Comments | ahedonia: And if that mockingbird don't sing... good.

ahedonia

And if that mockingbird don't sing... good.

Apr 26, 2008 15:49

In the spring and summer in So Cal, we have the phenomenon of mockingbirds. These are birds that, in order to attract a mate, inexplicably imitate the songs of every other bird they've ever heard. (This always makes me think that if a mate does show up, she'll go "Wait, you're not a blue jay!" and leave immediately. Bait and switch, no truth in ( Read more... )

animals, burbank place, material?

Comments 7

(The comment has been removed)

ahedonia April 29 2008, 15:13:07 UTC

Okay, wait:

1. how long did you have to yell "HAW-haw!" at them before they learned;
2. how much do you think the neighbors objected to YOU yelling "HAW-haw" all the time, and
3. did the results of said tutoring ever start getting so annoying you wished you'd never done it?

(That said... still hilarious. How could it not be?)

pukajen April 27 2008, 01:29:02 UTC

Where a friend of mine got married in Austin, there were mockingbirds who unfortunately nested next to a fire station. Wanna guess at what kind of noise they made?

While it was vastly entertaining to me at the time, I'm guessing not so much so for the locals.

ahedonia April 29 2008, 15:09:31 UTC

While it was vastly entertaining to me at the time, I'm guessing not so much so for the locals.

"Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when YOU fall into an open sewer and DIE." - Mel Brooks

meridym April 27 2008, 19:53:27 UTC

Sounds like my experience with magpies. Oy, they are soooo frakking loud and obnoxious and territorial. They used to terrorize our big cat to the point that he'd cower in front of the door and beg to be let inside.

When we moved to Sacramento I was praying that there were no magpies within a 100-mile radius of my house. : ) So far I've lucked out. I've only seen mourning doves, California bluejays, sparrows, and swallows (go: Kill mosquitoes!!).

ahedonia April 29 2008, 14:59:38 UTC

I used to call mourning doves "Chinese Water Torture Birds." Because they'd do that little "coo-coo" thing at such a regular interval -- and occasionally just the slightest bit off-tempo, just to make you wait for it -- that having one outside your window also made you nuts. It's like "coo-coo" was a suggestion of where your brain should go.

boymaenad April 27 2008, 20:26:33 UTC

ha-ha!

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/108

ahedonia April 29 2008, 14:57:05 UTC

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/108

God, that was gorgeous!