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Tuisu (Tuisk)
Usually snowstorm or blizzard. But, located on a former sandy area close to lake Ulemiste, probably minor ‘sandstorms’, perhaps in memory of those whipped up by Estonia’s first track and field team, the Düünapoisid, or Dune Boys (1910-1914), who trained there.
Tikutaja (Tikutaja)
Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago, aka taevasikk, lit. skygoat. Interestingly, its Lithuanian and Finnish names are just that, respectively: perkūno oželis, thunder kid/goat (see Pikse), and taivaanvuohi, skygoat, for the goat-like noises they make during courtship or (Lithuania) before a storm. Called heather-bleater in Scotland. Part of the Lilleküla bird-name group of streets. See also Tildri.
Varese (Vares)
Crow. Two species breeding in Estonia: künnivares, rook, Corvus frugilegus and plain old vares, hooded crow, C. corone. Estonian crows must be the worst weather-forecasters ever… Vares sadu vara laulab, hüva ilma hildasella (crow sings morning, rainfall warning; crow sings after, sun and laughter); or Kui vares soiub, tuleb vihma (If the crow caws, it pours) but Kui vares soiub, sula alla (if the crow caws, it thaws). Part of the Lilleküla bird-name group of streets. See also Vesipapi.
Vesipapi (Vesipapp)
Water ouzel, dipper, lit. ‘water priest’ after its dark coat and white breast. Probably the white-throated or European dipper, Cinclus cinclus, a water-bird tending to be found more in SE Estonia than Tallinn, but maybe rural exodus applies to us all. Fairly widespread in Eurasia. National bird of Norway, where they call it fossekall, elvekonge or vannstær and buggered if I know what any of them mean, although fossekall looks like ‘waterfall chap/guy/lad/man’ (fosse+kall), while elvekonge could be ‘river king’ (elv/elver+kong/e), and vannstær (vann = water) dips into the ornithologically schizophrenic where stær seems related to English starling (star, plus the diminutive ling), from Latin sturnus, starling (which Galen recommended as a light, nourishing food), but also Old Prussian starnite, meaning gull, and Lithuanian vandeninis strazdas (lit. water thrush, and thrush in Latin is turdus, not too far removed from sturnus). I shall stop here while I still have wine left in the bottle. Part of the Lilleküla bird-name group of streets. See Vihitaja.
