Bird Feeder

For most people living in western countries, the idea of being eaten by an animal is at once odd and scary, but generally considered the stuff of fantasy and horror films rather than reality. However, for some extinct human species, and even modern humans of the not-so-distant past, the prospect of being hunted, killed and eaten by wild predators was reality.

And it wasn't just bears, big cats, crocodiles or sharks doing the hunting and killing. At least three different predatory bird species are suspected to have fed upon humans.

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Text source.

The Birds

I have never known birds of different species to flock together. The very concept is unimaginable. Why, if that happened, we wouldn't stand a chance! How could we possibly hope to fight them?

Image by vermilionink.

'Scare' Indeed

Or just a brave bird.

The Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner

From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,

And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.

Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,

I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.

When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

Randall Jarrell 

Image by see_machine.

The Great Blue Heron

So I'm sitting on the couch this morning, computer to my left, big ol' Miss Mabel the cat on my lap, and I notice she's looking at something outside.  I turn to look at the window closest our driveway, and there's a giant whooping crane/pterodactyl sitting on the Honda's roof.  It spreads its massive wings and floats off.  I say "HOLY CRAP, MABEL! YOU SEE THAT?!" and she's looking back at me silently saying "YOU SEE THAT THING!" and we both turn to look out the window again.  She jumps down and starts nervously licking.

Then I wonder why something so huge was so close to the house.  And then I think about our fish pond (came with the house and was stocked when we bought the house four years ago).  I run outside and not one of our 15-20 fish is out there.  The pond is empty.

I had no idea this sort of thing could happen.

About this size.

Truce

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Ornithological

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My Destiny

I shall drink from Lethal Lake and have some man arrange my remains for his photo book.

Click below:

Thanks, Sara!

A Murder Of Crows

More at The Pineapple Room blog.

Porch Fowl

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Now Watching: Creepy Birds

Stick-Ons

countryliving.com

Cassowaries

Australians trying to rebuild in the wake of Cyclone Yasi have been warned to stay away from cassowaries – huge flightless birds with claws that can disembowel a human – on the hunt for food after their habitat was destroyed by the storm.


When I see stuff like this, I always wonder about the very first time a human came across a creature like this bird. The absolute LAST thing I'd be thinking if I saw a cassowary in a forest would be that it was about to clean my clock. And I'd proabably have a handful of seeds as a friendly gesture as it tore out my guts.

Thanks, Nature.

The article.

A video of the bird in action.

Flying

Image by sparth.

Wire

Unknown artist.