Bird Idioms Explained

Birds are part of every language and there are many colorful and creative bird sayings that are commonly used and popularly recognized by birders and non-birders alike. Understanding these idioms can help birders appreciate just how much birds are part of different cultures and what different bird references can mean in different contexts. But how many bird idioms actually relate accurately to the real wild birds they mention?

What Is an Idiom?

An idiom is a figurative expression that describes a situation in a creative or colorful way, rather than with literal, dryly factual descriptions. Idioms are often catchy phrases that are easily remembered and commonly understood, and they can be used in a variety of contexts depending on the tone of voice or the situation they describe. There are many bird-related idioms in different languages, and studying those bird references can help birders learn even more about the birds used in each expression.

Top 20 Bird Idioms

There are dozens of bird idioms used around the world in many different cultures, languages, and countries. Learning about the birds behind the idioms can help birders know more about not only the birds, but about how all birds are part of cultural expression and common languages.

1. Like a Duck to Water
   Meaning: natural and easy, not needing instruction
   The Birds: Precocial ducks and geese can swim within hours of hatching without extensive instruction or parental guidance. These birds naturally know how to swim with ease and are right at home in the water.
2. Free as a Bird
   Meaning: easy freedom or escape without entanglements
   The Birds: Because birds can fly, they are often symbols of freedom with their ability to quickly and easily escape from troubles, dangers, or complications.
3. An Albatross Around the Neck
   Meaning: a heavy burden or difficult obstacle
   The Birds: Albatrosses are large, formidable birds, can be difficult to identify, and are often nemesis birds for many birders.
4. Dead as a Dodo
   Meaning: extinct, no longer existing
   The Birds: The dodo is extinct and there is not much known about this bird, though it is often referenced as clumsy and idiotic, making its extinction inevitable.
5. Graceful as a Swan
   Meaning: elegant, beautiful, and sophisticated
   The Birds: Swans are often symbols of romance and beauty because of their white plumage and the graceful curves of their long necks.
6. Proud as a Peacock
   Meaning: arrogant, vain, or prideful
   The Birds: The peacock's stunning tail (actually its uppertail coverts) is seen as a symbol of pride or showing off, just as the bird uses its tail to court a prospective mate.
7. As Scarce as Hen's Teeth
   Meaning: limited or nonexistent
   The Birds: Hens, like all birds, don't have teeth, so this idiom describes scarcity or low supplies. Birds don't need teeth, however, as their bill shapes are adapted to different foods and foraging styles.
8. As the Crow Flies
   Meaning: a straight-line path, the most direct route
   The Birds: Birds do not rely on roads, tracks, or established routes, and instead can fly direct to their destination, easily soaring above obstacles.
9. Birds of a Feather Flock Together
   Meaning: a common group of similar members
   The Birds: Many birds are gregarious and congregate in flocks, though the flocks are not always just a single type of bird and mixed flocks are common, especially in winter.
10. Eagle Eye
    Meaning: watchful, having keen eyesight
    The Birds: Birds have superior senses, especially vision, and top predators such as raptors have exceptional eyesight, spotting prey from incredible distances, even in low light or conditions with poor visibility.
11. The Early Bird Catches the Worm
    Meaning: the benefits of avoiding procrastination and getting rewards for being first
    The Birds: Many birds forage early in the day and are more likely to successfully find food before other birds or animals are feeding.
12. Eat Like a Bird
    Meaning: to eat lightly or be a picky eater
    The Birds: While birds don't eat lightly and can spend much of each day foraging, they are often picky, sorting through mixed birdseed to find just the morsels they want.
13. Feather Your Nest
    Meaning: to pad financial gain or collect favors from others
    The Birds: Birds often feather their actual nests with soft material to cushion their eggs and young chicks.
14. Night Owl
    Meaning: one who is more active or productive at night
    The Birds: There are many nocturnal birds that are highly active after dark, and many other birds are crepuscular, being most active at twilight and dawn.
15. Ugly Duckling
    Meaning: one who is unattractive or out of place, though who becomes more beautiful or desirable as they mature
    The Birds: Many baby birds are unattractive before they develop feathers, but they will eventually grow outstanding plumage.
16. Take Someone Under Your Wing
    Meaning: to offer protective guidance or mentoring
    The Birds: Young birds rely on the protection and guidance of their parents, which often includes sheltering under parent birds' wings to stay hidden, dry, or for temperature control.
17. Like Water Off a Duck's Back
    Meaning: to easily shrug off, shed, or disregard
    The Birds: Aquatic birds like ducks make heavy use of their uropygial gland as they preen, coating their feathers with waterproofing oil that keeps their plumage protected even underwater.
18. Skinny as a Rail
    Meaning: very slender or thin
    The Birds: Many rails have flexible bodies and can slip between closely packed reeds or grasses without disturbing the foliage. This is ideal camouflage, and gives the impression that the birds are very thin.
19. Happy as a Lark
    Meaning: cheerful, optimistic, and joyful
    The Birds: Larks have very melodious songs with cheerful notes and happy tunes, and they are often cultural symbols of joy, good fortune, or cheerfulness.
20. Crazy as a Loon
    Meaning: insane or nutty
    The Birds: Many loons have strange, haunting calls that can resemble crazy or disturbed laughter, distinctive vocalizations that can help identify loons easily.

There are many more bird idioms and descriptive phrases that include avian imagery, and they are popular parts of language in many ways. There are many different ways to interpret bird sayings, but each one can be a fun part of birder's vocabulary.