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A ‘Bully’ of Woodpeckers and a ‘Honk’ of Geese |
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Looking out the office window I can see more green than white now on the lawn. The birdseed set out on the bird table is still disappearing, but not as quickly as before. True, the woodpeckers still attack the suet with gusto, but I’m beginning to think they are addicted, rather than just hungry or cold.
 We are blessed to live in an area with a lot of wild birds, but that does not equate to a restful life – far from it! Our front lawn is the preferred resting place for a flock or two or three! of Canada Geese, so vigilance is the word of the day. They are not at all wary of humans, so you need to get within swearing distance of them before they take any notice of you at all. The neighbor’s dog, which might have been an ally in this battle, simply finds the whole thing amusing, like a game we are staging for his entertainment. He watches as the humans walk across the lawn waving their arms, or the rake or the branch. When the silly person gets close enough, he or she throws the rake at the birds. There is a measurable pause while the leader decides if he can be bothered responding to this unwelcome interruption, then the flock, in a very leisurely way, takes flight – protesting loudly all the while. They announce to the world that they are not impressed with us and have every intention of returning which, of course, they do.
Did you know that a group of geese on the ground is a gaggle, but in flight it is a skein. That is the official term, at any rate. I prefer to call them a ‘honk’ of geese, whether walking or flying. I feel that would be the Canadian term for such a noisy nuisance.
We also play host to a ‘bevy’ of quail. They, while no less destructive than the geese, have a quiet dignity about them that is appealing. The sight of a group of baby quail, furry golf balls on two toothpicks, would melt the heart of anyone. They share the space with a ‘descent’ of woodpeckers and a ‘party’ of jays. We may harbor a ‘murder’ of crows, an ‘unkindness’ of ravens or a ‘tidings’ of magpies. We might have a ‘parliament’ of owls but will never host an ‘ostentation’ of peacocks. Like everyone else in the area we are cursed with a ‘murmuration’ of starlings but would secretly love to experience an ‘exaltation’ of larks – isn’t that just the perfect word!
These, of course, are the old English terms for collections of birds and I think it is time for Canadians to update them. “Murmuration’ is too good a word for a flock of starlings! The words I use for them are not even close to that! While we enjoy the antics of our ‘tidings’ of magpies, the term doesn’t really bring them to life, does it? Something better is called for. I like a ‘parliament’ of owls, but a ‘descent’ of woodpeckers? – not Canadian. I watch these birds, already addicted to suet, and see them as selfish and greedy. My term would be a ‘bully’ of woodpeckers. I suggest we hold a contest for new names for all of our groups of birds and submit it to the Federal Government for approval. That will keep them occupied and out of our hair and may even delay a spring election.
All this archaic information can be found on lists drawn from the Oxford English Dictionary. The first printing of 1927 contained 414,825 words and had taken 70 years to complete. No one but a devoted Scrabble player will ever read them all, but what a wonderful achievement, and one with its own mystery and intrigue. There is a great tale of murder and madness, tragedy and heartbreak; woven through the creation of the dictionary that writer Simon Winchester tells with great gusto in his book “The Professor and the Madman”. This is one instance where it is correct to say that ‘truth is stranger than fiction.’ No one could have invented this story.
The way in which all those words were collected, compiled and defined makes a curiously compelling story. The ‘madman’ of the title contributed several thousand of those words and definitions. It is equally remarkable to see the work that people in Victorian times were prepared to devote their lives to. The dictionary was printed in 12 volumes, all hand-set by printers working with lead type. If each piece of type were laid out in a row they would stretch 178 miles.
In any event, we are prepared to devote some time to the ‘new and improved’ list of Canadian terms for groups of Canadian birds. Entries will be collected and shared and forwarded to the powers that be. Being Canada, the powers will then invoke a Royal Commission, if not a ‘White Paper’ that will keep them happily employed in Ottawa for years to come.
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