L.A. SPEAK : Bird Words

BVD adj. Better View Desired. “Did you see the eagle?’ ‘Yeah, but it was a BVD.”’

dip v. to miss a species one has sought. “I went clear to New York last week, but dipped on the Lapwing.” The opposite of tick.

dude n. a laid-back bird-watcher. The opposite of a twitcher.

gashawk n. a passing airplane.

granny birder n. one familiar only with the very common birds, usually those appearing at his/her feeder. Derived from senior females who compose much of this group, but may apply to anyone. “He’s a real granny birder, just watches the sparrows in his backyard.”

lifer n. a bird that one has never seen in the wild before. “A Least Bittern was a lifer for me back in ’87. I flushed it from behind the Walmart on Rt. 3A.”

lister n. a person who enjoys the sport of seeing as many bird species as possible and keeping lists of them. Occasionally used pejoratively to imply that someone’s interest in the natural world is superficial.

owl prowl a trip taken specifically to find and view owls, usually at night.

Peebeegeebee n. Pied-Billed Grebe, a duck-like waterbird.

splat v. for a bird to be killed by a raptor. “My pigeon got splatted.”