Embarrassing evidence?
February 10, 2013 9:29 PM Subscribe
Is there a name, poetical or scientific, for the outline left behind when a bird collides with a window? I have this vague remembering of there being such a word, but I can't find it online.
I couldn't find one specifically, but the phenomenon of bird strikes on especially plate glass urban windows is increasingly studied. This guy seems like the US expert. Ah, here's a group. [Probably almost anything you need to know is in this beautifully illustrated document for building managers, owners, and architects.]
Here's a discussion of the specific issue of residue:
Many birds striking windows, and living to tell the tale, leave an identifiable oil and dust contour of their bodies, much like the chalk outline of a murder victim. I’ve identified hawks by merely
measuring the wing print. Mourning doves leave a recognizable silhouette, as do cardinals, who
sometimes leave red feathers on the glass. Sometimes a bird’s brief last meal is deposited
on the window as a petri dish specimen for the ornithologist.
And this NPR story shows such a print.
posted by dhartung at 11:07 PM on February 10, 2013 [1 favorite]
Here's a discussion of the specific issue of residue:
Many birds striking windows, and living to tell the tale, leave an identifiable oil and dust contour of their bodies, much like the chalk outline of a murder victim. I’ve identified hawks by merely
measuring the wing print. Mourning doves leave a recognizable silhouette, as do cardinals, who
sometimes leave red feathers on the glass. Sometimes a bird’s brief last meal is deposited
on the window as a petri dish specimen for the ornithologist.
And this NPR story shows such a print.
posted by dhartung at 11:07 PM on February 10, 2013 [1 favorite]
I have always called these "Angel Prints". I wish that there was some evidence that this was a real term.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 7:29 AM on February 11, 2013
posted by Midnight Skulker at 7:29 AM on February 11, 2013
I've heard that not all birds leave them - some species don't produce the right sort of oils, or else not enough to leave the mark. I know there's a term for it, but I can't recall it.
posted by IAmBroom at 8:03 AM on February 11, 2013
posted by IAmBroom at 8:03 AM on February 11, 2013
Less elegantly, "bird splat". At our house, these window prints are usually left by white-winged doves. There are always a lot of white-winged doves in our yard.
posted by Ery at 12:01 PM on February 11, 2013
posted by Ery at 12:01 PM on February 11, 2013
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By the false azure in the windowpane"?
posted by oinopaponton at 9:42 PM on February 10, 2013 [3 favorites]