Outdoor Tips from Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine

 What Is It?

Check out these nicknames for common animals. What nicknames do you know? 

Mammals 

1. Raccoon 

1. trash panda: tendency to forage for trash and black patches around the eyes like pandas 

2. Coyotes 

1. yodel dogs; high-pitched “bark” sounds like a yodel 

2. American jackal; similar to jackals in appearance and behaviors 

3. White-tailed deer  

1. Virginia deer; deer were abundant in Virginia, so when settlers moved west, they started calling the deer Virginia deer 

4. Bobcat  

1. wildcat; live in the wild  

2.  

5. Bison  

1. buffalo; similar build, different species 

6. Armadillos  

1. tactical possums; similar size and build to opossums but can roll into their protective shell 

2. Texas speed bumps; get run over often in Texas 

3. pocket dinosaurs; Jurassic-look 

4. armored pig; look like little pigs with a defensive shell 

7. Deer mice 

1. white-ankled mice; often have white feet and undersides 

8. Skunk  

1. polecat; first English settlers mistook skunks for polecats 

Fish 

9. Channel catfish -  

1. fiddler; for tendency to “fiddle” with bait 

   mudcat; gets confused with flathead catfish, people unaware the difference 

10. Largemouth bass 

1. bucketmouth; for their mouth that extends further than other bass  

2. mossback; name for large, slow fish 

11. Bass 

1. hawg; large bass fight back similar to wild hogs 

2. Hogzilla; combination of hogs and Godzilla for their size and aggression 

12. Blue catfish 

1. channel cat; similarity to channel catfish, people unaware of the difference 

2. giant blue; for their ability to grow up to 100 pounds and 5 feet long 

13. Gar 

1. gator; alligator-shaped head and rows of teeth 

2. sea needle; long slender body and sharp teeth 

14. Snapper  

1. bream; considered part of the bream family 

2. porgy; American Indian name for fertilizer, which is what the fish were used for in colonial times,  

3. old man snapper; face looks like an old man 

15. Speckled trout 

1. speck; shortened 

2. yellowmouths; mouths often have yellow coloring 

16. Flounder 

1. fluke; specific name for summer flounder 

2. flatfish; bodies are flatter than other fish 

17. Black crappie 

1. papermouth; delicate mouth tissue 

2. calico bass; light and dark speckled coloring 

3. specks; referring to speckled coloring 

4. sacalait; Cajun French for “milk bag” referring to either silver scales or milky colored flesh 

18. Freshwater drum 

1. gaspergou; Cajun name referring to black drum’s diet of mussels 

2. sheepshead; misidentification 

19. Flathead catfish 

1. yellow cat; body coloring is pale yellow 

2. opelousa cat (ops); named after a city in Louisiana 

3. pied cat; due to various colorings 

4. Mississippi cat; native to Mississippi River 

5. mudcat; for muddy taste 

6. shovelhead; broad and flattened head that looks like a shovel 

20. White crappie 

1. sacalait; Cajun French for “milk bag” referring to either silver scales or milky colored flesh 

2. calico bass; light and dark vertical bars on coloring 

21. Bluegills 

1. bream; part of bream family 

2. perch; regional name, not accurate 

3. sunfish; part of sunfish family 

4. gills; shortened 

22. Striped bass 

1. striper; stripes along body side 

2. rockfish; tendency to hide in or under rocks and reef 

3. lineside; again for stripes along their body side 

23. White bass 

1. sand bass; ability to spawn in sandy points in lakes 

2. streaker; horizontal lines on the side of their bodies 

3. silver bass; silver scale coloring 

24. Red drum 

1. redfish; for coppered-colored scales 

2. bull red; nickname for large red drum 

25. Sheepshead 

1. sheephead; large sheep looking teeth 

2. bay snapper; for it’s taste similar to red snapper 

 

Birds 

26. Wild turkeys 

1. thunder chicken; for their resemblance to chickens and loud, shrill gobble call 

27. Ring-necked pheasant 

1. ringneck; shortened 

2. ditch parrot; colorful feathers and common appearances near roadsides 

28. Scaled quail 

1. cotton-top; white tuft of feathers on top of their head 

2. blue quail; blue-gray feathers 

29. Crested caracara 

1. Mexican eagle; common folklore about the bird including a suspicion that the this is the bird on the Mexican flag 

30. Turkey vulture 

1. buzzard, turkey buzzard; early settlers mistook vultures for hawks, buzzard is the British term for hawk 

31. Northern cardinal 

1. redbird; refers to color of feathers 

32. American coot 

1. mud hen; for their love of marshes and ditches 

2. pouldeau; Cajun name, means “water hen” 

33. House sparrow 

1. little brown birds; for their size and color 

34. Downy woodpecker  

1. sapsucker; drill holes in trees to let the sap come out, don’t actually suck sap 

35. House finch 

1. linnet; comes from latin for flax: linum, the finch likes to eat flax seeds 

36. American robin 

1. harbinger of spring; their migration patterns, more show up in early spring 

2. wake robin; often the first birds singing at dawn in the springtime 

37. American Goldfinch 

1. goldie; shortened  

2. King Harry; after King Henry VIII 

38. Barred owl 

1. hoot owl, eight-hooter owl; distinctive 8-9 note hooting call 

39. Great blue heron 

1. Marsh hen; often found in marsh areas

3. Shag poke; perhaps for the shaggy appearance of their feathers

4. Ol' Cranky; loud squawk,

40. Yellow rumped warbler   

1. butterbutt; bright yellow patch near their tail 

41. Summer tanager 

1. bee bird; eats bees and wasps 

Other 

42. Snakes (in general) 

1. danger noodle; noodle shape, perception of danger 

43. Rattlesnake 

1. rattlers; distinctive rattle noise from their tail 

2. velvet-tail; distinctive black tail 

44. Alligator 

1. gator; shortened 

2. swamp puppies; look like they could be cute/want scratches, actually very dangerous (do not pet) 

46. Bats 

1. flying rodents; fuzzy rodent-looking bodies plus wings 

47. Crane fly 

1. mosquito hawks; diet of mosquitoes 

48. Silverfish 

1. firebrats; preference of hot, humid environments like attics in the summer and furnaces in the winter 

49. Copperhead snake 

1. pilot; originally “pilot rattlesnake” because it was believed that they led the way for rattlesnakes and if you saw a copperhead, a rattlesnake was nearby 

2. chunkhead; for their slow-moving 

3. poplar leaf; for coloring that blends in with fallen leaves 

50. Monarch butterflies 

1. milkweed butterflies; female monarchs lay eggs in milkweed plants and their caterpillars feed on them

2. harvester butterfly; the monarch’s return signaled the corn was ready to harvest