[extropy-chat] "Bird Brian" - Not!

[Ian Goddard]

--- spike <spike66 at comcast.net> wrote:
   
> Last week I was out walking and saw a seagull 
> with something in his mouth.  I assumed it was 
> a shellfish of some sort.  He dropped it, then 
> swooped down and caught it in the air, after it 
> had fallen about a couple meters.  Then he dropped 
> it again, swooped down, missed it this time.  It 
> fell, I went over, saw that it was a pebble, not
> any food of any kind.  That bird was just playing.
> Play is a sign of intelligence in otters and 
> chimps, so now we see it in birds too.


 Cool observations Spike! [1] That one would have been
nice to have captured on video. I just had a "D'oh, if
only I had a video" moment a few hours ago. I stepped
in the backyard to turn off a water hose when a
Pileated Woodpecker [2] swooped in low overhead and
landed on a tree about twenty feet away. A perfect
unobstructed view, perhaps the best I've had. They're
as big or bigger than crows and have an impressive
wingspan color pattern. [3] It bounded around the tree
for a while then took off again. They're very similar
in appearance to the recently rediscovered Ivory
Billed Woodpecker. [4] 

 In my teens I used to do a lot of bird watching with
local groups like the Audubon Society and other
birding enthusiasts. I kept a bird list and did the
annual Christmas count and such. Somehow I left it
behind as a formal practice, but I still love to watch
birds when I'm out. I'd love to get a pair of video
binoculars. If those were around back then I'd have an
extensive ornithological database. I'd love to try to
get some corroborating video of the Ivory Billed
Woodpecker... now there's a plan! ;) ~Ian 

_____________________________________________________
[1]
http://lists.extropy.org/pipermail/extropy-chat/2006-April/026477.html

[2] Pileated Woodpecker
http://www.birderblog.com/bird/Graphics/Screensaver/Birds/Pileated-Woodpecker-01.jpg

[3] Pileated Woodpecker with wings spread
http://www.daycreek.com/dc/images/041303e.jpg

[4] Ivory Billed Woodpecker
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory/

 

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