166 DICTIONARY OF NAMES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



NIAS or NYAS. A falconer's term for nestling-Hawks. Derived 

 from Fr. niais, from Low Lat. Nidax. In English it is 

 generally found corrupted into " Eyas " or " Eyess." 



NlCKA-PECKER, NlCKER-PECKER, or NlCKLE : The GREEN 



WOODPECKER. (Notts.) 



NICOL or JACK Nico : The GOLDFINCH. (North Wales.) 



NIGHTBTRD : The MOORHEN. (Sussex.) From its dark 

 plumage. The name is also given to the MANX SHEAR- 

 WATER about Skellig Island, because it is only seen at 

 night about the rock. 



NIGHT-CHURR: The NIGHTJAR. (Provincial.) From its noc- 

 turnal habits and the churring noise it utters. 



NIGHT-CROW : The NIGHTJAR. (Yorkshire, Northants., Corn- 

 wall.) 



NIGHT HAWK : The NIGHTJAR. (Fleming, Selby.) It is a 

 common English provincial name for the species. 



NIGHT-HERON [No. 266]. The name seems to occur first in 

 Pennant's " Arctic Zoology " (vol. n, No. 356), the young 

 being described in the same work as " Gardenian Heron." 

 This appears to be the bird anciently known as the Night 

 Raven, under which name it is figured in Albin (1738). 

 Willughby, who terms the species the Lesser Ash-Coloured 

 Heron, says it is called by the Germans Night Raven, 

 " because in the night-time it cries with an uncouth voice." 

 The scientific name Nycticorax also signifies Night Raven. 

 Under the heading of the " Bittour or Bittern," however. 

 Willughby writes: "This without doubt is that bird our 

 common people call the Night Raven, and have such a dread 

 of, imagining its cry portends no less than their death, or 

 the death of some of their near relations : for it flies in the 

 night, answers their description of being like a flagging 

 collar, and hath such a kind of whooping cry as they talk 

 of." Goldsmith (" Animated Nature ") confirms this by 

 relating of the Bittern that he remembered " with what 

 terror the bird's note affected the whole village." Spenset 

 also alludes to " the hoarse night raven, trompe of doleful 

 dreere." The reference may, of course, be to the night- 

 like plumage of the RAVEN. 



NIGHTINGALE [No. 180]. The name of this prime favourite 

 among song-birds signifies literally " singer of the night," 

 it being the A. Sax. nihtegole (fr. w^=night and gale=& 

 singer). Prof. Skeat says the middle n is excrescent. The 

 name is found in Chaucer's " Canterbury Tales " : Turner 

 (1544) writes it " Nyghtyngall," while Merrett (1667) and 



