15 



BEARDIE : The WHITETHROAT. (Provincial.) Probably 



from its habit of puffing out the throat-feathers. 

 BEARDMANICA : The BEARDED TITMOUSE. (Albin.) 

 BECK. A local Norfolk name for the SHOVELER. 

 BEE-BIRD: The SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. (Norfolk and 

 Yorkshire.) Also applied to the BLUE TITMOUSE 

 (Hants.) and the WHITETHROAT (Devon.), the name being 

 derived from their supposed fondness for bees. 



BEE-BITER: The GREAT TITMOUSE. (Provincial.) 



BEECH-FINCH : The CHAFFINCH. So called from its partiality 

 to beech-mast. 



BEECH-OWL: The TAWNY OWL. (Provincial.) From its 

 supposed partiality for these trees. 



BEE-EATER [No. 205]. The name Bee-eater (implying its 

 fondness for bees) was first used, according to Prof. Newton, 

 in 1668 by Charleton (" Onomasticon," p. 87) as a translation 

 of the Greek Merops. It also occurs in Willughby and most 

 subsequent writers, although Macgillivray attempted to 

 substitute " Yellow throated Bee-eater." The bird was long 

 known as a common European species, but according to 

 Montagu its first recorded occurrence in England was one 

 shot from a flock in July, 1794, near Mattishall in Norfolk, 

 and exhibited before the Linnean Society. 



BEE -EATER. A local Northumberland name for the GREAT 

 TITMOUSE, which is found sometimes to have a propensity 

 for devouring bees. 



BELLCOOT, BELLKITE, or BELLPOOT : The COOT. Corruptions 

 of " Bald Coot " or " Bald Pout." It occurs in Rutty as 

 " Belcoot or Baldcoot," and is found in Scotland as Bellkite 

 (= Baldcoot) and Bellpout (=Bald fowl). 



BELLONIUS'S ASH-COLOTJRED GULL : The KITTIWAKE GULL. 

 (Willughby.) 



BELLRINGER : " The LONG-TAILED TITMOUSE. (Kirkcud- 

 bright.) 



BELL-THROSTLE : The MISTLE -THRUSH. 



BELL WIGEON : The SCAUP-DUCK. (Teesmouth). 



Belted Kingfisher. A North American species of doubtful 

 occurrence in the British Isles. The name occurs in Wilson's 

 " Amer. Ornith." 



BELTIE : The COOT. Probably a corruption of Baldie (see 

 Bellcoot). 



BENFELEN (Y) : The YELLOW BUNTING. (North Wales) ; 

 lit. " the yellow head." 



