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Agreed. Life is a dangerous place in the world of birds.
Right now I am reading a nonfiction book, The Bird Way, by Jennifer Ackerman. This book delves deep into the complexities and contradictions of birds, highlighting the most extreme and bizarre behavior in birds. I haven’t gotten far in it yet, but it is definitely very well written.
While so far the author has discussed many types of birds, the eclectus parrots are very intriguing. The male is bright green (with perhaps a couple other bright colors, but I can’t remember) and the female is bright red with either blue or purple colors in addition (can’t remember whether it was purple or blue, sorry).
This is very ruthless, but apparently the female eclectus parrot, after within a few days, may kill all her male offspring. I know this sounds horrible, and I believe me it is, but I couldn’t help but wonder why. It doesn’t make much sense, but perhaps it may help make room for more females so more babies can be produced of their species… but that is only a possibility, I can’t really be sure why. Nevertheless, this is a very interesting book and I recommend it for any person interested in birds.
Random Stranger: "What do you want to do when you grow up?"
Me: "Write every inch of your future."@andrew Phoenixes seem to be cropping up more in recent years, which is cool. They have a lot of potential.
That sounds cool! So what is the bird society like, without the villain’s influence?
Speculative fiction author. Mythology nerd. Worldbuilding enthusiast. Singer. Fan of classic literature.
@andrew – Apologies for taking so long to respond.
Thank you!
I know this is a bit of an unfair response…but, my favorite non-fiction to write is anything that seems like it needs writing. Recently, that’s been martial arts. As a lifelong martial artist, I have a lot to explore in that field, and I’ve really enjoyed writing about it. I also really enjoy writing about writing itself.
That course looks pretty awesome. I looked up their website, and am wondering if you’re you getting college credit? Because that would be even more awesome.
Published author, student in writing, works with HazelGracePress.com
@andrew I read a very similar book by the same author! It’s called The Genuis of Birds, and it deals with the different forms of intelligence in birds. One of the things that I found very interesting was her point that humans tend to have a very limited view of intelligence. We tend to focus on Corvids, because their intelligence is the most similar to ours, and often overlook other bird species that demonstrate different forms of intelligence. I’ve never heard of eclectus parrots before – that’s incredibly sad, but also really interesting. Perhaps she does it to give her female offspring a better chance of survival? I know that a lot of birds only feed the chicks that are strong enough to fight for food, so maybe that’s her way of decreasing the competition 🙁 I don’t really know, though. Your guess is good as well! It seems like it would be counterproductive, but then again, I’m not an eclectus parrot. I’ve thought about buying the book before, but it’s so expensive (at least for me). I’ll keep it in mind, though. Thanks for the recommendation!
*laughs as one fey*
The society in this world, without the villain, is well, wild as the wild can be. Except the birds are very intelligent with certain beliefs. It is the villain who changes this, wishing for an empire that was “tame” and “domesticated” and “civilized” and most importantly, “controllable.” This villain arranges a world where everything is seemingly perfect, but it is this perfection that is an illusion. For example, in this perfect place “predation never occurs,” but really it does, just at night hours, and there are so many birds that no one seems to notice. This villain is encouraging unnatural behavior in the birds, twisting everything to create a nightmare of illusory.
Oh, martial arts is cool! Sounds like a great topic to write about!
Actually, I believe this coarse is worth some college credits. But I’m still debating whether I’ll attend college or not. I was planning on taking the career path of an entrepreneur (for example, beginning and owning a goldfish-specific retail store); unless the college I attend offers education on this particular career, I may or may not do college.
Random Stranger: "What do you want to do when you grow up?"
Me: "Write every inch of your future."Ooh, that sounds like it allows openings for some important themes. Very cool!
Speculative fiction author. Mythology nerd. Worldbuilding enthusiast. Singer. Fan of classic literature.
Thanks. I’m around no less than 20 pages into the novella. The name of this novella is A Crooked Reign in Paradise Island.
I’m just writing this for fun, but if I end up liking it so much that I publish it, I hope nobody cares that I may have shed some spoilers on the story in the discussion of this thread (if they intend to read it, but I’ll see).
Also, I just purchased yesterday night a book online, Flights of Fancy by Peter Tate, but I’m still waiting for it to arrive. So, that’ll be fun.
Yes, I agree some books are expensive. But I personally like to purchase used books (in excellent condition, of course); because why buy a book for $29.99 when you could get it for $4.99? The book offers the same content, except it is just a bit cheaper and most definitely a better deal! But that’s alright if you can’t afford that particular book. No pressure here.
Corvids and parrots (macaws in particular) have a reputation for being quite brainy birds, yes. But other birds are also intelligent, too, just in different ways. Lyrebirds can mimic a wide rang of sounds, even some sounds humans make. And others sound an alarm call so all other birds will flee and hide, so they can swoop down and enjoy a dinner that all the other birds were currently feeding on (yes, some birds are evil geniuses too!). Bird behavior is quite fascinating.
Random Stranger: "What do you want to do when you grow up?"
Me: "Write every inch of your future."Spoilers of yet-unpublished books aren’t uncommon in writing forums; I think most writer-readers understand and aren’t especially bothered by it. Just-for-fun books are great, though; I should write more of those, lol.
Oh, cool! I’d be curious to hear what you think of it when you’ve had the chance to read it. 🙂
Speculative fiction author. Mythology nerd. Worldbuilding enthusiast. Singer. Fan of classic literature.
Sure thing. I can let you know what I think of the book, but its estimated delivery is somewhere around two weeks from now. It’s hard telling when it will arrive sometimes. I have one book I purchased on fancy goldfish a couple weeks ago, but it still hasn’t arrived, but that’s probably because I purchased it used – there was no way I paying $203 dollars for that book, so I was able to get it for around $60 instead. Now I understand even $60 is still pretty expensive for a book, but considering how I was planning on beginning a cold water fish shop in the future, I wanted the best, most authoritative and informational book on fancy goldfish, so I could expand my knowledge on the science of ichthyology. I haven’t left the family house yet to venture out into the world on my own, but while I am where I am right now, I am preparing.
I may also write nonfiction part time, but I’ll see where life takes me from here on… for me, life can be pretty hard to predict. I am not the best at planning for the future, but at least I have a basic idea of where I want to be.
Random Stranger: "What do you want to do when you grow up?"
Me: "Write every inch of your future."Hello! I don’t think we’ve met, but I wanted to jump on here and say that I love animal nonfiction! I used to write articles about native wildlife for my local newspaper and I loved doing it. I wish I still had time. I’m also I’m a dog trainer, and I write heaps of things on training, behaviour and genetics!
It’s lovely to meet you 😀
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Well, it is nice to meet you.
That’s really cool you are a dog trainer. Are you selective in the dog breeds you work with or do you have a love for all dogs in general? What sparked your interest in training dogs?
I have had an array of pets in my past, but I never owned a dog personally… although my house does have a family dog. I used to have a hamster that was really crazy, but then (her name was Poppy) died all the sudden and I didn’t know why – I was taking really good care in cleaning the animal’s pen every week and replacing the shavings and cleaning everything. After that, I had my first fish tank, but after about a year all the fish contracted horrible diseases and died when I introduced a new fish (my mistake: failing to quarantine the new fish). After that I settled for hermit crabs, but while they were very interesting to watch at first, I grew bored of them and gave them and the whole terrarium to another family so they could have a turn enjoying them. It was then I decided on another fish tank, and this time the aquarium was a success. In fact, I now have two aquariums and all the fish are doing much better than the fish I had at first… I made a commitment to take better care of them and not let what happened to the inhabitants in my first fish tank happen to the fish I now have.
Random Stranger: "What do you want to do when you grow up?"
Me: "Write every inch of your future."Wow, that’s quite an array of animals! I really wanted guinea pigs and hermit crabs when I was little, but we ended up getting a dog and it was love at first sight for me. Since then, I’ve also got four horses and three more dogs. My first dog and my old horse died a few years ago, so currently I have three of each. My dream pet in the future is a parrot, either an Eclectus or African Grey. I also love fish! That’s so cool that you’ve had so much success with them. We’ve got some goldfish which we’ve had for a few years, though they’re my siblings and not mine. I love the look of aquariums and I can’t wait till I have enough space to get a really big one.
Good question about the dogs! I work with any and all dogs, but I do work for two dog rescues which means that almost all the dogs I end up working with are an Australian breed called Bull Arabs, or are deaf (sometimes both, since Bull Arabs are prone to deafness). I’ve always loved dogs, but I first got interested in becoming a dog trainer a few years ago when I adopted a dog who was very difficult and needed a lot of work. I did a course in dog training and got a certificate and here I am!
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Nice! I was curious what Bull Arabs looked like, so I googled them on my phone. I notice they come in a lot of color patterns, which is neat.
Just wondering, what kind of goldfish do your siblings have? Are they fancy goldfish, like one of those really bizarre varieties, or just common or comet goldfish? I have tropical fish, but no cold water fish – although I intend to have cold water fish, like goldfish, in the near future.
Random Stranger: "What do you want to do when you grow up?"
Me: "Write every inch of your future."@andrew Lyrebirds are so cool! I have a fun memory associated with the false alarms. We went camping in Northern Idaho last year, and our camp site was home to some very bold Canada Jays. We frequently saw them around the camping grounds, and sometimes they would perch in the trees right above us while we ate breakfast. We would also hear Red-tailed Hawks, but we never saw any. I’m pretty sure that the jays were mimicking the calls in order to scare off other birds! I had heard about Canada Jays doing that before, but it was so cool to see it in person! I’ve also heard that they sometimes eat from people’s hands, but ours weren’t quite that bold.
*laughs as one fey*
@andrew – Okay first off, taking the career path of an entrepreneur is awesome. College is cool, but what you’re talking about is an underrated way of going about life. In fact, that’s what I’m doing right now. Go for it, man. And yeah, martial arts is a lot of fun to write about. Probably harder to make a career out of than gold-fish, but my favorite.
Is a goldfish shop actually what you want to own, or was that just an example?
Also, @seekjustice, do you have any public written materials on dogs, behavior, and training? Or is it just personal writing? Because, I am totally down for reading that stuff.
Published author, student in writing, works with HazelGracePress.com
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