If you take up any form of birdwatching, be it viewing from your back garden, visiting a local reserve or even jetting off to some tropical rainforest, you’re quite likely to come across a few terms unique to the birding world.

They can feel a little baffling and exclusionary at first, but every group tends to develop its own form of language, if only to shortcut to a specific point or interest, and it’s not always as a way of identifying if you’re One of Us.

In the world of birds, the jargon is done with a crafty wink and light-heartedness, as well as a way of imparting some very good bits of information that could take longer to describe using “conventional” words.

With a hobby that often relies on staying still and quiet, less words can go a long way.

In the world of birds, the jargon is done with a crafty wink and light-heartedness!

Some of us have plans or have planned to go on a birdwatching trip at some point in our lives, and why not? Once you’ve researched the right place that will offer you the range of species you’d love to see as well as ensuring the company you go with are acting in the birds best interests, it’s a richly rewarding experience that not only broadens your view and experiences of the world, but introduces you to like-minded folk, and friendships are usually quickly made.

People who adore birds are part of a global club, and uniting over the love of birds can be a great leveller of other differences. We shouldn’t let any fear of not knowing what’s being said to each other get in the way, so we’ve provided a rundown of some of the more frequently used slang words to help you get by.

But first we just need to establish – what type of club member are you?

Birdwatcher or birder?

These two are sometimes used interchangeably, but there is a distinction. The former is applied to just about anyone who looks out a window or across a field or lake and spots a bird and is interested in it, and wants to see more, usually taking their time and enjoying the moment.

They are not particularly bothered if they don’t see many but are delighted when they do. The word “birder” was an American invention that meant the same thing; but people who take their birdwatching a little more seriously than topping up feeders now prefer the term birder to birdwatcher.

‍Birdwatchers will usually own a field guide, perhaps some binoculars and possibly a scope, and their taking part will fall in the hobby category rather than lifestyle. Birders, on the other hand, not only tend to own some priceyequipment and some amazingcamo clothing, they’ll be the dedicated ones up at 4 am in all weathers.

They can surely name many species just by their calls, and can probably imitate a few. They know their stuff and are rightly proud of it, and most will share their knowledge somehow either by blogging, running pages on social media, organising trips or volunteering at reserves. Depending on their fervency, birders are sometimes referred to as twitchers, although this too is a grey area.

They may have all the gear, but little of the knowledge.

Twitchers

Originating from the description “to twitch” with excitement, twitchers are the folks who are consumed by the lifestyle, keeping lists of birds to tick off, often going to great lengths both financial and physical to see the rare birds, where the thrill of the chase is as important as the final, sometimes, fleeting sighting.

Twitchers welcome their nomenclature, and will be pigeon-chested about their vast scope of knowledge and commitment to seeking out a specific bird. Akin to an Olympic sport, twitchers are very competitive in the race to reach the top spot and be the first to see That Bird.

‍When on a birdwatch or with a group of people who are talking about birds, you may hear some of the following colourful and illuminating terms:

• Blocker – a very rare species not seen in the area for some time, usually seen by someone earlier but has since vanished and is taking its time showing again for others to see. When it finally turns up, it’s “unblocked”
• BOP – simply, a bird of prey, commonly used to describe any dark blob far off in the sky that circles like a buzzard
• Bogey Bird – the one that always gets away, you’ll have had it in your sights forever but never see it even though you know it’s there
• Dark lark – a European starling
• Dude – a sometimes unfairly derogatory term used by serious birders for someone who walks the walk but don’t talk the talk. Dudes are fair-weather birders who are happy to see the common species. They may have all the gear, but little of the knowledge, and the use of the term as an insult is down to those dudes who think they know more than they do – see string
• Gashawk – often mistaken for a very high bird, this is a single engine aircraft
• Jizz – the feel of the bird, the defining characteristics combined, the way it walks, preens, flies, sounds. Sometimes you can identify a bird in silhouette by its jizz
• LBJ – little brown job. Usually sparrows, these are any small brownish bird that you can’t identify and probably aren’t that bothered about it. Dudes don’t mind seeing LBJs
• Lifer – your personal Holy Grail bird, one you’ve always wanted to see and when you do, that’s it, mission accomplished, we may as well all go home, I’ve seen my lifer
• List / Lister – the birds you want to see, usually obsess over / a person who keeps a list of the birds they want to see
• Mega-tick – one off the List, an extremely good tick where the bird is either rare or just darn beautiful and it was an unexpected joy to see it
• String – an incorrect identification that is firmly stuck to / a made up sighting as an attempt to show off but is so often unbelievable. Birders who do this frequently are known as stringers. Dudes can be notorious stringers, which doesn’t help other dudes.
• Tick (noun) / Tick (verb) – a new species on a life list / to denote that you have now seen that bird on your list
• Viz-mig / vis-mig – watching birds visibly migrate – “woah, did you see that?! What an amazing vis-mig!”

Tips on how to birdwatch

It may seem obvious, but be quiet. Before you’re heading out, have a little shuffle in your clothes and walk up and down. Are you creating static electricity with your trousers? Does your footwear squeak? Change.

Staying patient can be quite hard, but it will pay off – most of the time. Birds can be just above your head and often in larger numbers than you realise, but waiting and staying still can sometimes be rewarded with a single cheep or tweet, indicating their presence to other birds. If you know birds, you’ll know they rarely stay still, and will usually hop into sight at some point.

Silhouetted birds are just impossible to identify unless you really know your jizz.

Try to avoid hot days – birds just aren’t that keen and will spend their time conserving energy in silence and often hidden in the shade. If you do go birding on a hot day, do it as early or as late in the day as you can, and keep the sun at your back.

Again, another obvious tip, but one we so often neglect to remember. Silhouetted birds are just impossible to identify unless you really know your jizz. Learning to understand behaviour is very important. There are some birds who will do the same thing every time.

‍Redstarts, who favour perches out in the open, will always cock their tails just after landing if they are near to another redstart. Long-tailed tits almost always travel in groups, up by the outer edges of trees, letting out a quickly repeated high note whistle as they go.

If you hear or see one, chances are you’ll soon see another, then another, and so on, as they make their way through the canopy. Blackbirds, when startled, will shout out an irritated staccato cackle as they flap noisily along the forest floor away from you.

But most important of all, enjoy yourself. Whether you’re just starting or nearly at the end of your List, will it have been worth it if it wasn’t fun?