Beautiful Mark!Day 32!
[Oh, look. S.E. is here: beautiful cool evening.]
I have wondered about the eggs talking to the male, specifically about the 'infertiles':
Guys, when I observed Boy Emu's hatch, there was, on the last day, a period in which Something Was Definitely Going on. At that point, B.E. had five chicks, several of which had not had water for five days -- because they hatched first.
B.E. was clearly -- clearly -- trying to figure out if it was time to up stakes and depart. Now I understand that the male is getting many many more signals from under him.
So, when the only eggs under him are not signalling, and he has thirsty anxious chicks about him, it's time to start The Big Journey.
Here is B.E. If you take a close look, you can see Ring-In the chick's head sticking out. This is my favourite photo of all. Second-last page of Mating-Season in Australia.
[Hello, dear Old-Timers!!]
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[Felicity away. Sassybird here and sassy. Wild pair, probably Spot and Spottina, got moved along by Sassy -- laundry-window observations!!]
