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Phillip Sparrow and His Mates

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Edited by Richard Walker, Wednesday, 20 May 2015, 01:44

More on birds

In English some common birds seem to have first names. Jenny Wren for example. Or Tom Tit.

In times past there were others. Some have become part of the modern name for the bird.

Jack Daw = Jackdaw

Mag Pie = Magpie

Some have replaced the original.

Robin = Robin Redbreast

Some survive amongst people interested in wildfowl.

Jack Snipe (I heard my father use this)

Some are archaic but once common.

Phillip Sparrow

Some may have been contrived in the early 19c. We can't tell.

Ralph Raven

And what's a parrot called?

There's some linguistic archeology here [1], with a few more examples. (Don't forget Dicky = Richard!)

Poet Script

Skelton [2] is a poet I have stubbornly tried to like for decades - and he from centuries back stubbornly tried not to be liked. See what you think of Phillip Sparrow.

 

[1] Archaeologia: Or Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity, Volume 19.

[2] http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174438

 

 

 

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