why is the obscene finger gesture "the bird" called the bird?
79051
Biris have three toes and the middle one is longer then the rest
280945
Go to Artimes Fowl's website and it'll decode it...try not to tell anyone.
765163
it's an extension of the demeaning term 4 women, a Bird.\nhere in the Uk b4 we were labelled Chicks, \nwe were referred 2 as birds.
658076
Actually, the main gesture you are referring to is called "bowing and scraping" a low, respectful bow in European courts.  \n\n(from wikipedia)\n"Scraping" refers to the drawing back of the right leg as one bows, such that the right foot scrapes the floor or earth. Typically, while executing such a bow, the man's left hand is pressed horizontally across the abdomen while the right is held out from the body.\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowing_(social)\n\n(In fact, though it's not as technically precise, you could simply refer to it as a "courtly bow" and people would probably get the picture.  "Bowing and scraping" means nothing to most people, except in its derived sense of "groveling"... overdoing the courtesy... as perhaps a salesman might do.)\n\nAs for removing the cap.  Note the mention of the right hand's motion away from the body.  If one was, at the time, wearing a cap, the "bow and scrape" could be combined with another common gesture of respect --doffing the cap.  (Another gesture with a long history and many variants.  For example, the military salute with the hand to the forehead is probably derived from such a gesture.)\n\n-----------\n\nSide note: the background of all this is clear in some of the terms used.  Note that the words "curts(e)y" and "courtesy" derive from "court", that is they refer to "courtly" behavior -- how you act in the presence of a monarch
520025
Ah, Romeo and Juliet! Basically, "biting one's thumb" was a mortal insult, kind of like flipping someone off (but worse). Sampson is biting his thumb in order to insult the Montagues who are walking past. The "which is a disgrace to them if they bear it" means "If they don't come and fight, they're chicken, and we can hold it over their heads." Of course, an utterly chaotic street brawl erupts after this.
1148182
of course it's a finger.  the word "thumb" is used to identify it.  just like pinky, index, fore finger.  the words are used to identify each digit.
416150
It wasn't a parrot, it was a parakeet. Don't think it had a name except Dumbell.
961
It's not that finger, it's the hand gesture.  And it's considered an obscene gesture because it is meant to represent male genitalia.  Nor is it universal.  Other countries use hand gestures that we consider innocuous as vulgar gestures.
911396
TRUE Benjamin Franklin was not a proponent of the Eagle as the national bird. He believed the turkey was smarter, more representative of the country due to their numbers vs Eagles,. there were other reasons I just don't remember .He wrote a paper on the subject.\n\nDamn! Something just occurred to me. If a Turkey is the National bird, it would probably a protected species. Does that mean we would be eating eagle for Thanksgiving?\n\nActually, we now have a new, unofficial, National Bird. It is called the middle finger salute.
397948
Do you mean bird like an animal? Or, bird like a woman? I wouldn't think slapping either would be very appropriate.
817924
Birds.\n\nBirdwatching or birding is the observation and study of birds (the science proper is termed ornithology). The term "birding" is of American origin; "birdwatching" is the more commonly used word in the United Kingdom and Ireland.\n\n"Twitching" is a British term used to mean "the pursuit of a previously-located rare bird." In North America it is more often called "chasing", though the British usage is starting to catch on in N. Am., especially among younger birders. The British term is said to come from the frenzy that descends on some when they receive news of a rare bird. The term may derive from one of its first proponents, who used to arrive on his motorbike in freezing weather in the early 1960s, still "twitching" from the cold. The end goal of twitching is often to accumulate species on one's lists. Some birders engage in competition with one another to accumulate the biggest species lists. The act of the pursuit itself is referred to as a "twitch" or a "chase". A rare bird that stays put long enough for people to come see it is called "twitchable" or "chaseable".\n\nTwitching is probably most highly developed in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Ireland because their small sizes make it possible to travel within their borders quickly with relative ease. The most popular twitches in the UK have drawn crowds of up to 5,000 people at any one time (Golden-Winged Warbler in Kent). Twitching is also highly popular in Finland and Sweden. In the United Kingdom there exists a particular twitchers' vocabulary which is surprisingly well-developed and potentially confusing for the uninitiated. In the UK for example, "dipping" is the act of missing the rare bird you tried to see, "gripped off" is how you feel if other twitchers see the bird but you didn't, "supression" is the act of concealing news of a rare bird from twitchers, and a "dude" is someone who doesn't know much about rare birds at least. Similar vocabularies have developed in all countries where twitching is popular. Twitchers often have mobile phones and (especially in Europe) pagers in order to keep constantly informed of rare bird sightings and weather. The latter is important, since the right winds can lead to drift migration from the east or "Yankees" caught up in the tail end of hurricanes from the west.\n\n\nSome birdwatchers are keen rarity seekers and will travel long distances to see a new species to add to one of their "lists", e.g., life list, national list, state list, county list, etc. These fanatical birders are commonly known by the light-hearted slang term twitchers, particularly in the United Kingdom (though non-birders often mistakenly use twitcher as a synonym for birder or birdwatcher).
877789
Well as my good old Grandma used to say:\n\nUsing a feather is kinky,\nUsing the whole chicken is just perverted.\n\nNo animals thank you very much.
233894
you are confused!\nfrg is a bird
1026039
stop calling me a bird\nim not a turkey twizzler you lil wazzack and i have never stopped you getting in my pants!
376824
Could be "Bird-dogs"\nIn the UK and other English speaking nations, birds is a slang term for women, and girls.\nBirds or Bird-dogging, could mean someone who chases the ladies.\nThat's my guess.
266827
Nice question, it has been asked before. \nI'll quote myself:\n"Because of the way their legs are built.\nThe tendons in bird's legs are arranged as a pulley-rope system so that the weight of the animal pulls on these tendons and keeps their fingers closed at rest. Thus they do not require voluntary muscle action to maintain their grasp on branches.\nThis is specially characteristic of songbirds. Others may rely on nests, platforms or other types of dwellings"\nYour canary is a songbird, a member of order Passeriformes. Thus it has these specialized tendon system :-)
1055198
left hand finger next to pinkie