Feb
10
2009

Birdscapes Tuesday Trivia, Question #1

by Jessica Pellien | Filed in: Birds and Natural History | 2:02pm EST

What do our interactions with birds reveal about ourselves? In Birdscapes: Birds in Our Imagination and Experience, veteran birder and former chief executive of Cambridge University Press Jeremy Mynott looks at the myriad ways we encounter and appreciate birds.

Of course, he looks at literature, art, music, science, conservation, and culture, among many things, but along the way, he also teases out some fantastic trivia about birds. I will post a series of trivia questions (one each Tuesday for the next few weeks) and hope you will post your answers and explanations in the comments section below. The answers will follow by a day, so check back frequently!

Mynott’s Trivia, Question #1 -

Which bird is named after soiled underwear?

Answer will be posted tomorrow.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 at 2:02 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 discussion feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

19 Responses

  1. On February 10th, 2009 at 4:52 pm Jeffrey Gordon replied:

    Isn’t it Isabelline Wheatear?

  2. On February 10th, 2009 at 6:50 pm rick wright replied:

    Actually there are quite a few, if you believe the story (which I don’t, really). Besides the wheatear, I can think of a shrike, a bush-hen, a crombec, a miner; and I’m sure there must be many more whose subspecific epithets refer to the same color.

  3. On February 10th, 2009 at 7:10 pm a.a. shock replied:

    Yes, Jeff beat me to it. Anything with “Isabelline” as part of the name as in the Wheatear, or as a color-morph, is supposedly named after a princess of Spain, Isabel, who vowed never to change her underwear until the siege of Ostend ended, one way or the other. Or so I’ve heard. Found this out while posting an Isabelline color-morph of a California towhee last fall: check out my post: http://threestarowl.com/natural-history/isabelline-california-towhee-in-huntington-beach-central-park
    It differs from albino by being a dirty beige rather than pure white, presumably the color of siege-worn undies.

  4. On February 10th, 2009 at 8:54 pm Rich Colagiovanni replied:

    Response…With all due respect…..some type(species) of “Fly Catcher”…. hehehe….really, you got me on this one…. a clue?? Maybe a variety of European Thrush??

  5. On February 12th, 2009 at 2:20 pm James Wolstencroft replied:

    Response…
    And pray, what then does er … the full monty of i.e. Isabelline Wheatear mean when it is deconstructed?

    I often translate for my guests – and yet some are not amused.

    There’s a nymphalid butterfly in Indochina called the Abnormal Sergeant …

  6. On February 16th, 2009 at 8:41 am John Chenn replied:

    Response…I have to agree with a.a. shock
    BRF

  7. On November 11th, 2009 at 12:57 pm Frank Mir replied:

    My guess was going to be a sparrow.

  8. On January 5th, 2010 at 10:53 am sunglasses for men replied:

    The Yellow-Breasted Skidmarque I believe.

  9. On February 10th, 2010 at 7:05 am George replied:

    Anything Isabelline, either as part of the name, as in Isabelline wheatear, or as a color-morph, is supposedly named after a princess of Spain who vowed never to change her underwear until the siege of Ostend was over.

  10. On June 28th, 2010 at 1:57 am sominjanid replied:

    I often translate for my guests – and yet some are not amused.

    There’s a nymphalid butterfly in Indochina called the Abnormal Sergeant

  11. On October 14th, 2010 at 1:36 am sisca replied:

    my best guess is sparrow

  12. On October 20th, 2010 at 7:02 pm tacuzen replied:

    I agree with Frank Mir, i think also of sparrow

  13. On December 8th, 2010 at 1:11 pm Bigfoot Toy replied:

    Well, if the bird is named after the color and not after soiled underwear, then the question is a bit unfair. I call fowl! :-)

  14. On January 4th, 2011 at 5:17 am Barry Paffey replied:

    Surely it’s a blackbird?

  15. On January 16th, 2011 at 9:46 am Markus replied:

    Of course it is a blackbird!

  16. On January 16th, 2011 at 10:24 am Anaokulu Malzemeleri replied:

    The answer must be sparrow

  17. On February 18th, 2011 at 10:55 am Nicole Arsenault replied:

    Though it does appear that the Isabelline responses have the most evidence behind them. Was the answer ever confirmed in the blog?

  18. On May 9th, 2011 at 6:31 am Joseph waldman replied:

    Must be Sparrow and small birds which are found in fields of wheat.

  19. On September 2nd, 2011 at 12:02 pm Computer Leipzig replied:

    Yes I think too the answer must be sparrow – I hope the answer will confirmed in the blog sometime