44 DICTIONARY OF NAMES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



CHAFFIE, CHAFFY, CHAFFER, or CHAFFIN : The CHAFFINCH. 

 Popular contractions. 



CHAFFINCH [No. 37]. The name appears in Turner (1544) as 

 " Chaffinche " and in Merrett (1667) as " Chaffinch," also 

 in Willughby (1678) by the latter name. " So called 

 because it delights in chaff " (Kersey's Diet., 2nd ed. 5 

 1715) ; the bird being a frequenter of barn-yards, etc. 

 Other derivations are, however, possible, i.e. from Mid.-Eng. 

 chaufen, to warm, indicating the reddish or " warm " 

 breast of the male. Finch is A. Sax. /me finch ; Modern 

 German fink, Old High German fincho. From the same 

 root as the Welsh pinc=fmch, but also applied to anything 

 smart or gay. Newton thinks it is from the spink or pink 

 note of the Chaffinch originally. The Welsh name for the 

 Chaffinch is Wine, also from the note. Jesse says that in 

 Scotland it is known as " drunken sow " because the song 

 has been construed into " Drink, drink till you're fou, wee 

 drunken sowie." Chambers says that in Scotland and the 

 North of England the plaintive note of this bird is taken 

 as a sign of rain, and that when the boys hear it they 

 imitate the note and its consequences thus : " Weet ! 

 weet ! Dreep, dreep ! " A West of England belief is that 

 about the 25th of March this bird always cries " Pay your 

 rent pay your rent pay your rent." 



CHAIT: The SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. (Worcestershire.) 

 From its note. 



CHALDER, CHALDRICK, CHOLDRICK: The OYSTERCATCHER. 

 (Orkneys.) 



CHANCHIDER: The SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. (Montagu.) 

 Swainson renders it Chancider, and also gives Chamcider 

 as a Hampshire name for the SEDGE-WARBLER, 



CHANGELESS SWAN. Macgillivray's name for the Polish Swan. 



CHANNEL GOOSE : The GANNET. (North Devon.) 



CHARBOB : The CHAFFINCH. (Derbyshire.) 



CHARLIE MUFTIE. A common Scots name for the WHITE- 

 THROAT, from its habit of puffing out the feathers of 

 the throat. 



CHASER : The ARCTIC SKUA. (Redcar, Yorkshire.) From its 

 habit of pursuing other species. 



CHAT : The SEDGE-WARBLER (Thames Valley) ; also the 

 WHEATEAR (Northants.) 



CHATTERER : The WAXWING. Occurs in Pennant (fo. ed., 

 1766), but in the later editions it is called Waxen Chatterer. 



