Birds

Birds are really cool. Like, really cool. Most people don't pay a whole lot of attention to them, because they're just there. They're background animals. And on top of that, they don't like cuddles that much, and they're not fluffy. Well, most of them aren't fluffy. At least they're not fluffy once they're adults. But that's not important. Why? Because they are cool. So. Here are some photos of birds, and I'm going to tell you why every one of them is cool.

Haters gon' hate

 This is a purple swamphen. Sort of an ugly name for a very pretty bird. Now, he's awesome obvioulsy because he looks pretty. But he's also a really good dad. Michael and I have seen them down at the local park in fluffy baby season. We saw a mum and babies walking around, minding their own business, and then, out of nowhere, another one comes running along. Are they territorial? Will the babies be attacked? Turns out, it was an express delivery of yummy dragonfly to one of the babies.

This guy is awesome for a couple of reasons. He's tiny, he's fast, and his hair is super crazy. He has like 4 side mohawks. How cool is that?

They can open the doors!

 Dinosaur baby? I thought so too. Turns out dinosaurs are extinct though. This guy is awesome because he can go from this adorable in a kind of scary way, to the below photo which is also adorable in a kind of scary way, but somehow a completely different scary way to the first way.

 This guy is scary in a 'I'm going to see you taking some dead mice to feed to some animals in cages and stalk you and then try to steal said mice when you least expect it by swooping at you' kind of a way. Sneaky.

 This is totally cool in many ways. Of course, the eggs themselves are cool, as is the ability to build a nest. The fact that the birds in question built the nest in a basket just seems pretty darn smart to me. These particular birds have been using this nest for a while now and keep adding to it. They've just started nesting again too, which is always very exciting. Also, the parents share responsiblities in the nest, and if you watch it for long enough you can see the changing of the guard.

 It's also cool that they let us get close enough to take all these photos of them. In this photo you can see that the eggs have hatched, and there are two tiny baby bird heads just peeking out from under mum and/or dad. And they go from tiny little birds that somehow fit into those eggs, to flying away in about 2 weeks or so.

 This guy was brought into Kanyana because he was hit by a car I think. And personally, I think the person who picked him up was pretty brave. I mean, look at him. He looks like if he were feeling better, he would just bust straight out of that cage and intimidate you into letting him go.

This is the same bird being examined. Again, the accepting but plotting eyes. He's still beautiful, just in a slightly wary way. Interesting fact; it's not their beak you have to watch out for. It's their talons. Those things can grip through a lot, and just stay gripped. You know those leather gloves that bird of prey handlers wear? False sense of security. Wedge tailed eagles (of which he is not one) have about 2 tonnes of gripping power. I've heard a story of a guy getting an eagle on his arm once, the talon went through his hand. Completely through. Had to knock the bird out to be able to get it off. Cool huh?

I sad...

 This guy looks so sad. Cuddle him. Cuddle him now.

 So if you live in Australia, you've seen these guys everywhere. For people that don't, they're magpies. In spring at Kanyana we get a lot of these guys as babies. And they are the friendliest, most adorable little guys that you have ever seen. When it's feeding time they just crowd around you trying to get your attention. It's adorable.

 This is Henry. Henry is a forest red-tailed black cockatoo. Below is another red tail, showing it off for us. And below that is what the females/juveniles look like. These guys live to about 80 or so. They're very smart, and super friendly. Henry often is around when the volunteers at Kanyana are having morning tea, and he loves to join in the talking. By screeching very loudly. But we don't mind cause we all love him.

 

 As you can see, they're very pretty. Oh, and in the background there is a pink and grey galah. Also long lived and potentially friendly birds. I say potentially, because if you see one in the wild and try to grab it, they tend to bite. And when you see how big their beaks are, you can see why that might be a problem. Of course, most of the time they would just fly away and look at you warily, so I don't see that happening very often. If you do happen to ever find an injured one, just have a very thick towel near by.

Well, that's the end of my post for today. Oh, and this guy is awesome because he just flew up on to my head. I love friendly birds. So next time you see a bird, say hi. Cause they're great. And you should like them.