- parrot; popinjay. The parrot is not native to Scotland and does not survive long in the wild here, but it plays a large part in customs and heraldry. An entry in the Treasurer's Accounts (Compota thesaurariorum Regum Scotorum 1538) values King James V's parrot at ten crowns:
To by ane papingo to the Kingis grace x cronis.
The arms of the Abercromby family consist of
Three papingoes, vert [green], beaked and membered gules
(Burke's Peerage 1959)
Membered means that the legs of the birds are a different colour from the rest of them. In this case the green birds had red legs.
The papingo or popinjay was used for archery practice and competitions:
The popingoe is a bird known in heraldry. It is... cut out in wood, fixed in the end of a pole, and placed 120 feet high, on the steeple of the monastery [at Kilwinning]. The archer who shoots down this mark, is honoured with the title of Captain of the Popingoe. He is master of the ceremonies of the succeeding year, sends cards of invitation to the ladies, gives them a ball and supper, and transmits his honours to posterity by a medal, with suitable devices, appended to a silver arrow
(Statistical Account 1795)
Also:
On Saturday last the Papingo Prize of the Royal Company of Archers, Queen's Body Guard for Scotland, was shot for in the Butts at Archers Hall
(Scotsman 18 February 1861)