170 DICTIONARY OF NAMES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



NUTHATCH [No. 86, British Nuthatch]. Occurs in Wil- 

 lughby (1678). Turner (1544) has "Nut jobber " and "Nut- 

 seeker. ' ' Another Old English form is ' ' Nuthack, ' ' the name 

 being derived from its habit of hacking or hammering at 

 nuts which it first fixes in the crevice of the bark of a tree. 

 Hartert has separated the British resident form from the 

 Continental form, hence the change of name. 



NUTJOBBER or JOBBIN, NUT TAPPER, or NUT TOPPER : The 

 NUTHATCH. (England.) Equivalent of Nuthatch. 



NYROCADUCK: The FERRUGINOUS DUCK. (Selby.) Also 

 called Nyroca Pochard. 



OAK JACKDAW. A name for the JAY. (Hett.) 



OAT-EAR : The YELLOW WAGTAIL. (Hett.) See Oatseed 

 bird. 



OAT-FOWL: The SNOW-BUNTING. (Orkneys.) From its 

 feeding on oats (Swainson). 



OATSEED-BIRD : The YELLOW WAGTAIL; or the GREY 

 WAGTAIL in Yorkshire, according to Swainson, who says 

 it is because it makes its appearance about March, and is 

 then more abundant in those elevated parts which are better 

 adapted for the growth of oats than wheat. 



OH DEE-AR. Saxby gives this as a Shetland name for the 

 GOLDEN PLOVER. 



ORE : The RAZORBILL. A corruption of Auk (Icel. dlka). 



OLD HARD WEATHER. A name for the male GOLDENEYE. 

 Also the Tufted Duck. 



OLD MAID : The LAPWING. (Worcestershire.) For a possible 

 explanation of this name, by a Danish belief that the Lap- 

 wings are metamorphosed old maids, see " Notes and 

 Queries," ser. in, vol. x, p. 49. 



OLD MAN : The SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. (Cheshire.) 



OLF, OLP, or OLPH : The BULLFINCH. (Suffolk and Norfolk.) 

 A form of " Alp." 



OLIVACEOUS GALLINULE : The LITTLE CRAKE. (Montagu.) 



OLIVE: The OYSTERCATCHER. (Essex.) Mr. Miller 

 Christy thinks it is a corruption of Olaf (or Olave), the name 

 of the Danish King. It is found in Albin as a name for 

 this species. 



OOLERT or OWLERD : The BARN-OWL. (Shropshire.) Cor- 

 ruption of Howlet. 



OOSSEL : The BLACKBIRD. (North Yorkshire.) A corrup- 

 tion of Ouzel. 



