SunChaser

Guess what we the people type into Google or Bing the most as it relates to snowbirding? Well…it’s not “top places to snowbird” or “tips for snowbirding”— it’s literally “What is a snowbird?” And I get it, honestly, idioms are hard. In this post we entertainingly (hopefully) break down one of the most searched phrases in our “niche” and discover a beak-dropping snafu with the term.

What is a snowbird?

So I’ve done another search query related to the term in question and that is “what birds fly south for the winter?” How many come to mind? The goose. The robin? I know the lovely red cardinals hang around for the snow. And the juncos.

One who travels to warm climates for the winter.

Merriam Webster Dictionary*

*Travel Tip: I’ve been inside Noah Webster’s home, and you can too! Next time you’re in the Detroit Area, check out the Ford Museum (in the late Spring, Summer or Fall of course 😉 Homeschoolers question: How are Merriam and Noah related?

This is my first official winter as a snowbird, and I’ve already forgotten if there are bird chirps and sounds during the winter months way up north….OR do the birds that flock together and stick out the winter alongside the humans close their little beaks for the winter as a way to retain more heat?

As you can see the metaphor seems quite direct. The birds and humans that fly south for the winter. However, upon further research, I’ve discovered a rather large discrepancy with this term. GASP!

Wait a second?

This is becoming quite confusing, and I can see why this phrase is legitimately highly searched on the internet. Especially if English isn’t your first language or if you grew up in an area that didn’t have human snowbirds leaving or arriving. Here’s where the confusion lies…

Human Snowbird: Here’s my definition: Someone who chooses to enjoy their northern roots while leaving them tucked securely under blankets of snow, gray skies and below-freezing temperatures in trade for months of more sun, milder temps and an alternate- winter lifestyle.

Bird Snowbird: The first definition listed in Merriam’s dictionary is “any of several birds (such as a junco or fieldfare) seen chiefly in winter.”

Seen chiefly in the winter! Here we can see that technically a snowbird means a bird that sticks around for winter!

Here is Noah Webster’s definition from the 1828 dictionary:
SNOW-BIRD, noun A small bird which appears in the time of snow, of the genus Emberiza; called also snow-bunting. In the U. States, the snow-bird is the Fringilla nivalis.

History of the term “Snowbird”

Here’s what the writers at Merriam Webster have drilled up in their “Did you know?” section as far as what is a snowbird.

Snowbird has been in use since the late 1600s, but it has only been applied to humans since the early 1900s. It was first used to describe men who enlisted in the armed forces to get food and clothing during the winter months and then deserted as the warm spring weather approached. Not long after, the term was applied to the northern laborers who would flock down south to work as the cold, harsh winter set in up north. Today, northerners of all kinds, from vacationers to retirees, can be seen migrating as soon as the first frost arrives.

Our new term: Sunbird

Group participation! The comments are on for this post. Tell us YOUR ideas for giving the term “Snowbird” new flight—new name or phrase.