Another photo from my friends’ holiday in Australia.
Is it a duck or a goose? It seems to have features of both and its Latin name has been adjusted somewhat (from chen to anser?) to cover both features. Not sure about the Latin names, but there is definitely something goosey about this wood “duck.”
“What to do? What to do? Which ones should we go after, Dad?”
“That’s a tough one, Son. So many dinners. So little time….
I guess we watch for a cripple, or a loner, like always.”
**Photo by friend, Sonia.
This bird is named for its amazing tailfeathers which resemble a lyre, a U-shaped, harp-like instrument. Unfortunately, the video only shows glimpses of the tailfeathers – but the main feature of the clip is to show the mimicry the lyrebird is capable of. They have been heard mimicking other birds, as well as copying sounds like sirens, dogs barking, and even cameras clicking. What a variety!
The video was taken by my friends who visited Australia recently. Lyrebirds are rather shy so this was a lucky capture.
Please turn up the volume for the best results.
P.S. I just figured out why poets are encouraged to write cinquains. It’s to make sure they don’t ramble on too much.
Five lines with 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables respectively.
The Missus says for my New Year’s resolution, I should have a bath.
All right! I’ll show her I’m a tough guy. Just because it’s freezing…. I’ll take it like a man.
Krrrrrrikey! What was I thinking?!
That’s enough of that. If she doesn’t like it, she can just smell me later.
While pruning one of our yew trees, I reached in towards the center, groping for the branch to cut, and felt a bird’s nest, obviously left there late last spring. Hesitantly, I checked for leftover unhatched eggs or dead chicks before I would throw the nest away.
The “eggs” I found in the nest were all cracked open, but they sure looked like hazelnut shells to me.
“Aha! Crispin the Squirrel has been here. I hope he only found the nest after the baby birds had flown.” I reasoned that the hazelnuts would not have been ripe until late fall, and the baby birds would have flown in the spring, so I didn’t think too badly of Crispin for making himself at home in this new dining room of his.
“Uh-ohhh … she found my stash.”
Another cinquain – five lines with 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables in each line respectively.
Flicker is bigger than the little juncos and towhees. He takes advantage of his size to get his fill of suet.
It’s cold and rainy in the video clip. The towhee and junco try in vain to get a bite.
But all are vulnerable when the hawk moves in.
I’m trying my hand at writing cinquains (sin kanes). They have five lines with 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables in each line respectively.
Be patient please. This is my first one ever.
I think this is either a Eurasian moorhen or a dusky moorhen, probably the latter. They belong to the rail family.
The photo was taken by friends on the east coast of Australia.
wordsfromanneli 