swinepipe

[prettygoodword]

swinepipe (SWAIN-paip) - n., the European redwing, being a small thrush (Turdus iliacus) of northern Eurasia with red under-wing feathers.



Thanks, WikiMedia!

This is -- I -- that. Okay, seriously -- swinepipe?!? I'd claim there are ornithologists who clearly hate birds, but this is an old dialect name so that doesn't wash. As in so old, no one has even guesses how that came to be. Other dialect names include windle and winnard.

(And yes, the genus name of true thrushes really is Turdus -- blame the Romans, as that's the Latin name for the wee beasties.)

---L, snickering still.

Comments

[full_metal_ox]

Tangentially Related Fun Fact: piping swine are a commonplace trope in medieval Celtic art:

https://web.archive.org/web/20200201024036/http://pilgrimsandposies.blogspot.com/2015/09/of-pipes-and-pipes.html

[prettygoodword]

Because of course they are.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MedievalCreatures/

[med_cat]

Interesting names, both common and scientific :P

[prettygoodword]

"Interesting"