- Nov 9, 2013
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Haven't done this in years!!
It's the eleventh fig season here.
The ground shows how hungry the critters are. The kangaroos are eating dried leaves off the ground.
Now, Felicity the Emu and her consort-in-training, 'Groestl,' just snapped into action as a team for the first time. This suggests that Groestl might 'stick.' Last year, 'Handsome Eddie' did not.
So, one hears Felicity vocalising in a manner that tells you that wild emus are present. I go to look. See the 'flaring'? That's both vocal sac and flared feathers. And also the walkin'-sideways boogie:
And off-camera, Groestl, the consort, is also flarin' up. He will, as the conflicts intensify (and presuming he makes the grade as consort . . . ) work increasingly aggressively with Felicity.
Next: Felicity is on the case, approaching the alien:
Now, all this stuff looks cutesie . . . unless you're half starved. I've seen this same bird, Felicity, come home with a hole punched in her chest, bleeding from neck to toes, from these sorts of territorial stoushes. I've seen Greedy singlehandedly attack and drive of fourteen interlopers. I've seen Felicity do it with six.
Next, the wild bird retreats. Thirty yards. This is gonna go on for six weeks:
Next we see Groestl advancing behind/on Felicity's flank. He's got a bit of flare happenin'. [Bad photos. Sorry -- but you can see his distinguishing feature, a sort of 'black neck-sock' of black feathers.]
Finally, the chicks -- four feet tall, but still juveniles -- watch from nearby:
For newcomers, this is Planet Rothschildi: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/planet-rothschildi.714603/
It's the eleventh fig season here.
The ground shows how hungry the critters are. The kangaroos are eating dried leaves off the ground.
Now, Felicity the Emu and her consort-in-training, 'Groestl,' just snapped into action as a team for the first time. This suggests that Groestl might 'stick.' Last year, 'Handsome Eddie' did not.
So, one hears Felicity vocalising in a manner that tells you that wild emus are present. I go to look. See the 'flaring'? That's both vocal sac and flared feathers. And also the walkin'-sideways boogie:
And off-camera, Groestl, the consort, is also flarin' up. He will, as the conflicts intensify (and presuming he makes the grade as consort . . . ) work increasingly aggressively with Felicity.
Next: Felicity is on the case, approaching the alien:
Now, all this stuff looks cutesie . . . unless you're half starved. I've seen this same bird, Felicity, come home with a hole punched in her chest, bleeding from neck to toes, from these sorts of territorial stoushes. I've seen Greedy singlehandedly attack and drive of fourteen interlopers. I've seen Felicity do it with six.
Next, the wild bird retreats. Thirty yards. This is gonna go on for six weeks:
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