A great many species have been personified with human names through the years, particularly in the British Isles. For every Jenny Wren, there’s a Jack or Jill Snipe. Then there’s Mag (or Maggie) Pie, Philip Sparrow, Willie Wagtail, and Jenny Longlegs (Gray Heron).1 Other songbirds include the Redstart (Katie Brantail) and Great Titmouse (Black-headed Bob). Closer to the shore, there’s the Dulwilly (Ringed Plover), Dickie-di-dee (Common Sandpiper), and Tom Hurry (Common Skua).2
And maybe the most famous one of all is Robin Redbreast.3 That one went on to become the official name of the bird, though it was honoring the European or English Robin and not our familiar thrush. Another personal favorite—for obvious reasons—is the Bob Robin.
The Bobolink didn’t really have a charming nickname until William Cullen Bryant’s 1864 poem, “Robert of Lincoln.” The Bobolink was almost always just called Rice Bird prior to the early 19th century.
In today’s video, Bryant’s text is paired with Bobolink footage from 2026 so you can learn their song. Bob-o-link is an apt paraphrasing but so is the second verse: spink, spank, spink.4
I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot of Bobolinks while working on a new film project about the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge, which is located about an hour northwest of Chicago. It’s the closest national wildlife refuge to the city and encompasses a beautiful mosaic of woods, wetlands, and prairie. I’d also say some sections are about the quietest places in all of the seven-county area.
You can read the whole text of the poem, “Robert of Lincoln” here.
This post from Weird Medieval Guys helped a lot with this list.
This one didn’t have as obvious a human name, but the Razorbill was sometimes called the Helljay in the Shetland Islands. If you’ve ever cursed your local jay species, you may be able to relate.
Another source for these names is C. A. Swainson’s 1886 The folk lore and provincial names of British birds.
What other birds can you hear in the video? Leave a comment with your thoughts.
