’S iomadh duine a tha measail air a’ bhuthaid, ach abair uiread de dh’ainmean Gàidhlig a th’ oirre / The puffin is many people’s favourite seabird – but when it comes to its Gaelic name, there are lots to choose from…

Eun le uiread de dh’ainmean

Tha abairt againn tha uiread de dh’ainmeanan air ris an naosg. Tha sin iomchaidh gu leòr oir chaidh 27 ainmean Gàidhlig a chlàradh airson an naoisg, ach chan eil a’ bhuthaid bhrèagha fada air dheireadh oirre, le còrr math is fichead ainm clàraichte.

Snipe are often seen sitting on fence posts

’S e Buthaigire a chanadh muinntir Hiort riutha agus ’s iad a bha eòlach orra oir bha na ceudan mhìltean dhiubh a’ neadachadh sna h-eileanan sin; bhiodh na Hiortaich ag ithe suas ri fichead mìle dhiubh gach bliadhna. Bidh cuid a’ gabhail fachach orra ach tha sin cuideachd air an sgrab (Manx shearwater) mar ainm; tha a’ Bheurla coltach oir bha puffin uaireigin a’ ciallachadh ‘sgrab’ (Puffinus puffinus do luchd-saidheans). Tha Builgean a’ tighinn bho Builg-eun, a’ dèanamh iomradh air cumadh an eòin no a ghuib.

’S dòcha gu bheil Coltrachan à Coltair-cheannach, ainm a tha càirdeach do dh’fhear de ainmean ann an Albais – Coulter-neb ‘sròn fhada’; ge-tà, tha sin a’ buntainn ris a’ choltraiche (razorbill), seach buthaid. Feumaidh gu bheil an t-ainm Con-tràigheachan co-cheangailte ris an tìde-mhara agus tha Peata Ruadh agus Seumas Ruadh (a nì tuairisgeul air a ghob) le chèile gu math snog mar ainmean. Tha, agus na h-ainmean Gàidhlig air na h-iseanan òga – Gille-bog agus Boganach. Ma tha sibh ag iarraidh buthaid fhaicinn air an t-seusan seo, dèanaibh cabhag – tha iad an impis tilleadh don chuan far an cuir iad seachad an geamhradh.

A bird of many names

There is a traditional saying in Gaelic (of a person with many aliases) tha uiread de dh’ainmeanan air ris an naosg ‘he has as many names as the snipe’. With around 27 recorded Gaelic names, the snipe probably deserves its reputation, but the delightful puffin is only a short distance behind, with over twenty.

The most common name is buthaid, but to the Hiortaich, the people of the remote Atlantic archipelago of St Kilda, the puffin, which nests there in vast numbers, was the buthaigire. It was prized as a food, being extremely plentiful and accessible in the summer months. Another name, fachach, is shared with the shearwaters, as is the English ‘puffin’ which originally referred to shearwaters (which belong to the genus Puffinus). Builgean is for builg-eun, ‘the bird with the bulge’ referring to the shape of its body or bill.

Coltrachan perhaps derives from another recorded name, Coltair-cheannach ‘coulter-headed one’ which may be a Gaelic equivalent of the Scots Coulter-neb ‘long nose’, a name for the razorbill, another seabird. Con-tràigheachan is ‘one of the neap tide’, which might be a reference to its feeding patterns, and both Peata Ruadh ‘red pet (tame animal)’ and Seumas Ruadh ‘red Jimmy’ (referring to the summer colouration of the bill) have an affectionate ring to them, as do the Gaelic names for the young puffin or puffling – Gille-bog ‘soft lad’ or Boganach ‘soft one’. If you want to see a puffin this season, be quick – they’re about to return to the ocean which will be their home until next spring.