Stray Leaves from a Border Garden 
seventeenth century) mention is made of a black boy and 
a papingo, or peacock, belonging to Lady Drummond. In 
the “ King’s Quhair ” poem, however, a parrot seems to be 
meant, as also, in a poem by Sir David Lindsay, the wood- 
pecker has been called the English Parrot, and also Pop- 
injay. So he may be intended. In the West of Scotland 
shooting at the popinjay was a favourite pastime, and a 
wooden bird something like a parrot was used. This game 
is mentioned in Scott’s “ Old Mortality.” There was an 
old French word papejay , in Flemish papegeai, in German 
papegeai, and in Spanish papagayo , always apparently 
signifying a wooden parrot. The popinjay is mentioned 
in an old ballad as one of the birds in the fairy garden 
whither the “ Quene of Elfland ” conducted Thomas 
the Rhymer. It was flying in company with the merle. 
Here I am inclined to think a peacock must be intended, 
since peacocks were sometimes semi-wild in noble demesnes. 
In our family we have poppinjays vert in the coat-of-arms, 
evil-looking, hawklike birds, resembling neither peacock, 
parrot, nor woodpecker ; so I cannot decide the popinjay’s 
identity to my satisfaction. I was amused once to hear 
applied to a young woman fond of gay but ill-assorted 
colours, “ Oh ! she’s just a regular popinjay ! ” In con- 
nection with the story that it is the dainty woodpecker who 
is the “ Real Popinjay,” and not these our fierce heraldic 
birds, I have a dim memory of having heard how the Muses 
and the Syrens fell out, and the Muses getting the best of 
it, the Syrens were turned into woodpeckers. 
74 
