MRN— THRUSH 34l 



kirrmaw or mew ; Little dan or pickie ; Marsh tern, maw, miret ; 

 Noddy ; Pease crow, picket or picket — a' piccatarrie, pickaternie 

 (greater), pickitar (lesser), picktarnie (greater), pictar, pirr, purre ; 

 Richel-bird, rippoch (com.), rittoch (greater), Rixy (com.), roseate ; 

 Sandwich, scraye, sea swallow, sheartail, shrimp-catcher, skirr, 

 small purl, sparling, speikintare, sjmrling, spurre, starn ; Taring, 

 tarney, tarnie, tarret, tarrock, tirrock ; Willie fisher. 



The word " jom'ong " in Irish is said to arise from their cross 

 nature. 



THRUSH (see also Mavis). — Cearsach (missel), ciarsach, 

 cuireag, cullionag (holly) ; Scric, smeorach, smeolach, smolach (Ir.). 



Big felt or mavis, bull thrush, butcher bird ; Chercock, churr- 

 cock (missel), crakle, corney ; Dirsh (Somerset), drish (Devon), 

 drossel ; English fulfer (missel) ; Felfit, feltie, feltiflyer, fen 

 thrush, fulfer ; Gar or gaw, gizer, gore-thrusher (missel), grey bird 

 chacker or thrush ; Highland, hielan' or hillan piet, holm cock 

 screech or thrush, horse thrush, hunting thrush ; Ichala pea ; Jay, 

 jay pie, jercock; Keevor ; Marble thrush, maire, mavis, mevy 

 (Browne), mezel, misler, missel mistle or mistletoe thrush, mizzly 

 dick, moor blackbird, mountain ouzel, muzzel ; Norman gizer or 

 thrush, rassel, rattle (missel), ring, rock ouzel ; Screech, sed, sedge 

 or set-cock, sedge-singer (missel), shreitch, shrike, shirl or shrill- 

 cock (Derby), skirlcock, skrite, solitary, song, squawking, stone, 

 stormcock, sycock ; Thirstle (Devon), thrice cock, throstel (North), 

 throstle, throstle cock, thrushel, thrusher, thrushfield (Salop), 

 thrusshe, thru stell (Palsgrave), thryrsty lie ; Whistling-dick or thrush, 

 white-breasted black-ila bird, white-mouth (Wilts), wood thrush. 



Supposed etymology "turdus." The original form appears 

 to have been star-da. 



The mavis or thrush is the first in the field everywhere, both 

 in the Highlands and Lowlands. He always sings his song twice 

 over. In April it sings all day and night nearly. The thrush lays 

 five eggs. One of Macmhaighstir Alasdair's best songs, inter alia, 

 is the well-known Smeorach Chlann Raonuill, while many other 

 bards and inferior poets have sung its praises. Iain mac Raonuill 

 og says : — 



'S binn leara an smeorach a sheinneas Delightful to me the mavis that sings 



Gu loinneil 'an coille nan crann. Her sweetly musical lay in the multi- 



Smeorach a bhroillich bhric riabhaich tudinous wood, 



'S mil air ghob dhi 'n am feuchainn The mavis with its brown and speckled 



nan rann ; breast, 



'S math sheinneas i oran. And with honey on its bill what time 



'N am do'n ghrein 'bhi 'g oradh nam it lists to sing ; 



beann. Full well can it trill forth its lay, 



'S an oidhche cha stad i What time the sun is bathing the 



'Chuir na smuid dhi feadh bhadan uplands with gold ; 



nan gleann. Nor will she, even in the night-time. 



Cease to sing in the wooded glenlets 

 among the hills. 



