Wilson’s Ornithology & Burds in Scots

I got this wee book in the post yesterday. It's by someone I know and admire who has written poems about various birds in the Scots tongue. It has beautiful illustrations by Alexander Wilson, a Scot who emigrated to America and produced the multi-volume American Ornithology in the early 19th century. Hamish writes in fairly Burnsian Scots using some terms I know and some that I don’t. (A glossary would have been handy.)
    The other day I used the word ‘bunnet,’ and my English friend didn’t understand. (A cap, usually made of tweed, worn mainly by men. Still quite trendy.) I was surprised that someone who has lived here for over 30 years didn’t know what a bunnet was. Scots is a language with similar roots to English, it is not corrupted English.
    The term, ‘Singing like a linty’ is still commonly used in Scotland. I’ve now learned that a linty is a linnet, a bonnie wee burd illustrated in this book. The linty verse is on the back cover, shown here as an extra.