Could you Bird the 12 Days of Christmas?

It's always been an interesting quirk to me that the 12 Days of Christmas (abbreviated hereafter as Xmas, in line with personal tradition) is so bird-heavy. I mean, aside from those rings (the real thing everyone wants), it's all birds or weird performers. I don't know how I would even deal with eleven pipers piping at me. But anyway, I think it's a fairly short leap from that realization to wondering how likely it is to actually see all those birds oneself. At least for birders, who are naturally competitive and achievement-oriented types. So could you or I get all those birds? And if so, where? Could we do it on Xmas? We're going to attempt to answer that question today. First, let's define our birds.

Seven Swans a Swimming

We don't have a lot to work with here as far as identifying the swans, since all we know about them is that they're swimming, which all swans do. Fortunately, there are basically only 6 types of swans: Black, Black-necked, Mute, Trumpeter, Whooper, and Tundra. Swans can live most places, but they aren't generally equatorial birds, meaning we can eliminate the most of the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Central America. Furthermore, you are unlikely to be able to complete the Xmas birding challenge if you are in Africa. We've made some progress, but that's still a lot of ground to cover.

Six Geese a Laying

These are probably domestic Geese, since they are given the designation of 'laying'. Unfortunately, this means they could be almost anywhere. Fortunately, this means it should be pretty easy to find 6 of them. While I will generally try to only count birds in their native habitat, even this degree of nit-picking will not help up, since Geese occur naturally almost everywhere. The consensus best goose for laying is the China Goose, so maybe we're talking about Asia here. Let's keep going.

Four Cally Birds



Yes, I said 'cally birds'. I am assured by multiple internet sources that these aren't 'calling' birds as I have always assumed. And we might finally have our big break in the case, since a Cally Bird is unambiguously an anachronistic name for a member of the Thrush family called (ironically) the Common Blackbird. Coal-y bird. Get it? Anyway, they're native to most of Europe and have a sizable population in Southeast Australia and New Zealand. Now we're getting somewhere!

Three French Hens



Sigh, another domestic bird.. You can find domestic female chickens that originated in France anywhere in the world, as evidenced by this handy list of French Chicken Breeds. But let me make a supposition here. Would you really call it a French Hen if you were in France? Like, in that case, it would just be a Hen, right? Not the strongest evidence, but it could be a tie-breaker.

Two Turtle Doves

pictured above: Not a Turtle Dove (a Collared Dove)

Turtle Doves. Finally, someone has something specific to say. While Turtle Dove can sometimes refer to the whole family of Collared Doves, there's not a reason to be broad when what we want is specificity. There are 4 birds with Turtle Dove in their name, and fortunately 3 of them are ruled out by their ranges. Our also-rans, by the way, are the Oriental Turtle Dove (most of Asia), Dusky Turtle Dove and Adamawa Turtle Dove (both African). The one we're looking for is the European Turtle Dove. They live throughout Europe in fairly high numbers, as long as you don't go too far north.

A Partridge

Oh god, there are 56 types of partridge. They live on grasslands throughout Eurasia, and I've been able to verify that you're going to find partridges just about anywhere we've already got on our shortlist. Between the Grey and Red-legged varieties, you'll be able to find a partridge anywhere in Europe.

The Pear Tree

Finding the partridge in a pear tree might be a little more difficult, but pears grow just about everywhere we're already considering. If you really want to play the odds though, you'll want to go to Spain, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, or Austria. These are the big pear-producing regions of
Europe.




So could you bird all the birds in the 12 Days of Xmas? It seems like you definitely could, as long as you live in Central Europe (or even parts of Turkey). However, given that the origin of this Xmas carol is 1780's England and France, we can confirm that you could do this birding challenge in the song's country of origin. If you really want to maximize your odds, we can combine our pear data with our bird data, and come to the conclusion that Belgium is your best bet. Big shout-outs to the IUCN Red List website for its unparalleled animal range data. Merry Xmas everyone, and may all your presents be bird-related again.

Revisiting the Turkey

My first portrait of a Turkey is from very early on in this blog's lifetime, 2012 to be exact. Back then I described the Turkey as a haughty blowhard and an awful dinner guest. I still sort of feel this way, and get the sense that I'm not alone in my interpretation of the bird. Why is the Turkey a disliked bird? Maybe it's that many people have had personal negative experiences with Turkeys (being attacked by them is not uncommon in some parts of America). Maybe we need to malign them to separate ourselves from the guilt we feel (subliminally or consciously) for farming them and eating them. Maybe we resent them for encroaching on human territory in an unapologetic and successful way (we also treat pigeons with scorn for doing the same). Today I'm going to focus on a different, more positive interpretation of the Turkey- with some Turkey quotes from my favorite website and yours, backyardchickens.com

"i have a tom who just follows me around like a puppy and he is the nicest turkey ever."

"i got a red bourbon hen about a month ago at auction and she is so sweet she doesnt exactly run up to you she just kind of stays out of your way but she will sit there and talk to you."

"Pros: sweet, docile, and good looking

Cons: none"

"never actually flogged me"

"We named all of our turkeys this year for dragons, so his name, due to respiratory issues, is Puff the Magic"

"In the video is my Royal Palm tom, Gerald, walking in his harness and leash. I have taken him to the pet store, to 4-H meetings and just down the road. Very friendly and easily trained to do about anything." 

And if that's not enough to convince you to take a second look at your Turkey bias, maybe a quote from one of our nation's founders will. Benjamin Franklin's  antipathy toward the Bald Eagle is well documented on this blog, as is his preference for the Turkey. Here is his justification from a letter to his daughter.

There you have it bird fans, if Ben Franklin can love the Turkey for its positive qualities, maybe we can learn to as well. With a perspective, The Amateurnithologist. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Razorbill / Great Auk Talk

Razorbill
Bird Islands, Nova Scotia, Canada
Member of the Auks, Murres, and Puffins Family
§A Strop of Razorbills§

~true bird fact~
Hide the babies and the grandmas, unless it's a sassy grandma who raps or something. This bird loves sex. Razorbills are one of those famous monogamous type birds who picks a partner and then sticks together. Sounds charming and quaint, right? Well, let's just say they the fire doesn't go out for our Razorbill couple. Quoth Wikipedia- "The pair will mate up to 80 times in a 30 day period to ensure fertilization". Sure Razorbill, to ensure fertilization, that's what you're having all that sex for.
 

As long time readers know, one of my jobs as amateurnithologist is to come up with imagined personality traits for birds. These ideas are usually snap judgements, vaguely impressions gained from spending time around the bird, or conclusions I come to based on a highly dangerous and mystical mind-melding techniques. Sometimes, however, your opinion of a bird changes based on your research. To be honest, I never would have pegged Razorbills as enthusiastic lovers. They seem more like fighters to me. Maybe it's the name (and it is probably the most bad ass name among birds), or maybe it's that their closest relative is the extinct Greak Auk. Since I'm not so sure about Razorbill's personality anymore let's talk about his ancestor instead.

John Gerrard Keulemans, Wikipedia.org. Public Domain

This impressive bird was the northern hemisphere's convergent evolution of penguins. Almost three feet tall and with a razor sharp bill almost as long his wings, this flightless bird cut quite an imposing figure. Of course not imposing enough to avoid being hunted to death by explorers. They were used extensively for their meat, their feathers, and as kindling for fires (no kidding, their flesh was oily enough that it was the only source of long burning fuel in places that were too far north to have trees). As Great Auk supplies dwindled, the demand for them and their extraordinarily large eggs only increased with wealthy Europeans. One was killed in England by sailors who thought the bird was a witch in disguise.
The final nail was driven into their coffin when a previously unreachable colony in Iceland was discovered. Ironically, museums who wanted specimens for preservation were responsible for killing the last birds in 1844. They were strangled to death, because the Great Auk as a species apparently hadn't been through enough already. I always hold out hope that extinctions like this turn out to be false, like the miraculous Coelacanth. They are, after all, sea birds, and if there's one place we perhaps haven't explored perfectly it's the Arctic Ocean. A report of a sighting in 1858 holds out a little hope for this kind of thing. Like his contemporary, the Dodo, the Great Auk has gained a place in culture as one of the few birds we've really gotten to see go extinct. Great Auk regret is a fairly common theme in literature, and wikipedia lists a number of depressing sounding children's books especially on the topic.

We'll close with an Ogden Nash poem about the bird

A Caution to Everybody

Consider the auk;

Becoming extinct because he forgot how to fly, and could only walk.

Consider man, who may well become extinct

Because he forgot how to walk and learned how to fly before he thinked.

Great Black-backed Gull

A lot of people say to me "Amateurnithologist, huh? Maybe you should change your name since you're such a bird expert now!" Then they usually take my lunch and shove me into a locker, because the world is filled with mean bullies. On the other hand though, I can see the point they're trying to make. I have gotten better at this birding thing. I mean, probably, right? I'm correctly identifying more birds in the field, people are asking me bird related questions in my real life, and I recently got accepted into an awesome bird picture calendar. But something still nags at me, keeping me from saying I'm truly a moderately-well-versed-nithologist. If I want to figure out if I've really gotten better, I'll need a rematch with my old foe, seagulls. For a brief perusal of my embarrassing history with seagulls, click here, here, and definitely here. Ok, that was demoralizing, but let's give it a try~



Great Black-backed Gull
Bird Island, Nova Scotia, Canada
Member of the Gull Family
★Largest Gull★
§A Flotilla of Gulls§

~real bird quote~
"While cruising along the bleak and barren coasts of southern Labrador I learned to know and admire this magnificent gull, as we saw it sailing on its powerful wings high above the desolate crags and rocky islets of that forbidding shore, its chosen summer home. Its resemblance to the bald eagle was striking, as it soared aloft and wheeled in great circles, showing its broad black back and wings in sharp contrast with its snow-white head and tail, glistening in the sunlight. It surely seemed to be a king among the gulls, a merciless tyrant over its fellows, the largest and strongest of its tribe. No weaker gull dared to intrude upon its feudal domain; the islet it had chosen for its home was deserted and shunned by other less aggressive waterfowl, for no other nest was safe about the castle of this robber baron, only the eider duck being strong enough to defend its young."
-Arthur Cleveland Bent, Life Histories of North American Gulls and Terns, 1921

~true bird fact~ It's true, what Arthur Bent said up there. The Great Black-backed is a tough bird. Here is a *not great* image I captured of him chasing away the notoriously chicken Bald Eagle. This was a behavior I observed many times on my birding trips. This bird fears nothing, is huge (5 foot wingspan), and has been known to swallow up smaller gulls and puffins (no!) in one bite. Well, he fears nothing except the most deadly animal of all (turns out its man). In the 1800's Black-backed gull feathers were considered extremely fashionable, and so the gull was hunted to the point of serious population depletion. After the feather trade ended in the 1900's, the population recovered, thanks in large part to the expansion of garbage dumps that gulls could easily feed at.

Exactly as tough as everyone thinks he is
Had a bad childhood. Doesn't know any other way to do things

Has a menacing calm to him

Just a real bad dude with real bad 'tude overall

Makes an example of those who get in his way

 /!\ Trigger Warning: Dead Bird /!\

Bald Eagle & Family

 

The Bald Eagle. Majestic Bird of Prey. Powerful Symbol. Doting Parent? 

Yes to all of the above.

The pictures in this blog were taken at the Bird Islands on the Northern Coast of Nova Scotia. These small islands are something of a haven for all manner of sea birds to breed, since they have no terrestrial predators on them. Of course this also makes the island perfect for birds of prey. Every year Bald Eagles take their juvenile offspring to these islands to teach them how to hunt. Sorry puffins.

I know you want to see that in .gif form, so click here. What an impressive sight!

Here you can see the adult and juvenile in one of the sea caves ringing the island, perhaps on the lookout for the next opportunity, or maybe just doing some parent-child bonding. Bald Eagle can't help but wonder what will become of their once close bond as his child gets older and seemingly more distant. And yet he sees in him such potential, feels such pride. It is a time of many confusing emotions. Also, his kid is a dumb idiot who doesn't know how to do anything, like all teenagers. Life is rough for Bald Eagle. Why else would he be losing his hair like that?

Bald Eagles, Adult

Bird Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

Member of the Kites, Eagles, and Hawks family
★National Bird of the United States of America★
§A Jubilee of Eagles§

~true bird fact~ Not quite the brutally efficient hunters they might appear to be, the Bald Eagle is kind of a baby. He gets easily scared away by smaller birds, and your amateurnithologist witnessed him getting harassed by seagulls on this very expedition, which is not something you live down easily.  Furthermore, Bald Eagles often get their food more through cooperation with each other, or by harassing other raptors into dropping their newly caught prey. It is because of these characteristics that Benjamin Franklin did not want this bird to become our national symbol, famously preferring the Turkey. Here, have ye a quote "For my own part, I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. … Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District.”

A real neurotic. Second guesses everything

Channels frustration about home life into being a real dick at work

Uses political clout to get his kid out of trouble

Has Opinions about Taxes

 

Bald Eagle, Juvenile

Doesn't want to be like you, dad, GOD!

Wanderlust

Doesn't think about other people's feelings

Makes real efforts to be open to new experiences, but is secretly terrified

Actually pretty similar in character to his dad, deep down