Adapted from "Bird Words," contributed by subscriber Ruth Beasley. Ruth writes about birds on her website Learning the Birds. She can also be heard on High Plains Public Radio , her local NPR affiliate in Garden City, Kansas.

A large part of learning the birds is the attempt to gain fluency in a new language. Bird words, I call 'em. Memorable words like melanistic, pileated, accipiter, and axillar -- none my spell-checker recognizes. These fine words permeate the bird books, meticulously staking out descriptive territory.

Birders are people for whom subtle differences are carefully noted, and it's important to get the lingo right. Colors are precise, with shades of tawny, bay, cinnamon, ivory, chestnut, and buff. I'm still figuring out the difference between sooty and slatey, mottled and splotched.

Subscriber Ange Michelbach of Atlanta, GA -- that's her foot in the flipper -- contributed these blog and site picks:

I am frequent visitor to McSweeney's Internet Tendency. In particular, I adore the absurd lists.

BoingBoing , a Directory of Wonderful Things, never fails to provide something useful or whimsical.

Perpetual Kid sells Nihilist Gum; not surprisingly, it has no flavor.

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Fire	Moldy
Steam	Yeasty
Wither	Sour
Roast	Sweet
Oxidize	Floral
Ferment	Fruity
Flush	Spicy
Skiff	Savory
Steep	Citric
Infuse	Caramel
Strain	Nutty
Earthy	Vegetal
Barn	Burnt
Mushroom	Smoky