Natural splendour, real musics, wines, wordpower
Members of the kingfisher family are typically very confident; these predatory birds are not much preyed-upon.
Fish are not invariably their primary prey, and not all kingfishers live near rivers or lakes.
Pictured is the most ubiquitous of Asia’s kingfishers, Halcyon smyrnensis – the white-throated kingfisher.
By itself, this perky individual’s demeanour was almost enough to qualify it for inclusion in this series…
Comments closed
I dislike anthropomorphism, especially when it “cutesifies” animals that are not cute.
I wish we humans would learn to appreciate other animals in their own right, as themselves, rather than wilfully misreading their behaviours and facial expressions.
For instance, quokkas’ characteristic facial shapes/expressions do not in fact signify happiness.
That said, I am sometimes hugely amused by a particular animal’s fortuitous resemblance to a particular, famous/infamous human…or human-made humanoid.
One crisp Namibian morning I saw and heard a very loud local bird; its common name refers to its alarm call.
Why would a “Go-away bird” remind me of England’s self styled “Queen of Romance Fiction”?
Comments closed
The ostrich is the biggest living bird.
It is numero uno in other respects, too.
Intelligence is definitely not one of them.
To a human – this human, at least – the ostrich is one of “our” planet’s quirkiest birds.
Comments closed
Strangely under-emphasised in most NT publicity, advertorials – and even in genuinely independent media coverage – but true:
Central Australia’s birdlife is abundant and oft-spectacular.
Comments closed
This post’s photo is far-from-perfect.
Nonetheless, I think/hope it conveys a sense of just how fleet-and-flurrying (and splashy) is the to-and-fro of zebra finches at a drinking/bathing “station”.
In arid regions such “stations” can themselves appear and vanish, very rapidly.
The pictured pool sat at the base of the eastern wall of Jessie Gap on 14 June 2023. (photo is copyright Doug Spencer. Jessie Gap is a short drive from Alice Springs)
Musically, I agree with the listener who suggested that if J.S. Bach had heard Chris Thile play, there’d be a set of Bach mandolin suites.
Comments closed
Today’s photo shows a repeatedly-pleasing aspect of our June 2023 “outback” trip: it included a surprisingly large number of sightings of Australia’s largest raptor.
One Comment
Above, is the most “heraldic” photo I have taken of a Forest red-tailed black cockatoo.
She is the same individual as in #20, this post’s “moment” happened a fraction of a second earlier.
Comments closed
Late afternoon, in a recently-burnt section of Shenton Bushland, a female Forest red-tailed black cockatoo spreads both wings and tail..
Comments closed
From behind, as a female Forest red-tailed black cockatoo “lifts off” from a so-called “Cape Lilac” tree…
Comments closed
“Routine maintenance”.
Our heroine is more spectacular than the “average” bird, but in this photo she is engaging in a necessary activity which all birds undertake.
Comments closed
