Eggcorn Forum

Residents in the Pacific Northwest sometimes see in our offshore waters an effect that is known locally as a herring ball (see the description of this phenomenon at http://www.mvcharlotteprincess.com/lang … ring-ball/ . You can view a dramatic BBC underwater video of a “bait ball” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quwebVjAEJA ). A herring ball is caused by a combination of a dense school of herring, circling underwater predators, and splashing top feeders.

At a BC Nature conference this week I heard someone refer to a “herring boil” in the local waters. “Boil” is an appropriate substitution for “ball” in this context-the waters look like they are boiling. Some web examples of the eggcorn:

FAQ on a creek envionment: “12 years ago we would never see seals or fish, now seals are common, as are birds and mall fish. We think we saw a herring boil once but I think that unlikely”

An online report about a marine collision: “He attributed the clutter variously to a disturbance caused by the wake of tugs assisting a large vessel, a herring boil with birds feeding on it, and later to a multiple/spurious echo”

Account of a maritime experience: “Further out in the bay several dozen seagulls squawked frantically over a herring boil , swooping down to scoop up the small silver fish, then fighting each other for the tender tidbits. ”