I'm enjoying doing Birdtober for the fifth time. Andrea Holmes puts out these prompts every year for visual artists, but I use them to learn about birds and write poems every day of October. I always find that my busy days are more fun when I'm doing some tiny little creative thing like this.
Here are this week's Birdtober posts:
Wednesday: Diamond Firetail Finch
Thursday: White-crested Helmetshrike
Today's bird, the Kalij Pheasant, is found in the Himalayas and has also been introduced to Hawaii. And apparently, it lives in constant fear. (See the video.)
(Summary of the video in case you don't have four minutes for it: the first minute shows Paras getting up in the morning, getting his coffee, and sitting down at his desk. Then he explains that he'll be talking about the Kalij Pheasant, the "Big Boss," who is an "escape artist." He gives more information about the habitat and behavior of this bird. And then he shows details of the kind of danger they face from humans and why they'd feel the need to escape as fast as possible.)
Kalij Pheasant, run away!
You're in danger if you stay.
Lovely Himalayan pheasant,
I wish your life could be more pleasant.
@Ruth Bowen Hersey
(I wrote about another pheasant species here.)
12 comments:
Yes, I agree! More pleasant for the pheasant. You reminded me of Ogden Nash, I think he wrote a bunch of bird/animal poems. Like this one:
The ostrich roams the great Sahara.
Its mouth is wide, its neck is narra.
It has such long and lofty legs,
I'm glad it sits to lay its eggs.
Glad you're doing Birdtober again, Ruth. I learn about so many new species. Interesting that the Kalij Pheasant was introduced to Hawaii!
Oh my, love that the video shows the traps, the danger, and now you've focused on those Pheasants, Ruth. Do people want their feathers? I did wonder why they were trapping. You learn a lot in Birdtober!
Ruth, such fun to have this Birdtober challenge set before you each year. I enjoyed learning about the Himalayan Kalij Pheasant today and your sweet poem. I like the comparison to Ogden Nash that Tabatha made. I said, "Oh, yes! So true."
Oh dear, I'd be in constant fearif I was a Kalij Pheasant, too! I love the fact that no matter how I much I learn about this world we call home, I'm still always discovering new creatures to be in awe of. :)
I love your Birdtober project, Ruth. And I second Tabatha's observation that you sound like Ogden Nash! Such a delightful poem!
What a wonderful way to learn about birds, Ruth! Thanks for sharing.
Just learning more about birds -through your posts/poems - endears them to me all the more. Thank you, Ruth.
I love Poetry Friday and learning all the cool ways the poets prompt themselves. The Birdtober focus is really cool. Thanks for sharing!
Gorgeous bird, thanks for sounding an alarm for it with your sensitive poem—I hope they escape too. Thanks for the video also. Hope to catch up on some of your bird posts.
Ruth, you provided so much information about a bird I did not know about. while it is a master at hiding, it also has to stay away from the traps. This poem and the other one found in your link, are important for people beside birders to understand.
Linda B, I think trapping the pheasant was accidental - the poor bird just happened to get tangled up in a fishing line.
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