm happy as a Lark, that I didn't get as mad as a wet hen when I discovered that I'm no spring chicken.

Anonymous said...

How about "dead duck"...anyone mention that one yet?

Susan Gets Native said...

You all think you're so smart.

:-)