Birdtober Day 17: Andean Cock-of-the-Rock

The Bird Name Book, by Susan Myers, suggests that a better name for this bird would be Hen-of-the-Rock because it's named after where they make their nests, and the male has nothing to do with that at all. He's a dandy who dances for females and mates with as many as he can. It's left to the single mom to do all the work of incubating and raising the chicks. The second video above gives a lot more information about that.

 

 

 

The Andean Hen-of-the-Rock

Does much more work than the Cock

She sticks nests to the rocks with her spit

Then for weeks she does nothing but sit

Then feeds her new brood

With nutritious food 

Such as fruit and fresh snakes,

And fine lizard steaks.

 

The Andean Hen-of-the-Rock

Is in for quite a big shock

If she thinks that fine male

With the perky black tail

Will ever be there

To do his fair share.

But his scarlet display

Draws her eye anyway.

 

©Ruth Bowen Hersey

 

 

Reading Update

Book #93 of the year was More Than You Can Imagine: What God Does When You Trust Him, by Susie Larson. I heard the author on a podcast and had to preorder the book because I liked what she said so much. This book was very good and I'll probably reread it since I went through it pretty fast the first time.

 

Book #94 was Stone Yard Devotional, by Charlotte Wood. This was strange, but oddly compelling.

 

Book #95 was Trophic Cascade, by Camille Dungy. I don't read as much poetry as I used to, but this was good. Again, I'll need to reread it.

 

Book #96 was C'était ça ou mourir, by Thélyson Orélien. I want so much to believe that Orélien didn't use AI to write this, and maybe he didn't. I'm glad I read it because it's a story that needs to be told. Google if you haven't heard about all the controversy with this book.

 

Book #97 was a book club pick, The Pirate Queen, by Ariel Lawhon. I enjoyed it very much, and learned some about Irish history. Grace, the pirate queen, is an unforgettable character.

 

Book #98 was Exit Party, by Emily St. John Mandel. There's a lot of familiar territory here for this author: post-apocalyptic, time (or at least dimension) travel, making a life in horrendous circumstances. I enjoyed it. 

Poetry Friday and Birdtober Day 16: Blue-capped Cordonbleu

We have a cordonbleu species where I live, but it's the Red-cheeked Cordonbleu. It's the same shade of pale blue as this one. 

 

 

So much blue!

Blue in the blue cap

Blue in the cordonbleu

Blue in the scientific name

(Uraeginthus cyanocephalus)

Blue in the sky way above

the little bird pulling termites

out of the tree trunks

and bugs 

off the ground.

So much blue!  

 

©Ruth Bowen Hersey 

 

Rose is hosting Poetry Friday today.

 

Here are the Birdtober posts so far:  

 

Day 1: Lilac-breasted Roller 

Day 2: 'I'iwi 

Day 3: Resplendent Quetzal 

Day 4: Gouldian Finch 

Day 5: Atlantic Canary 

Day 6: Paradise Tanager 

Day 7: Bee Hummingbird 

Day 8: Spectacled Owl 

Day 9: Rook 

Day 10: Crimson Rosella 

Day 11: Shoebill 

Day 12: Sharp-shinned Hawk 

Day 13: Himalayan Monal

Day 14: Victoria Crowned-Pigeon

Day 15: Long-tailed Broadbill 

 

 

 

Birdtober Day 15: Long-tailed Broadbill

 

Green, black, yellow, blue

Builds a scraggly hanging nest 

Wheezes and eats bugs  

 

©Ruth Bowen Hersey 

 

 

Birdtober Day 14: Victoria Crowned-Pigeon

 

Related to the dodo,

They have dark red eyes.

Named for Queen Victoria

And very large in size.

They live in New Guinea

And also in lots of zoos;

They are weird and wonderful

And would be sad to lose.  

 

©Ruth Bowen Hersey  

 

 

 

 

Birdtober Day 13: Himalayan Monal

 

I found this recent BBC article about the Himalayan Monal and the way it has changed its voice due to an increase in human noise. The article ends with this quote from a professor called Anjal Prakash: "In listening to the monal, we hear the Himalayas asking for space, silence and care."

 

A Nepalese rainbow bird

Changes the pitch of its call

Reaches out for a mate

Over all the noise of people 

Seeking space

silence

and care  

 

©Ruth Bowen Hersey 

 

 

 

 

Birdtober Day 12: Sharp-shinned Hawk

Sometimes the Sharp-shinned Hawk is called a Bird Hawk because a large part of its diet is birds. I have one of these birds on my life list; I saw it in Florida. 

 

 

Sharp shins

Sharp eyes

A small bird hawk

 

Throw birds

To young

With high-pitched squawk 

 

©Ruth Bowen Hersey