Little brown bird

The dunnock is the archetypal little brown bird: its name actually means 'little brown bird', from Old English dun, brown, and ock diminutive for a bird.^[1]

Little brown bird (LBB) or little brown job (LBJ) is an informal name used by birdwatchers for any of the large number of species of small brown passerine birds, many of which are notoriously difficult to distinguish.^[2] This is especially true for females of species which show sexual dimorphism, which may lack much of the differentiating colouring present in males.^[3][4]

The name little brown bat is also applied to records in general observations of microchiropteran species, many of which are indistinguishable by their greyish-brown fur and similar structure.^[5][6]

See also

• Damned yellow composite, a similar term for the numerous difficult-to-identify dandelion-like plants
• Little brown mushroom, a similar term for difficult-to-identify mushrooms
• Minibeast
• Small shelly fauna

References

1. Lockwood, W. B. (1984). Oxford Book of British Bird Names. Oxford University Press.
2. Wood, F. (November 2010). "Little Brown Birds". www.birdnote.org. BirdNote. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
3. Mayntz, Melissa. "Little Brown Job – Definition". Archived from the original on 2013-02-11. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
4. Peacock, Faansie (2012). Chamberlain's LBJs. Mirafra Publishing. ISBN 978-0620543200.
5. Hall, Les; Bressan, Vicki (February 2008). "Key to identifying bats in south east Queensland" (PDF). Granite Belt Wildlife Carers Inc. Bat Rescue Inc. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
6. Queale, L.F. (1997). "Field identification of female little brown bats Vespadelus Spp. (Chiroptera : Vespertilionidae) in South Australia". Records of the South Australian Museum. 30 (1997–1998): 28–33.