Did you know that 21 April is World Curlew Day! Isn\u2019t there a day for everything? Why then does y gylfinir deserve a special \u2018day\u2019?<\/p>\n\n
As is frequently the case the standard Welsh term for curlew \u2013 y Gylfinir \u2013 describes Britain\u2019s largest wading bird perfectly: gylfin<\/em> = bill, hir<\/em> = long! It\u2019s difficult to wrongly identify this big brown mottled bird due to its long slender downward curved bill. However its close relative, the whimbrel – coegylfinir – also has a long bill but is much smaller and only visits Wales on passage during the Spring and Autumn. You may have seen y gylfinir searching for worms by poking its long, flexible and sensitive bill into expanses of mud flats on the coast.<\/p><\/p>\n\n Y gylfinir<\/span><\/span> is <\/span>one<\/span> of <\/span>approximately<\/span> 13 Welsh <\/span>terms<\/span> which<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> used<\/span> in<\/span> different<\/span> parts<\/span> of Wales <\/span>for<\/span> curlew<\/span>. <\/span>This<\/span> may<\/span> indicate<\/span> that<\/span> it is a <\/span>bird<\/span> which<\/span> is <\/span>close<\/span> to <\/span>our<\/span> hearts<\/span> in<\/span> Wales. <\/span>A <\/span>clue<\/span> as to <\/span>why<\/span> this<\/span> may<\/span> be <\/span>so<\/span> comes<\/span> from<\/span> a <\/span>collection<\/span> of <\/span>names<\/span> which<\/span> refer<\/span> not to <\/span>its<\/span> bill <\/span>but<\/span> to <\/span>its<\/span> call: <\/span><\/span>chwibanogl y mynydd, <\/span>chwibanwr<\/span>, <\/span>whibonog<\/span><\/span> <\/em>and<\/span><\/span> whibanwr<\/span><\/span><\/em>. <\/span>These<\/span> are<\/span> all <\/span>variations<\/span> on<\/span> the <\/span>theme<\/span> of \u2018<\/span>whistling<\/span>\u2019! <\/span>It\u2019s<\/span> difficult<\/span> to <\/span>describe<\/span> the call \u2013 <\/span>you<\/span> have<\/span> to <\/span>hear<\/span> it <\/span>for<\/span> yourself<\/span> \u2013 <\/span>and<\/span> it\u2019s<\/span> even<\/span> more <\/span>difficult<\/span> to <\/span>put<\/span> one<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s <\/span>finger<\/span> on<\/span> the <\/span>effect<\/span> it <\/span>has<\/span> on<\/span> us<\/span>. <\/span>Poets<\/span> and<\/span> writers<\/span> down the <\/span>centuries<\/span> have<\/span> tried<\/span> to <\/span>accomplish<\/span> this<\/span>, <\/span>including<\/span> one<\/span> of Wales\u2019 most <\/span>renowned<\/span> poets<\/span>, R Williams Parry <\/span>in<\/span> his <\/span>poem<\/span> Y Gylfinir<\/span>. <\/span>Here\u2019s<\/span> Charlotte Ch<\/span>ur<\/span>ch <\/span>sin<\/span>ging<\/span> a <\/span>musical<\/span> version<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n The other Welsh names for curlew are versions of gylfinir: gylfiniog, glafinir, glofeinir<\/em> and it\u2019s possible that two of the others are derived from the English \u2018curlew\u2019: giarliw and cwrlig. One homely term is Pegi Pig Hir<\/em> which translates as long billed Peggy. Two names cause a bit of a quandry: c\u0175n Ebrill<\/em> \u2013 April\u2019s dogs and aderyn glaw \u2013 rainbird<\/em>. This is T Gwynn Jones\u2019 (1871 \u2013 1949) explanation for the first of these as a result of his work collecting Welsh folklore:<\/p><\/p>\n\n \u201cC\u0175n Ebrill – April\u2019s Dogs – is the name in some areas for curlew, particularly when the call is heard at nightime during early spring. The call isn\u2019t unpleasant but I know of some who are horrified when they hear it, although they deny any knowledge of the Hounds of Hades, which at one time chased the souls of the dead through the sky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Whatever they are called, the sad fact is that curlews are becoming ever scarcer by the year. This is so much so, there is a danger there won\u2019t be enough of a breeding population left for them to successfully nest and rear chicks on the wetlands and moors of Wales after 2033! This is why they need a special day dedicated to them, so that people become aware of them and their plight. There is considerable evidence that the first curlew eggs hatch around 21st April. <\/p>\n\n People who are new<\/span> to Welsh in addition to fluent speakers have an opportu<\/span>n<\/span>ity to learn more and<\/span> maybe se<\/span>e<\/span> some curlew on<\/span> Hiraetho<\/span>g<\/span> on <\/span>20 May<\/span>. Please contact <\/span><\/span>judith@menterauiaith.cymru<\/span><\/span><\/a> to boo<\/span>k<\/span> a place<\/span>.<\/span> Unfortunatel<\/span>y<\/span> there are no copies left of l<\/span><\/span>lyfr adar Iolo Willams<\/span><\/span><\/a> although you may be able to get a copy from a second<\/span>-hand <\/span>bookshop<\/span>! The place to get hold of standard Welsh terms for<\/span> many species is <\/span><\/span>y Bywiadur ar wefan Ll\u00ean Natur<\/span><\/span><\/a>. <\/span>For more infor<\/span>ma<\/span>tion <\/span>about curlews go to <\/span><\/span>Gylfinir Cymru<\/span><\/span><\/a> website or prosiect Cri’r Gylfinir<\/a> in the area around Ysbyty Ifan and Hiraethog.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/p>\n\n Y Gylfinir<\/p>\n\n Your call is heard at mid-day \u00a0<\/p><\/p>\n\n R. Williams Parry<\/p>\n\n A recent Talwrn y Beirdd poem<\/p>\n\n Mi deimlaf heddiw feini\u2019r gwynt Ioan Gwilym<\/p>\n\n Curlew<\/p>\n\n From afar on the breeze your song wafts.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0 What is your word-less song curlew,\u202f<\/span>\u00a0 Si\u00e2n Shakespear<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Did you know that 21 April is World Curlew Day! Isn\u2019t there a day for everything? Why then does y gylfinir deserve a special \u2018day\u2019? As is frequently the case the standard Welsh term for curlew \u2013 y Gylfinir \u2013 describes Britain\u2019s largest wading bird perfectly: gylfin = bill, hir = long! It\u2019s difficult to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":15844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1627,1538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-geiriau-gwyllt-wild-words","category-uncategorised-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mentrauiaith.cymru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mentrauiaith.cymru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mentrauiaith.cymru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mentrauiaith.cymru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mentrauiaith.cymru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15849"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mentrauiaith.cymru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15872,"href":"https:\/\/mentrauiaith.cymru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15849\/revisions\/15872"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mentrauiaith.cymru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mentrauiaith.cymru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mentrauiaith.cymru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mentrauiaith.cymru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}