I've seen the cockatoos pull tail and wing feathers, though how much fun is involved depends entirely on whose feathers it is that are being pulled, I suspect, ha ha.
When the cat comes by and catches a pigeon there's often a tell tale small clump of breast feathers, and maybe, if I'm sharp of eye, I might find a wing feather or two close by.
This is, of course, not so with the falcon.
This morning's reminder that he too has offspring to feed, looks more like a sparrow sneezed, violently, and lost all it's feathers.
In essence, it did. I had no idea there were so many feathers on a sparrow.
In fact, two sparrows, as I discovered, as I walked through the garden.
He has been busy.
He's like those blokes who clean the fish they've caught, right there on the jetty; very practical, but not with an eye to keeping things tidy, ha ha.
As a result it's been one of those mornings where all it takes is for one galah to squeal, and take to the air, and everybody looks skywards.
Even the cockatoos.
And that's saying something.
This series of sparrows have small, shiny bronze feathers about half way up their wings.
At fairly regular intervals, new dominant marking characteristics arise.
One of the last series had a thin black collar, at the base of the throat, and cream throats, then there was a series who had almost orange brown flight feathers; the long ones on their wings.
I'm not exactly short of sparrows, and sparrows who are vigorous breeders, ha ha.
Naturally, it is a sad event to lose one.
It's not much far past midday, and even with the door closed I can hear the other sparrows noisily chirping and going about the business of being sparrows.
This is the characteristic of the Gatherers (to give them a more formal name), the sparrows; they gather the loose ends, the seeds, the crumbs, they keep the place tidy.
Except when the falcon comes for them, then I have sweeping to do, ha ha.
One day they will come to gather the loose ends of me, and take them away, but that's another story in itself, and there will be time for discussions of mythology another day.
🙂
