Blair Collection > Gaelic names of beasts (mammalia), birds, fishes, insects, reptiles, etc

BIRD 243
Cha ghlacar scan ian le moll no le cath.
An old bird is not caught by chaff or bran, i.e., husks.
Cha luidh an t-ianach air aou gheug.
Birds do not light only on one branch.
Cha deanar seobhag na chlamhan,
Cha deanar eala de'n rocas,
Cha deanar faoilean de'n fhitheach 's
Cha deanar pithean de Thomas.
A hawk cannot become a kite,
Nor yet a swan a rook ;
A seagull is not raven like.
Nor a magpie Thomas (Cook).
Alasdair Macmhaighstir Alasdair.
Cha 'n 'eil anns a choille naeh bi greis 'n a bhantraich.
There is no (bird) in the wood but is at times in widowhood.
Cho beo ri eun.
As live as a bird.
Cho gorach ris na h-eoin.
As thoughtless as the birds. Said of children by nice old
people.
Chuala mi gug-gug 's a chuan.
I heai'd the birds cry out at sea. (See Nicolson's note to
" Paisg mo chaibe," etc.)
Chuireadh e na h-eoin 'an crannaibh.
He would make the birds go into trees. Sweet singing.
(See Nicolson.)
Druididh gach ian ri 'ealtuinn.
Each bird draws to his own flock. (See " An uair a thig," etc.)
Eoin a chuir do'n choille.
Sending birds to the woods. Sending owls to Athens, etc.
A work of supererogation in this country.
Far am bi an-t-iasg, 's ann a bhios na h-eoin.
Where the fish is, there the (sea) birds will be.
Gach ian gu 'nead 's a shrabh na ghob.
Each bird to its nest, with its straw in its beak. Signs of
the season.
Gach Ian mar a dh' oileanav.
Every bird according to his rearing. Applicable to more
than birds.
Ge beag an t-ubh thig ian as.
Though the (igg be small, a bird will come out of it.
Ge don' an t-ian 's mios' an t-isean.
Though bad the bird, the chicken is worse. Frequently
exemplified in human beings.
Is beo na h-eoin, ged nach seobhagan uil' iad.
The birds live, though not all hawks. An encouragement to
honest-minded men, though rough on some lawyers, etc.