If you are one of the lucky, lucky people who haven't even heard of all this " making a list of UK birds but in anagram dictionary" format, but happen to have unfortunately stumbled upon this post, I suggest you zip back 2 posts to see what it is all about. The mathematicians among you will already have worked out that that's #556....... OK .... assuming you've done that ... Well .... you've had the first 6 birds in the "anagrammed bird list" ... ... and very gripping it was too ... a really close thing. ...... already hundreds of people have emailed their gratitude for it. .... but finding the birds that would be right at the end of the list was in some ways tougher. .... the technique is ..... find birds with short names they're less likely to have those early-alphabet letters in them. you don't want them ! root out all those birds with abcde ... in them. that gets rid of nearly everything.... .... see what you're left with. ... not a lot !!! So ...here's what I've found ... this is ( according to me) the fag end of the entire list ... FFINPU Puffin ( I think we should call it that in future) FFRU Ruff FISTW Swift GHHNORSSTV Song Thrush ( it sounds Russian if you say it) GILLORUVY Ivory Gull ( so does that) GLLORSSSU Ross's Gull ( and that) IIKNSS Siskin ( Icelandic) IILLOTTWW Willow Tit ( Esperanto) KNOT Knot ! KOOR Rook LNOOSWWY Snowy Owl ( the very last bird ... I reckon.) As you have seen, this is an entirely different sort of list to all those ones at the top of the list. This is mainly because common birds tend to have short names. And rare birds tens to have longer names. They nearly always have an a or e . Quite often loads of them. I was pretty amazed and spogglified as the two lists diverged ! They're all so short .... none of that AAAABCDDEEGHIKLLTW rubbish ! I was a bit sad that GLMOPWYY didn't make it. It's not on the UK list apparently. I'll leave you to work out what it is. But the big, unsolved mystery remains ... .... what about all that lot in between ? ..... does anybody know ? And you'd be absolutely AMAZED at the % of UK birds that have A and/or E in them. There's hardly any at all left once you've kicked them out. Which made my life a lot easier. I feel quite proud to have worked out this tiny part of what no doubt will become a handsome volume to add to the birding literature . Maybe I'm amazed !
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AuthorThat's the author up there ... I was young and sprightly then. Archives
October 2022
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