Birds, birds, birds! - Page 2

Amake · 03-19-2010, 02:06 AM

A group of magpies is called a madness. There's also murder of crows and parliment of rooks. It all sounds proper spooky and arcane until you realize all those unlikely collective nouns for animals were made up by bored nobility around the eighteenth century.

And that's all I got to say about that. :I

Wigmund · 03-19-2010, 07:37 PM

I was walking through a wooded area to my car after classes today when all the birds nearby started flying off. I thought I had startled them but then this hawk swoops down, stomps on a robin and then flies up into a tree to devour it.

Name: hawk kill.jpg
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Name: hawk kill.jpg
Views: 134
Size: 78.4 KB

Melfice · 03-19-2010, 07:46 PM

The most exotic wild bird I've seen is a common kestrel, I think it was.
And that one time a buzzard that swooped down in front of our door (literally ON the doorstep) with a pigeon between it's talons. Made a right mess, it did. All that pigeon feed/corn (don't quite remember) on the sidewalk.

The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk · 03-19-2010, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wigmund

I was walking through a wooded area to my car after classes today when all the birds nearby started flying off. I thought I had startled them but then this hawk swoops down, stomps on a robin and then flies up into a tree to devour it.

Attachment 7186

See what I mean? Ultimate baddasses!

Osterbaum · 03-24-2010, 06:33 PM

Have the bird watching contest tomorrow. Any last minute tips for me? I'll be officially representing NPF.

Shyria Dracnoir · 03-25-2010, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osterbaum

Have the bird watching contest tomorrow. Any last minute tips for me? I'll be officially representing NPF.

Not much, other than not to forget the booze.

Melfice · 03-25-2010, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osterbaum

Have the bird watching contest tomorrow. Any last minute tips for me? I'll be officially representing NPF.

Oh, no you ain't! It'll be a dis... grace to NPF's name, yeah I can see how representing us all would be okay.

Meister · 03-25-2010, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osterbaum

Any last minute tips for me?

"You go on out in those woods, son, and you see any kinda bird at all out there, you watch the hell outta the feller for us. Make us proud."

Yeah I dunno, it seems pretty straightforward.

Except, maybe you could make bingo cards and pass them around the other participants, make a little side contest out of it. Make sure their cards are full of things like "bald eagle", "flamingo" and "penguin." You may not watch the most birds but you're guaranteed to win that.

greed · 03-25-2010, 01:25 PM

Cool birds I've seen.

Saw a hawk and an sea eagle fighting once that was pretty cool. The hawk would outspeed it, fly up and swoop, and just before the hawk hit the eagle would flip upside down so the hawk would impale itself. The hawk eventually flew off.

On a high school camp, I was walking with a group of friends when one of them suddenly got swooped by something that tore apart the beanie he was wearing. We looked up and it was an owl. A goddamned owl, at 11am in the morning. It took him a few minutes to realise how big it's claws were and how lucky he was to be wearing a big beanie.

Got caught in a small stampede of emus, kangaroos and ostriches(several people who farmed them have just abandoned them when the venture went under, so there's a few wild populations of ostriches scattered around Australia, we've got water buffalo and camels for the same reason) while on a biology camp down south. Kind of just hugged my back to a tree and watched them go past. That was pretty intense.

Also once saw a Wedge Tailed Eagle eating a dead ram. It made it's presence known by chasing off the hundred or so crows and hawks going after the corpse before it got there. That thing was nearly the size of the ram it was eating, wings would have been well over 2m, body probably bout a metre tall.

Meister · 03-25-2010, 01:29 PM

I've told this before but at the zoo I once saw a bunch of kids teasing a pelican, and his buddy swam up behind them, stole one kid's homework and chewed it up a little. Other birds have their work cut out for them if they want to topple those pelicans from the top of my Cool Birds list.

03-19-2010, 02:06 AM	#11
Amake Keeper of the new Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: A place without judgment Posts: 4,506	A group of magpies is called a madness. There's also murder of crows and parliment of rooks. It all sounds proper spooky and arcane until you realize all those unlikely collective nouns for animals were made up by bored nobility around the eighteenth century. And that's all I got to say about that. :I __________________ Hope insistent, trust implicit, love inherent, life immersed

03-19-2010, 07:37 PM	#12
Wigmund Lakitu Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Northwest Arkansas Posts: 2,139	I was walking through a wooded area to my car after classes today when all the birds nearby started flying off. I thought I had startled them but then this hawk swoops down, stomps on a robin and then flies up into a tree to devour it. __________________ Slightly off-kilter

03-24-2010, 06:33 PM	#15
Osterbaum The revolution will be memed! Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: FIN Posts: 5,967	Have the bird watching contest tomorrow. Any last minute tips for me? I'll be officially representing NPF. __________________ D is for Dirty Commie!

03-19-2010, 07:46 PM	#13
Melfice Vigilo - Confido Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 4,846	The most exotic wild bird I've seen is a common kestrel, I think it was. And that one time a buzzard that swooped down in front of our door (literally ON the doorstep) with a pigeon between it's talons. Made a right mess, it did. All that pigeon feed/corn (don't quite remember) on the sidewalk.

03-25-2010, 01:29 PM	#20
Meister Pure joy Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Germany Posts: 10,689	I've told this before but at the zoo I once saw a bunch of kids teasing a pelican, and his buddy swam up behind them, stole one kid's homework and chewed it up a little. Other birds have their work cut out for them if they want to topple those pelicans from the top of my Cool Birds list.