The Flirt

As you know, Geoffrey and Jary are both wooing me, and declare their love daily. I am flattered, but I'm just not ready to settle down yet. I'm too young for the responsibility of taking care of eggs and sitting on a nest. I want to have fun! It's fun to be told you are beautiful, and I have to laugh when G and J peck at each other and squawk. They both keep one eye on me the whole time! They never compete with me at the seed dish, and they let me have whatever perch I want. I can nip at them whenever they get annoying, and they don't retaliate. I better enjoy this while I can--youth doesn't last forever!
Jay-Jay

Beak and Claw

Along with feathered wings, (and laying eggs, of course) the beak and claw make the bird! We assiduously avoid claw and nail clipping. The older female human would be the one to do it, and we emphatically don't trust her manicure skills. To wear down claws we recommend the use of a concrete perch, and we have a nifty little mineral block "banana" for beak control. We also like to gnaw on the edge of our wooden play gym, and last summer we enjoyed destroying the bulletin board. Beaks are excellent tools, and can be used to perform very delicate tasks--we can break open tiny seeds, preen around a friend's eyes, even gently remove hang-nails from the human finger. Yet, a good beak can completely destroy a basket-weave nest over the course of a boring afternoon, or give a well-deserved, and informative bite to a importunate human!
Geoffrey

For Jay-Jay

You are my pretty pretty!
You are my sweetie sweet!
My feathered breast is always true,
Although you bite my feet.

I'll save my millet for you.
I'll let you have my swing.
For my fierce but lovely keet-hen
I'd give up anything!

Sit beside me on our perch
I'll chirp love in your ear.
Let's make our nest together,
Each the other's dear!

Faithfully,
Jary

Birdwatching 4

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
(PGC Photo/Hal Korber @ www.pgc.state.pa.us)

There has been a skunk walking along the fence line at night. The German shepherd next door is just beside himself with rage and anxiety. At about 3 am we have been hearing the "Whoo, Whoo....Whoo" of a great horned owl. Two nights ago there was a scream--silence--then a self-satisfied "Whoo, Whoo..." It makes our blood run cold...
Geoffrey

Jary To Furby

Hey!
I heard you gave our older human female a nip on the chin while she was visiting this weekend. She was restraining you? You go, girl! Just don't kill and eat any birds--except grackles and starlings. Eat as many of them as you can.
We're cool!
Jary, et al.

Un"fur"ly Treated

Geoffrey;
I am insulted! Such name-calling! The pot calling the kettle black! A few observations....

1. Last time I checked, certain BIRDS (hawks, owls, eagles, falcons, etc.) eat chipmunks, mice, shrews, rabbits, and other birds! The larger ones would probably eat a cat if they could catch one and carry it off. They don't even get acquainted first as cats do; they just strike, piercing their victim with sharp talons. Since you like poetry, I once heard one in blank verse that included the line, "The hawk is the cat of the air." So there!

2. Your humans eat chickens and turkeys, don't they? Those are birds! Yet you still seem to count your humans among your "friends." I recently overheard that the older female and male in your household served duck when they got married. They also eat cows, fish, and pigs. You seem to be able to overlook that!

3. I have never, ever eaten a bird, or a chipmunk, or anything other than my kibble, water, and some very nice canned salmon juice the mother two-legger gave me a week ago.

4. I like to play with the animals around the yard. Unfortunately, I sometimes overwhelm my smaller playmates when the play gets boisterous. An unfortunate accident of that sort occurred just the other day. I was playing tag with a small shrew, and unfortunately I tagged it too hard. I patted the body gently, hoping to rouse it, but it would not move again. The mother two-legger took the body away. It was sad. I shall have to be more careful.

5. I give my two-leggers lots of amusement and keep their feet warm at night.

Indignantly,
Furby

Jary's Assessment of the Situation....

She loves ME, man! Give it up.
Jary

Love Triangle

I am very busy just now, trying to convince Jay-Jay to love me. She would pay more attention if Jary would just absent himself from the cage for awhile. He is a belligerent popinjay--and I don't see how any discerning hen could find him attractive. I tried to tell him so this morning, with a few judicious squawks and bites, but the older female human separated us and put Jay-Jay into the other cage for awhile. She is imprisoned, and I tried to tell her how to get out, but she can't lift the little door and step outside at the same time. I also suspect she finds Jary somewhat interesting--the loud, aggressive types often seem so to the inexperienced female. But true love will win out in the end--so I soldier on....
Geoffrey

RE: Snide Comments about my Haiku

Hey Guys:
There have been some comments about my preening haiku.
If you think a haiku has to be "5,7,5", you need to know that real experts are doing "3,5,3".
If you can do better, prove it!
Jary

Preening Haiku

Each feather
Must be smooth--arranged
With sharp beak.

Jary

Betrayed! By a Cat!

The scales have fallen from my eyes. Birds and cats cannot get along! Furby is not what she seems, and my gesture of friendship was clearly directed to an unworthy object. Her last post proves that she is black at heart. Cats only want one thing--an easy meal. Birds are far superior to cats! We don't claw upholstered furniture, get into bed with the flightless ones at 3 am, and leave allergy-inducing dander over every surface. We are sincerely affectionate, infinitely more beautiful, will respond to commands ("Step up!"), and keep to our cage at night. Let's have no more of this mealy-mouthed business about our "making a mess"! What's a few seeds and feathers on the floor around the cage, compared to an selfish feline who'd pull the family dinner entree off the top of the kitchen counter and then pretend not to know who did it!? Frankly, I believe the old tales about stealing the breath from babies! Have you ever seen the look on their faces when they see a human toddler?
Indignantly,
Geoffrey

The Intellectual Link between Birds and Humans

"Science" is becoming my favorite magazine. Just saw this letter of interest yesterday (Gess, A., Birds Like Music, Too. Science, 317: 1864 (2007). Apparently, although chimpanzees seem "unresponsive" to music, birds have been scientifically shown to prefer the works of Bach and Vivaldi over that of "dissonant" composers, or even silence! We much prefer piano, flute and violin to hip-hop, so we feel this is a very accurate and insightful letter.
Geoffrey

Chipmunk and Cat Interactions

Salutations, my feathered friends!

I hope that you are in good health. I have been spending quite a bit of time outdoors in this beautiful October weather. I enjoy watching the leaves drift to the ground.

There is a nut tree in the yard below, and the squirrels and chipmunks have been so busy there. They never seem to rest! One chipmunk ran across the porch where I sat, and so I was able to persuade it to take a break.

We played tag for a bit, and then needed a rest. We had just settled down paw-to-paw to get better acquainted, when the mother two-legger came out, probably to investigate the noise made by a watering can that fell over during the game of tag. She must have something against chipmunks, because she rudely pulled me up into the air by the middle, with my paws dangling, and roughly deposited me around the side of the house! When I got back, she was wielding the broom, and my little friend was scurrying into the ivy. I waited for quite some time, but she must have thoroughly terrified that chipmunk, because it never came back.

I've heard of parents who ruin their children's social lives. She must be one of those and wants to monitor my friends, too! Thankfully, I have your friendship at least.

Toodaloo!
Furby

Birdwatching 3

(PGC photo/Joe Kosack @ www.ggc.state.pa.us)

The Ruby Throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) have gone for the year, I think. I'll miss them. They look more like really big bees than birds! I've tried the trick they have of "flying in place", but I can keep it up for only a few seconds. I enjoyed watching them through the window at the coral bells. They also liked the bee balm, the licorice mint, the cardinal flower and the cuphea. The humans never realized that the nest was in the Bradford pear tree next to the street. One evening, the Mr. almost slammed into the older female (who was porch sitting) on his way to the cuphea. She was surprised, but he was really appalled! Hope they have a good vacation in Central America over the next few months.
Jay-Jay

Now THIS is Real Poetry!

I can't stand it anymore--the jangling drivel that Jary and my sub-editor offer as poetry! The last one reminded me of the work of Edgar A. Guest. In defense of my intellect, I offer this--a real poem!
Geoffrey

The Bird With The Coppery, Keen Claws

By: Wallace Stevens

Above the forest of the parakeets,
A parakeet of parakeets prevails,
A pip of life amid a mort of tails.

(The rudiments of tropics are around,
Aloe of ivory, pear of rusty rind.)
His lids are white because his eyes are blind.

He is not paradise of parakeets,
Of his gold ether, golden alguazil,
Except because he broods there and is still.

Panache upon panache, his tails deploy
Upward and outward, in green-vented forms,
His tip a drop of water full of storms.

But though the turbulent tinges undulate
As his pure intellect applies its laws,
He moves not on his coppery, keen claws.

He munches a dry shell while he exerts
His will, yet never ceases, perfect cock,
To flare, in the sun-pallor of his rock.

Feathered Velociraptor?

This morning, I read with great interest a brief article in Science (Turner, et al, 317: 1721, 2007) demonstrating that the Velociraptor had bony "quill knobs" on its ulna that suggest the presence of secondary feathers. Velociraptor did not fly, of course, but the authors indicate that the feathers could have been used for display, or to give "lift" while running downhill. Here is the link: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/317/5845/1721.
We have discussed the article in our ad hoc journal club, and feel certain that the feathers probably were very like ours in color and marking!
Geoffrey

For Furby

Dear Furby:
I have read your last two letters with interest. You must not be offended by the rabbit. He takes your intentions at face value--it would normally be very dangerous if he stayed to talk with you. On the surface, he cannot discern that you have liberal lapinarian beliefs. Most rabbits are very jumpy, anyway.

I am very sympathetic about your objection to being dressed in a cheerleader outfit. The youngest female here insists that we want to be dressed in "costumes" for Halloween. Little doll hats, or a piece of Kleenex with eyes cut out.... Why she thinks this is beyond us! Probably because she wants it to be so! I hope a similar idea is not forming in the minds of your younger two-leggers. If you see any evidence of it, I'd recommend hiding beneath the largest bed on October 30th, and staying there until November 1st. You could come out for meals in the wee hours.

In solidarity,
Geoffrey

Furby and a Houseplant

Dear Feathered Friends:

I commiserate with you on being accused of doing damage to the master bedroom. I've been falsely accused of messing up the answering machine. They assumed that the welcome message was erased because I jumped up on the bookcase top where the telephone is kept and walked on the controls. I do jump up there as a stepping stone to the window, but I was not to blame for the technological problems. They rigged up a shelf over the phone to keep me off it, and I was exonerated when the same thing happened again. Now they blame it on power surges.

But, I have knocked over a plant on that bookshelf. All the dirt fell into a box that held bicycle helmets. The mother two-legger took it well. She didn't yell at all. She threw the plant away, and had the oldest girl clean out the box and helmets. I think I may have given the mother an excuse to get rid of the plant. If not, at least she likes me better than it!

By the way, do you have rabbits where you live? There was one in the yard last night. I started out to say "hello," but was brought up short by my lead. The rabbit seemed very unfriendly, running away like he did, without any acknowledgement of my existance!

Enjoy your millet!
Furby