Bird of the Week

Bird 15 – Eclectus Parrot

We’ve got something special this week. What am I saying? We have something special every week.

Today we’re looking at this bird:

But we’re also looking at this bird:

Two birds in one week? Oh no, not so. For they are in fact the same bird. This week is the Eclectus Parrot. The Eclectus Parrot is famous for having the most striking sexual dimorphism, with the males being emerald green, while the female are red and blue. In fact they have the most extreme dimorphism of any parrot.

Here are two hanging out together:

When they were first discovered it was thought they were two different species. But no, it twas a lie, they were one.

You can find them hanging out in tropical Australia. They’re quite popular as pets too, and I’ve even seen the odd one for sale in Canberra. They’re rather a large bird, so probs don’t get one unless you’re into that sort of thing. They’d be a pretty cool shoulder parrot if you were considering the life of a pirate, but could you get away with only having one, or would you need both? You see these are the tricky questions we have to grapple with. And BotW can give no easy answers.

05/03/2018

Bird 14 – Ba Bird

Today’s bird is coming to you with something a little different. You’ve heard of mermaids, centaurs and sphinxes. Where is the crazy half human, half bird hybrid, I hear you ask? Well good news. This week’s bird is the Ba Bird.

A hawk with the head of a human. They’re part of Ancient Egyptian mythology. Representing one fifth of the human soul, the personality.

When a person died it was said the Ba Bird would leave the body and join with the Ka, which represented a person’s life-force.

In hieroglyphs it was often seen flying away from tombs, as it was believed it would live on after death. Hanging out in heaven, fluffing it’s feathers and whatnot.

Out of curiosity the other parts of the soul, according to ancient Egypt, were the heart, which was the seat of emotion, thought and will; the Shadow, which they figured was important because it followed you about everywhere; the Ren, or your name; the Ba, personality; and the Ka, the life-force, the thing that separates someone living from a corpse.

I always thought it would be fun to have a little Ba Bird as a pet. It could sit on your shoulder and give you life advice. Have a chat or two. It would probably insult people and make a lot of wise-cracks. Bit of a trickster most of the time, but every now and then has some real insight into problems, which is why you keep it around. You could also explain to it how pooping on your furniture isn’t great, and maybe sometimes it would listen. Ah man, that crazy little Ba Bird.

Is it a bird? Does it count? Today I’m in a mythical mood. Ba Bird is in. What a guy!

26/02/2018

Bird 13 – Resplendent Quetzal

The time has come to take special note of another bird that features on a nation’s flag.

The delightfully named Resplendent Quetzal. The Quetzal is extra special because of its potential to get a high word score in scrabble.

It’s a rather gaudy bird, with its big black eyes and green pompom head. They hang out in tropical locations around Central America. It features on the flag of Guatemala.

There it is, sitting atop that bit of paper. Ah Guatemala, one of our favourite countries, right up there with Kiribati and Papua New Guinea. They know where it’s at: birds.

It’s quite the colourful bird, with a big old tail.

The Aztecs considered it to be the God of the Air, and it was a symbol of goodness and light. Aztecs, they knew where it was at: birds. The Quetzal is also notoriously difficult to keep in captivity, as they have a nasty habit of killing themselves soon after being captured. Since the mid-2000s though a couple of places have been able to set up breeding programs.

And sometimes they like to just pop out of holes in trees:

They’re a bit of fun.

19/02/2018

Bird 12 – Great Grey Shrike

Today it’s a bird that I have long considered to be my spirit animal: The Great Grey Shrike.

As you can see, he’s a bit of a cutey. A song bird, they’re found in northern latitudes across Europe and Asia. Now, despite their adorable appearance the old GGS is a bit of a killer. They like to dine out on small rodents and whatnot, sometimes other birds, sometimes they have even been known to take out a young stoat. But they have a problem: their prey is rather large compared to their own size, and their little legs aren’t strong enough to tear apart the delicious flesh they crave. As a work around, they take these animals to thorns where they impale them and tear them to pieces.

As seen below:

Naww ain’t they sweet. They also have a delightful habit of imitating the songs of other birds to lure them into striking range. They’re quite the duplicitous devils.

Some people may remember they featured in one of the first episodes of The Animals of Farthing Wood, where they killed all the mice.

Good times. Farthing Wood didn’t pull any punches, man, it was real. Haha … traumatised.

They are some ice cold birds.

Until next week.

12/02/2018

Bird 11 – Australian Magpie

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the nest: BAM, surprise after hours Bird of the Week comes home to roost.

This week we’re addressing an important issues. Magpie identification. They’re trickster birds, you know. Is that a rock? Probably; but it could be a Magpie. How can you tell for sure? Follow my handy guide.

Is that a Magpie?

Pretty close, but no, that’s a Mudlark. They lark about, mostly in mud. About half the size of a Magpie, but don’t get me wrong they can be aggressive, they’ll swoop you like a Magpie, so watch out for them.

Is that a Magpie?

Nope again. That’s a White-winged Cough. Sometimes called a Devil bird (but only by me). They’ve got red eyes, hooked beak and they skulk about harbingering doom and whatnot, but it ain’t no Magpie.

Is that a Magpie?

Nah, that be a Pied Currawong. Bit bigger, thicker beak, kind of swoopy flying action. They can be cheeky buggers, but Magpie they be not.

Is that a Magpie?

Well … no. That’s the Eagle over near the Department of Defence. More stone than bird really.

Is that a Magpie?

That’s a fish. I feel like you’re not even trying now…

Is that a Magpie?

There she be. That is a Magpie, you can tell by its killer instinct, and the look of whimsy in its eye. So named because they supposedly look like the English Magpie.

Is that a Magpie?

Technically yes. But that’s a bird for another week.

Bird of the week will return, like the Homing Pigeon it so rightly is.

05/02/2018

Bird 10 – Atlantic Puffin

Monday comes around again, and today it’s all about the Puffin, the Atlantic Puffin.

They’re renowned for their fishing skills:

And flower arrangement:

Actually, they really enjoy flowers.

Like, really into them.

I’m not saying it’s weird or anything. Super normal interest in flowers.

And you know what, I think that’s fab.

29/01/2018

Bird 09 – Bee Hummingbird

Good news everyone. Bird of the Week and Daily Fun Fact* are working together to bring you something special. I am proud to announce that this week is:

HUMMINGBIRD WEEK!

These tiny critters are some of the most amazing birds with two wings getting about. They’ve taken a lot of extreme evolutionary steps to get that sweet sweet nectar we all crave so much, and as a result they’ve got some bizarre characteristic. So strap yourself in for a week of Hummers.

To get us started a bit of information. Hummingbirds are native to the Americas, and can be found all the way from Southern Chile right up into Alaska. Their diet is almost exclusively nectar, but they may eat an insect or two if one gets too close to their beak. There are over 300 known species, give or take.

And, maybe funnest fact of all, the world’s smallest bird is a hummer. The Bee Hummingbird, weighing in at just 1.95g and 5.5cm in length, is so small it barely exists.

And also, they’re just super pretty.

I now place you in the capable hands of Mr Jones, who will navigate you through the wonderful world of Hummers for the rest of the week.

22/01/2018

*Daily Fun Fact was another joke email that a friend of mine sent around at work, and we teamed up for a week. What were the fun facts from that week? Who can say?

Bird 08 – Superb Lyrebird

This week we’ve got an Australia favourite, the Superb Lyrebird.

I’d say a week would rarely go by where this little fella doesn’t cross your radar. Mostly because they feature on the ten cent coin.

I mean people still use money right, that’s still a thing, yeah…?

The Lyrebird was so named because of their fancy tail. When specimens were sent to the British Museum in the 1800s, taxidermists there had never seen one and so decided to place the feathers into a display similar to how the peacock does. Something like this:

They thought the feathers resembled an lyre (harp), and thus the name stuck. In life the lyrebird never holds its tail in any such way (how it appears on the 10 cent coin is more accurate).

But of course, Lyrebirds are also famous for their ability to mimic other sounds. They can replicate the songs of most other birds, as well as artificial noises like camera shutters, alarms and chainsaws. So while the Lyrebird may not have anything much to do with lyres, its ability to mimic other things does make it something of a liar bird.

And on that note, I’ll just show myself out.

15/01/2018

Bird 07 – Indian Peafowl

Today we’re looking at a favourite of the 19^th Century dandy who has more money than they know what to do with: it’s the Peafowl (the term peacock specifically refers to the male). If your country estate doesn’t have half a dozen of these walking the grounds then I don’t know what frivolous things you’re spending your money on, but your priorities are way out of whack.

They’re pretty zany, and while they certainly have some crazy colours going on, today is going to touch on a bit of Science! I’m talkin’ evolution and physics here. Whaaaaatttt!? Bird of the week just got all science on you.

First up, peacocks caused a bit of head scratching, with old mate Charley D wondering why a maladaptive trait, like a flamboyant tail that reduces an individual’s ability to fly and evade predators, would evolve.

This led to a theory called Fisherian runaway. In effect, peahens have a preference for males with the most ostentatious colours and longest tail feathers, leading to males with the best plumage to reproduce. As a result, male offspring have fancy tails, and female offspring inherit their mother’s preference for fancy fellas. And so the vicious cycle is born. An alternative theory is the delightfully named, ‘sexy sons hypothesis’ which any interested folks can look into.

Next, check out that iridescence:

The creation of dem fancy, vibrant colours doesn’t come about because of pigmentation. Rather, it occurs because of the way the feather interacts with light on the molecular level. It’s a rather complicated processes called structural coloration. But basically, molecular structures cause light to reflect at different angles. You got reflection, refraction and interference all going on. Which means that if you look at one of these feathers from a different angle it will be appear to be a different colour. So even though the feathers are technically brown, they can still pack a punch for your eyeballs.

You see the same thing in butterfly wings, which means …. *gasp* this is an example of convergent evolution. A phenomenon where two distinct species independently develop the same trait. What a thing!

Oh Peafowl, you crazy gaudy animal, you’ve taught me so much.

Until next week, this has been Bird of the Week.

08/01/2018

Bird 06 – Rock Dove

Welcome to 2018; the birds are back. The birds are always back. But what zany bird is up this week?

Why, it’s the humble Rock Dove, but you may know it as the Common Pigeon or the Sky Rat.

They original came from India, the Middle East and North Africa, but they’re soooooooooooo adaptable they hang out basically everywhere now. They’re actually pretty rad. Here are some fun facts.

Pigeons produce milk that they feed to their young. Crop milk is produced in their throat pouch (crop) in both males and females, which is kinda bizarre and unique among birds (except Flamingos and male Emperor Penguins).

They’ll also known by another name: the famous Homing Pigeon. Formerly used to carry messages, now they mostly just race.

They are also pretty trainable, the US coast guard formerly had a program where they trained pigeons to find people lost at sea, I’m not even joking. Check out this, the best of all safety advice:

Now that’s a safety campaign I can get behind.

All in all, the Pigeon is pretty excellent and worthy of your love.

Catch ya’ll next week for more fun with birds.

02/01/2018