![\"sparrow\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/04\/sparrow-1024x683.jpg\")
Image from Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n
1. \u0412\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0431\u0435<\/span>\u0439<\/h2>\nSparrows (\u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0431\u0435<\/span>\u0439, pl. \u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0431\u044c\u0438<\/span>) are probably the most common birds in Russian cities. There are actually a few witty sayings featuring this bird:<\/p>\n\n- \u0421\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u043e \u043d\u0435 \u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0431\u0435\u0439, \u0432\u044b<\/span>\u043b\u0435\u0442\u0438\u0442 \u2014 \u043d\u0435 \u043f\u043e\u0439\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0448\u044c: literally, “a word is not a sparrow; you cannot catch it once it’s out.” This refers to not being able to take words back once you have said something or committed to something.<\/li>\n
- \u0414\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u044c \u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0431\u0443\u0448\u043a\u0430: “Can you grab a little sparrow for me?” said to tease a tall person<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
2. \u0413\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u0443\u0431\u044c<\/h2>\n\u0413\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u0443\u0431\u044c can refer to either a dove or a pigeon. Historically, messages have been delivered by pigeon post (\u0433\u043e\u043b\u0443\u0431\u0438\u043d\u0430\u044f \u043f\u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0442\u0430). You may see people feeding pigeons (\u043a\u043e\u0440\u043c\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u0433\u043e\u043b\u0443\u0431\u0435<\/span>\u0439), although some cities ban this practice.<\/p>\n3. \u0412\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u0430<\/h2>\n\u0412\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u0430 is a crow (not to be confused with \u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u043d, a raven). A misfit, the odd one out may be called \u0431\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0430\u044f \u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u0430 (a white crow).<\/p>\n![\"white](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/04\/wagtail.jpg\")
Image by Koshy Koshy<\/a> on flickr.com<\/p><\/div>\n4. \u0422\u0440\u044f\u0441\u043e\u0433\u0443<\/span>\u0437\u043a\u0430<\/h2>\nThis probably isn’t the first bird that comes to mind, but because the wagtail<\/a> (\u0442\u0440\u044f\u0441\u043e\u0433\u0443<\/span>\u0437\u043a\u0430) is ubiquitous in Russia, I decided to include it in this list. These birds have a distinct gait where they shake their white tail up and down with each step.<\/p>\n5. \u0423<\/span>\u0442\u043a\u0430<\/h2>\n\u0423<\/span>\u0442\u043a\u0430 is a duck. A duckling is \u0443\u0442\u0451\u043d\u043e\u043a; “The Ugly Duckling”<\/a> is “\u0413\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u0443\u0442\u0451\u043d\u043e\u043a.” \u0423\u0442\u043a\u0430 is also a colloquial word for a false rumor. A decoy (either a literal fake duck used in hunting or a body double\/bait) is called \u043f\u043e\u0434\u0441\u0430\u0434\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u044f \u0443<\/span>\u0442\u043a\u0430 (sitting duck).<\/p>\n6. \u041b\u0435<\/span>\u0431\u0435\u0434\u044c<\/h2>\n\u041b\u0435<\/span>\u0431\u0435\u0434\u044c (masculine) is a swan. The famous ballet Swan Lake<\/a><\/em> is called “\u041b\u0435\u0431\u0435\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u043e\u0435 \u043e<\/span>\u0437\u0435\u0440\u043e” in Russian. Someone’s \u043b\u0435\u0431\u0435\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u044f \u043f\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u044f (swan song) is their final act before retirement.<\/p>\n![\"geese\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/04\/geese-1024x602.jpeg\")
Image from Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n
7. \u0413\u0443\u0441\u044c<\/h2>\n
\u0413\u0443\u0441\u044c is a goose. Folk tales may talk about \u0433\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0438-\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0431\u0435\u0434\u0438 (a cross between a goose and a swan?). When someone always gets away with things and never gets in trouble, you can say “\u043a\u0430\u043a \u0441 \u0433\u0443\u0441\u044f<\/span> \u0432\u043e\u0434\u0430<\/span>” (“like water off a goose,” compare to the English “Teflon”).<\/p>\n8. \u041a\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u0446\u0430<\/h2>\n\u041a\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u0446\u0430 is a chicken (either the bird or the meat). The plural is \u043a\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u044b. \u00a0If you want to talk specifically about a rooster, use \u043f\u0435\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0445. A chick is \u0446\u044b\u043f\u043b\u0451\u043d\u043e\u043a.<\/p>\n9. \u041e\u0440\u0451\u043b<\/h2>\n
\u041e\u0440\u0451\u043b (plural \u043e\u0440\u043b\u044b<\/span>) is the word for an eagle. The coat of arms of Imperial Russia and of present-day Russia (and multiple other countries<\/a>) features a two-headed eagle \u2014 \u0434\u0432\u0443\u0433\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u043e\u0440\u0451\u043b. Heads or tails in a coin toss are called \u043e\u0440\u0451\u043b \u0438\u043b\u0438 \u0440\u0435<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u0430, \u043e\u0440\u0451\u043b being the side with \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 the eagle. \u041e\u0440\u0451\u043b is also a city in Central Russia<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"owl\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/04\/owl-1024x576.jpeg\")
Image from Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n
10. \u0421\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/span><\/h2>\nLastly for this installment, \u0441\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/span> (plural \u0441\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u044b) is a an owl. A person who likes to sleep in and goes to bed late is called \u0441\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/span> (a night owl). A person who gets up early is called \u0436\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u043d\u043e\u043a (skylark).<\/p>\nHow many of these did you know? Can you name ten other birds?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"sparrow\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/04\/sparrow-350x233.jpg\")
One of the areas where have struggled to build up my second-language vocabulary has been wildlife. Perhaps because there are so many different plants and animals and because city dwellers only ever encounter a fraction of them, words for flora and fauna tend to fall by the wayside. Let us correct that deficiency by looking…<\/p>\n
- \n
- \u0421\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u043e \u043d\u0435 \u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0431\u0435\u0439, \u0432\u044b<\/span>\u043b\u0435\u0442\u0438\u0442 \u2014 \u043d\u0435 \u043f\u043e\u0439\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0448\u044c: literally, “a word is not a sparrow; you cannot catch it once it’s out.” This refers to not being able to take words back once you have said something or committed to something.<\/li>\n
- \u0414\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u044c \u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0431\u0443\u0448\u043a\u0430: “Can you grab a little sparrow for me?” said to tease a tall person<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
2. \u0413\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u0443\u0431\u044c<\/h2>\n
\u0413\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u0443\u0431\u044c can refer to either a dove or a pigeon. Historically, messages have been delivered by pigeon post (\u0433\u043e\u043b\u0443\u0431\u0438\u043d\u0430\u044f \u043f\u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0442\u0430). You may see people feeding pigeons (\u043a\u043e\u0440\u043c\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u0433\u043e\u043b\u0443\u0431\u0435<\/span>\u0439), although some cities ban this practice.<\/p>\n
3. \u0412\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u0430<\/h2>\n
\u0412\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u0430 is a crow (not to be confused with \u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u043e\u043d, a raven). A misfit, the odd one out may be called \u0431\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0430\u044f \u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u0430 (a white crow).<\/p>\n
Image by Koshy Koshy<\/a> on flickr.com<\/p><\/div>\n
4. \u0422\u0440\u044f\u0441\u043e\u0433\u0443<\/span>\u0437\u043a\u0430<\/h2>\n
This probably isn’t the first bird that comes to mind, but because the wagtail<\/a> (\u0442\u0440\u044f\u0441\u043e\u0433\u0443<\/span>\u0437\u043a\u0430) is ubiquitous in Russia, I decided to include it in this list. These birds have a distinct gait where they shake their white tail up and down with each step.<\/p>\n
5. \u0423<\/span>\u0442\u043a\u0430<\/h2>\n
\u0423<\/span>\u0442\u043a\u0430 is a duck. A duckling is \u0443\u0442\u0451\u043d\u043e\u043a; “The Ugly Duckling”<\/a> is “\u0413\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u043a\u0438\u0439 \u0443\u0442\u0451\u043d\u043e\u043a.” \u0423\u0442\u043a\u0430 is also a colloquial word for a false rumor. A decoy (either a literal fake duck used in hunting or a body double\/bait) is called \u043f\u043e\u0434\u0441\u0430\u0434\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u044f \u0443<\/span>\u0442\u043a\u0430 (sitting duck).<\/p>\n
6. \u041b\u0435<\/span>\u0431\u0435\u0434\u044c<\/h2>\n
\u041b\u0435<\/span>\u0431\u0435\u0434\u044c (masculine) is a swan. The famous ballet Swan Lake<\/a><\/em> is called “\u041b\u0435\u0431\u0435\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u043e\u0435 \u043e<\/span>\u0437\u0435\u0440\u043e” in Russian. Someone’s \u043b\u0435\u0431\u0435\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u044f \u043f\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u044f (swan song) is their final act before retirement.<\/p>\n
Image from Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n
7. \u0413\u0443\u0441\u044c<\/h2>\n
\u0413\u0443\u0441\u044c is a goose. Folk tales may talk about \u0433\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0438-\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0431\u0435\u0434\u0438 (a cross between a goose and a swan?). When someone always gets away with things and never gets in trouble, you can say “\u043a\u0430\u043a \u0441 \u0433\u0443\u0441\u044f<\/span> \u0432\u043e\u0434\u0430<\/span>” (“like water off a goose,” compare to the English “Teflon”).<\/p>\n
8. \u041a\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u0446\u0430<\/h2>\n
\u041a\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u0446\u0430 is a chicken (either the bird or the meat). The plural is \u043a\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u044b. \u00a0If you want to talk specifically about a rooster, use \u043f\u0435\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0445. A chick is \u0446\u044b\u043f\u043b\u0451\u043d\u043e\u043a.<\/p>\n
9. \u041e\u0440\u0451\u043b<\/h2>\n
\u041e\u0440\u0451\u043b (plural \u043e\u0440\u043b\u044b<\/span>) is the word for an eagle. The coat of arms of Imperial Russia and of present-day Russia (and multiple other countries<\/a>) features a two-headed eagle \u2014 \u0434\u0432\u0443\u0433\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u043e\u0440\u0451\u043b. Heads or tails in a coin toss are called \u043e\u0440\u0451\u043b \u0438\u043b\u0438 \u0440\u0435<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u0430, \u043e\u0440\u0451\u043b being the side with \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 the eagle. \u041e\u0440\u0451\u043b is also a city in Central Russia<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Image from Pexels<\/p><\/div>\n
10. \u0421\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/span><\/h2>\n
Lastly for this installment, \u0441\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/span> (plural \u0441\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u044b) is a an owl. A person who likes to sleep in and goes to bed late is called \u0441\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/span> (a night owl). A person who gets up early is called \u0436\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e\u043d\u043e\u043a (skylark).<\/p>\n
How many of these did you know? Can you name ten other birds?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of the areas where have struggled to build up my second-language vocabulary has been wildlife. Perhaps because there are so many different plants and animals and because city dwellers only ever encounter a fraction of them, words for flora and fauna tend to fall by the wayside. Let us correct that deficiency by looking…<\/p>\n
- \u0414\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u044c \u0432\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0431\u0443\u0448\u043a\u0430: “Can you grab a little sparrow for me?” said to tease a tall person<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n