Why do they call it a titmouse?

What is the etymology of the word tit?

n.pl.tit·mice(-mīs′) Any of several small insectivorous songbirds of the family Paridae of woodland areas, especially members of the genus Baeolophus,such as the tufted titmouse. [Alteration (influenced by mous, mouse) of Middle English titmose: tit-(probably from Old Norse tittr, small peak, pin, titmouse) + mose, titmouse(from Old English māse).]

What is the origin of the word tomtit?

Etymology. The term tomtit was originally a shortened form of tom titmouse. Either form has been used to describe a number of small birds, but in England tomtit was most commonly used as an alternate name of the blue tit. The word tit is today used for a number of small birds, especially of the family Paridae.

What is the meaning of Titus?

Titus. Tit is short for a small bird called a titmouse, or is a vulgar slang term for a female’s breast. An example of a tit is a titmouse, a small bird found in New England. Title. Titus. (now rare) A small, worn-out, or inferior horse.

What is the origin of the word Titt?

From Middle English tit, titte, tette, from Old English tit, titt, from Proto-Germanic *titt- (“teat; nipple; breast”), of expressive origin. Perhaps related to an original meaning “to suck”; compare Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-y-. Doublet of teat, which was borrowed from Old French.

What is a tittit?

Tit is short for a small bird called a titmouse, or is a vulgar slang term for a female’s breast. An example of a tit is a titmouse, a small bird found in New England.

What does TIT FOR TAT mean in the Bible?

a teat. Slang: Vulgar. a breast. tit for tat. tit. title. abbreviation Bible. Titus. We have lots of historical and cross-national examples of tit -for-tat escalation. So, if the other program cooperated, then the next time tit -for-tat was like, “Okay, I’m going to cooperate too.”

What does a male Linnet Bird look like?

Male Common Linnet (Segovia, Spain, 29 April 2014). This male bird shows the classic combination of characters: a bright red forehead and breast, grey face and nape, russet upperparts, subtle russet hues in the underparts and white fringes to the wing and tail feathers.

What does a male twite bird look like?

Male Twite (Sumburgh Head, Shetland, 24 June 2011). While it resembles a Common Linnet in its small size, this Twite is a trifle smaller headed and longer in the tail. The plumage is very drab – ‘brown and streaky’ – but note the splash of brilliant pink peeping out on the exposed sides of the rump.

What is the meaning of Tittle?

Definition of tittle. 1 : a point or small sign used as a diacritical mark in writing or printing.

Is the Turkestan tit a separate species from the great tit?

The Handbook of the Birds of the World volume treating the Parus species went for the more traditional classification, treating the Turkestan tit as a separate species but retaining the Japanese and cinereous tits with the great tit, a move that has not been without criticism.

What is mimicry in birds?

Mimicry may include the imitation of man-made items like telephones, and the song thrush will also repeat the calls of captive birds, including exotics such as the white-faced whistling duck.

What is the legal definition of tit?

Definition of tit for tat. : an equivalent given in return (as for an injury) : retaliation in kind.

What is the meaning of tit for tat?

Definition of tit for tat : an equivalent given in return (as for an injury) : retaliation in kind Other Words from tit for tat

What does a twite bird look like?

In breeding plumage adult male twites have olive-brown upperparts with black streaks and pale edges to the feathers, and a pink rump. The upperparts are a pale buff, and the sides of the breast and flanks are streaked with dark brown.

Are linnets and twite the same bird?

Linnets are familiar birds, but their scarcer cousins Twite are always a good find. Either on their usually remote breeding grounds in northern and western Britain, or around our coasts in winter, picking Twite out from Linnets can be a real ID headache.

What does a twite Finch look like?

The Twite looks much like a juvenile Linnet, as it has the same white panels in the wing and tail. Outside breeding season, this species forms large flocks, sometimes mixed with other finches on coasts and salt marshes. A group of finches has many collective nouns, including a “charm”, “company”, and “trembling” of finches.

How can you tell the difference between male and female Linnets?

Out of breeding plumage male linnets are browner with a buff head and darker brown upperparts with fine black streaks. The breast is brown with darker streaks. Females in breeding plumage are duller than males and don’t have the crimson patches on the breast and forecrown.

What kind of tail does a linnet Finch have?

Like all finches the Linnet has a deeply forked tail, although it is quite short in this small finch. Both sexes have a chestnut mantle and whitish underparts with brown streaks, but the female is duller than the male.

What does a Linnet Bird look like?

Non-breeding in north Africa and southwest Asia The common linnet is a slim bird with a long tail. The upper parts are brown, the throat is sullied white and the bill is grey. The summer male has a grey nape, red head-patch and red breast.

Is the great tit a Red List bird?

Classified in the UK as Green under the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds (2015). The largest of the UK’s tits, the great tit is a bird of woodland, parks and gardens. It nests in holes in trees, but is just as happy to use nestboxes.

Is the great tit complex reproductively isolated in Siberia?

The terminal taxa of the ring (major and minor sectors) are supposed to be reproductively isolated in a zone of secondary contact in the middle Amur valley, Siberia. Our study combines molecular markers (cytochrome-b), bioacoustic analyses and morphological characters to judge the ring species status of the great tit complex.