PINUT POTTERTON. 183 



POLLAIREUN. A Gaelic name for the DUNLIN in the Long 

 Island ; signifying " bird of the sand-pits " (Gray). 



POMATORHINE SKUA [No. 440]. It is the " Pomerine 

 Skua " of Selby and Yarrell (1st ed.), and the Pomerine 

 Gull of Gould ('" Birds of Europe," pt. n, 1832). It is first 

 noticed as a British bird in the " Sale Catalogue of Bullock's 

 Collection " (April, 1819, lot 61, p. 32) where it is referred 

 to as " allied to the Arctic, but greatly superior in size." 



POOL SNIPE : The REDSHANK. (Willughby.) Albin calls it 

 the " Poole Snipe," but the derivation is no doubt from the 

 former word (pool, or pond, snipe). 



POOR WILLIE : The BAR-TAILED GODWIT. (East Lothian.) 

 Imitative of its call-note. Also called Poor Wren. 



POP. A name for the REDWING according to Swainson. 



POPE. Willughby gives this as a Cornish name for the 

 PUFFIN. The BULLFINCH is also so called in Dorset. 

 Swainson thinks in the latter case it is a derivation of 

 Alp. It is also applied to the RED-BACKED SHRIKE in 

 Hants. 



POPELER. An old name for the SPOONBILL. 



POPINJAY: The GREEN WOODPECKER. (Provincial.) 

 Dutch Papegay. Properly a Parrot, but probably used to 

 denote any brightly plumaged bird. Occurs in Turner as 

 " Popiniay," and in Aldrovandus as " Popiniay " and 

 " Popingay." Shakespeare has : " To be so pestered with 

 a popinjay " (" Henry IV, act i, sc. 5) which has been held 

 to refer to a parrot, but without any good reason, for the 

 reference is obviously to the human popinjay (i.e. an idle 

 fop). He elsewhere ("Cymbeline," act in, sc. 4) speaks of a 

 gaudily-dressed person as a Jay, which is, of course, equally 

 a term of contempt or derision foi an over-dressed foppish 

 fellow, in a word, a popinjay. A popinjay was formerly 

 a gaudily-painted bird set up as a target for archers. The 

 name is, or was until recently, in provincial use for the 

 Green Woodpecker, which on the wing presents a clumsy 

 and gaudy appearance. 



POPPING WIGEON : The GOLDENEYE and the RED- 

 BREASTED MERGANSER. (Drogheda Bay.) Because 

 they pop up and down so suddenly (Swainson). 



POST-BIRD: The SPOTTED FLYCATCHER. (Kent.) On 

 account of perching on a post waiting for flies. 



POTTERTON HEN : The BLACK-HEADED GULL (Aberdeen.) 

 Swainson says, on the authority of Mr. Harvie-Brown, 

 that it is from a loch of that name, now dried up. 



