ruddock

[prettygoodword]

ruddock (RUHD-uhk) - n., the European robin.


Unlike the American robin, it is not a thrush but a flycatcher -- also, the reddish patch it is named for is on the throat and breast instead of the breast and belly. The word dates back to Old English ruddoc, related to ruddy in the sense of reddish, but is now mainly a dialect word.

"The Ouzell shrills, the Ruddock warbles soft" — Spencer, "Epithalamion"

Which gives us a bonus word, ouzel, which in this context is the European blackbird. (It's also a water bird called a ring dipper.)

---L.

Comments

[mount-oregano.livejournal.com]

The ruddock is a "petirrojo" (red breast) in Spanish, and the blackbird is a "mirlo" (from the Latin name merulus). Both common in my neighborhood.

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

I like the sound of petirrojo.

---L.