172 DICTIONAEY OF NAMES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Our Lady's Hen, An old Scots name for the WREN. 

 (Swainson.; 



Ouzel, Ouizle, Uzzle, Ousel, or Ousel Cock : The BLACK- 

 BIRD properly (Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, etc.) ; 

 but sometimes also applied without prefix to the RENG- 

 OUZEL, where that northern species predominates, the 

 Blackbird on the other hand being sometimes designated 

 Black Ousel. Occurs locally as Oossel or Ussel (North 

 Yorkshire), and also Amzel, the latter actually seeming to 

 be the correct form, as the derivation is from A. Sax. osle 

 {=a'msele) the long 6 as Skeat points out standing for am 

 or an, and being synonymic with Old High Ger. amsalc 

 and Mod. Ger. amsel, a Blackbird. The word occur.s 

 in our Mid. Eng. as osel and osul. Shakespeare ("Mid- 

 summer Night's Dream ") refers to the " ousel cock, so 

 black of hue, with orange-tawny bill." 



OvEN-BiRD, Oven Tit. or Ground-oven, Norfolk names for the 

 Wn.LOW- WARBLER. From the shape of its nest. In 

 the same county the LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE is called 

 Bush-oven, from the position of its nest, vvliile it is known 

 as Oven's-nest in Northamptonshire and Oven-bird or 

 Oven-builder in Scotland (Stirling), 



Over-sea Bird or Over-sea Linnet : The SNOW- BUNTING. 



(Yorkshire.) 



Ox-Bird or Ox-Eye : The DUNLIN, and also the SANDER- 

 LING (Kent and Essex). Perhaps from the full round 

 eye, like an ox's, 



Oxen-and-Kine : The RUFF (obsolete). Appears to have 

 been a name for this species about the end of the sixteenth 

 century. Swainson cites references to it in the introduction 

 to " Expenses of the Judge? of Assize, going the Western 

 and Oxford circuits, between 1596 and 1601," reprinted in 

 Vol. XIV, of "Camden Miscellany," 1857, also Carew's 

 "Survey of Cornwall," 1602, p, 108, Mr, Harting in 

 Intro. Rodd's " Birds of Cornwall," p, xvii, cites it (no 

 doubt from Carew) as an old Cornish name " for some 

 unknown small species of Avildfowl," 



Ox-Eye. A common provincial name for the GREAT TIT- 

 MOUSE, Occurs in Willughby, Perhaps so called from the 

 large white patch on the side of the head, resembling that 

 sometimes seen on the face of an ox. It is also a Border 

 name for the BLUE TITMOUSE, according to Bolam. 



Ox-eye Creeper : The TREECREEPER. Occurs in Merrett 



(1667) and also Charleton (1668), 



