Please add any definitions that are informal/non-scientific, but show up in observations or forum here.
Examples:
If I’m wrong about the examples, please offer a better definition and I’ll edit this post.
It reminded me of this jargon topic, but I honestly can’t think of anything but “obs” being an observation.
Lifer is a taxon seen or recorded for the first time by this user (depends on personal view on that)
Herper is short from herpetologist, on iNat likely not a professional, but one deeply interested in reptiles and/or amphibians.
You could make this a wiki if you want people to contribute to it.
Birbs is a general term for most birds. There are lots of phrases for certain birbs, such as Cobra Chicken for Canada Goose. Chikken or chicken is used for a lot of birds. See https://www.facebook.com/groups/birdmisid (you may need to [gasp] join!).
Never understood the “birb” thing. It isn’t short for bird and no easier to pronounce so where did it come from and why? Maybe it’s a Facebook thing and I wouldn’t be in the know if so.
I’m pretty sure it originated as a mistake, but it fits, I dare to say, childish humour, so of course it got popular.
The word began, as near as anyone can tell, when the absurdist Twitter account BirdsRightsActivist tweeted the single word “Birb,” out on November 2012; two years later, it had multiple entries in Urban Dictionary and a dedicated reddit forum.
There are other similarly wonky misspellings such as smol, snek, and chonky. It’s not meant to be an abbreviation; it’s meant to be slightly off-kilter.
BTW, there’s a book out titled Because Internet that covers how the Internet shapes language. I haven’t read it myself yet, but it sounds like a good read.
Yes it’s childish humour, but still fun in some contexts! @jnstuart Yeah, I picked it up from FB, but don’t use it in normal conversation.
Lifer is more than just a taxon, it’s a taxon you haven’t previously seen in your lifetime.
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