For Bird Lovers Only -- Linda, KEEP OUT!!!!!

[pat]

SG, maybe this link will shed some light on the subject:

http://www.learner.org/courses/essential/physicalsci/session6/closer1.html

[Steadyguy]

What a dozy man I am! The article is brilliant and explains it well. I was thinking of the six sides of the flake being a sort of 3-dimensional oblong but of course the six sides are on the flat and giving a hexagon of infinite variation.
Thanks again.

[rogue_mother]

RF and RD #2 each found this little film independently: http://www.wimp.com/experimentalband/. Those of you who like birds might enjoy it. If you are within easy traveling distance of the Barbican Centre, this and other works by the same filmmaker are on exhibit through most of May.

[smaug]

Loved it - thanks RM
Just incidentally the birds are Zebra Finches - aviary bred as there are mutations in colour, but an Aussie native

[birdy]

Hi Smaug, I recognized the zebra finches and noticed that some of them were a different color too, but was wondering where the film was likely to have been done.  Probably Australia then?  I have seen them in Hawaii - released birds, of course.  But these seemed to have been the dominant species in the area - I would have expected an intruder or two to add a grace note to the composition.

Loved the concept and will pass the site on to my birding friends, R-M!

[rogue_mother]

Birdy, the film is also currently accessible at the Barbican Centre website, where the exhibit (installation?) is taking place. At that site it was mentioned that the film was made in an aviary. Smaug was spot on. I gave a different link, though, as the one at Wimp.com is likely to be more permanent than the one at the Barbican Centre.

[birdy]

oh dear, the birder's myopeia!  I was concentrating so much on the birds that I ignored the background.

[smaug]

such pretty little things Birdy -why wouldnt you concentrate on them!
Thanks again RM
I am sure they are found in aviaries all over the world, like many Australian birds.

[birdy]

They're a popular cage bird here - that's why I was able to ID them when I first spotted them in Hawaii.

[smaug]

I hope they are not pests in Hawaii? Did you know that the macadamia nut - which I hear is a big industry in Hawaii is also an Australian 'escapee' ?
All this translocation of species is very interesting to me , of course it wouldnt happen the same way these days

[birdy]

I guess the theory is that most imports have a negative impact on the native bird population.  But I think most of the native birds at low altitude have already been killed off by avian malaria, and what's left are the hardier imported species.

Macadamia nuts - yummy!  I'm not sure if they were imported to Hawaii in large numbers before someone figured out how to make shelling them commercially feasible.  I went to a macadamia orchard - or is it a grove when it's for nuts, not fruit? - on Molokai years ago - very attractive trees, so maybe some were brought in as ornamentals.

When I was a kid, the only nut I liked was the peanut (I know, not really a nut) - the first real nut I learned to like was the macadamia.

[smaug]

They grow very easily from a seed but take a while to mature. My parents had one growing in the garden - they eventually get to very large proportions but are a very attractive tree.more  My sister lives in a more tropical zone and they are very plentiful up there so there is always a sackful arriving when the nuts are in season. It is an arduous task cracking them open, best done with two bricks!

I am home today Birdy and for some reason the  Grey Butcher Birds are quite vociferous. They have a beautiful melodic warble, so it is a joy to hear them. We call them butcher birds because they have the rather (to us humans) distasteful habit of pegging their prey onto a small branch and eating it from there e.g small lizards. insects. They are a very handsome bird and will become tame enough to knock at the window for a meat scrap I hope you can get onto this link - a serendipitous find and worth exploration  - do you know it Birdy?
http://www.xeno-canto.org/world/species.php?query=sp:15327.00
http://www.xeno-canto.org/

[birdy]

What a beautiful bird!  As you say, not a habit appealing to us humans, but that's nature for you.  I wonder if it's related to our shrikes, which have similar habits.  Our Northern Shrike (a.k.a.Great Grey Shrike)'s Latin name, Lanius excubitor, means Butcher Watchman.

I haven't figured out how to post photos here, but the Wikipedia article looked pretty good and had some pictures:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Grey_Shrike

[smaug]

You would have to say Birdy that they are extremely close in look and habit and must surely inhabit the same
place in the food chain. They have the same hooked beak did you notice?
Lovely things. Our Butcher birds have been warbling all day - I just love it

[birdy]

Yes, I'd noticed - there are quite a number of resemblances to our shrikes - coloring, hooked beak, food storage habits.  

This morning I listened to all the butcher bird songs on the site - when I tried late last night, I hadn't quite figured out how to open the songs - and you're right, they really are a joy to listen to.  There's so much variation!  It's very musical.  I like the echo effect too.  Your bird wins on singing ability - by a long shot!  I found a nice site with the song here:
http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/444/_/Northern_Shrike.aspx

Have you ever heard our veery's song?  It's described as sounding like a duet. It's not nearly as varied as the butcher bird, but it's one of my favorites.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Veery/lifehistory

I tried sending the URL to a friend who couldn't open it, so I googled and found this nice YouTube video (among many others).  I hadn't realized that the bird is a mimic. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZZbCwrCRfg&feature=related