puttock

puttock (PUH-tuhk) - n., (rare) any of several birds of prey native to Great Britain, either the red kite (Milvus milvus), the marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus) or other similar Old World members of genus Circus, or buzzard (any Old World member of genus Buteo).


And by extension, a rapacious person who preys on the defenseless. Note that British English buzzard is an exact synonym of American English hawk -- in American English, buzzard is an alternate name for a vulture, as well as (by extension) a cranky or greedy old man. The origin of puttock is unknown -- it dates back to Middle English, and while there are speculations as to Old English roots, all are unattested. And no, none of them are related to buttock, I'm glad you asked. I'm not putting up pictures of all the puttocks, though, just the marsh harrier:


Thanks, WikiMedia!


And now I'm out of birbs, and will continue the rest of the week with whatever's next in the queue.

---L.