Avian nominative bathos
Here in Australia, we’re famous for giving things, places and creatures goofy names.
I mean, just pick one letter. Wagga Wagga. Wallabies. The Wollemi Pine. Wollongong.
(And when Monty Python did their sketch about the Bruces from the University of Woolloomooloo, Australia, the silly-named place they chose was actually not some tiny town in the boondocks, but a spot in the middle of Sydney.)
So, when a rather rotund bird I’d not previously seen showed up at our feeding table, I was optimistic.
Surely, this plump creature with its habit of thrusting out its neck comically would have a ridiculous name.
Could it, perhaps, be a Wonga Pigeon?
Wait - perhaps it was a Wompoo Fruit-Dove!
But then I found out that this white-headed pigeon is actually… a White-headed Pigeon.
Oh well. Can’t win ‘em all.
Remember that you can call Wagga Wagga Wagga, but you can't call Woy Woy Woy.
Comment by tgdavies — November 29, 2007 @ 8:00 pm
Don't feel too bad - I would have been quite impressed if it had been either of those two W birds.
Wongas are a cute, dumpy little Pigeon. They're also notoriously hard to get a good photo of, because they never bloody stop walking.
I was also pretty lucky to spot a pretty Wompoo on my travels. It's disguised in the middle of that photo (I didn't have a zoom lens at the time), and I never would have seen it if it hadn't been making its distinctive Wompoo-like call at the time.
Here endeth the link farming. :)
Comment by Mark Cocquio — November 30, 2007 @ 7:51 am
I reckon its very cruel to flaunt all this birdlife right in front of your feline friends....
Comment by GeeJay — November 30, 2007 @ 3:28 pm
The cats actually treat it more or less like TV. Sometimes they're all excited and making little noises at the window, but a few minutes later they're doing something else.
Comment by Daniel Rutter — November 30, 2007 @ 4:06 pm
@ tgdavies- Spike Milligan?
Comment by RichVR — December 1, 2007 @ 7:06 am