the.com/peewit
A lapwing named by its own panicked shriek, the ornithological equivalent of a scream-selfie.
means A peewit is another name for the lapwing, a crested plover-family bird best known for its wheeling, tumbling flight display and its sharp, wailing call.
from Purely echoic — peewit is the sound written down. English speakers simply listened to the bird's shrill, two-note 'pee-wit' cry and spelled what they heard, the same imitative impulse that gave us 'cuckoo' and 'chiffchaff.' No deeper root to dig for: the bird, quite literally, named itself.
- also called
- northern lapwing or green plover
- flight style
- wobbly, floppy wingbeats, not graceful
- name origin
- onomatopoeia for its wailing call
- crest feature
- thin black head plume, looks hand-drawn