Meanings
plural bumbarrels
- datedA long-tailed tit, a small passerine bird; Aegithalos caudatus.
‘Bumbarrel’ is an old name for the long-tailed tit, everyone's favourite garden bird. And the reason they're called that is for the shape of their nest.
2012 March 12, Katie Fuller, “This weekend... spot a bumbarrel”, in RSPB.org1 more example
One of Britain's most charming small birds, once known as the bumbarrel, has entered the garden birdwatch top 10 for the first time. The tiny long-tailed tit is so small – the tail is longer than the body – that it is very vulnerable to cold weather.
2009 March 25, Michael McCarthy, “Triumph of the bumbarrel (aka the long-tailed tit)”, in The Independent
Cite this entry
bumbarrel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bumbarrel
“bumbarrel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bumbarrel. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bumbarrel,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bumbarrel.
Source: bumbarrel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.