Can someone tell me what bird this is?
Fancy and I have been working our way through an 8-hour bird video for cats and she especially likes these handsome little guys. I can’t keep calling them LRBs (Little Red Bastards).
I do not know the bird but you remind me of my grandpa. He’s a birdwatcher and he calls all those interchangeable small brown species LBJs (Little Brown Jobs).
I understand that’s the technical term among birders! I’ve heard LBB as well, for Little Brown Bird, but I like Little Brown Jobbies best.
Also the bird is a Eurasian Jay! So handsome!
The Eurasian Jay is simply called the “Jay” by English speakers in Europe. They are a type of corvid, like crows and ravens and magpies, but Jays are quite shy. They are big and anxious, with soft fat bodies that blend in to their surroundings, apart from a sudden flash of blue when they fly. They hide quietly in deep trees, and are usually invisible. They love oak trees particularly, and they hoard acorns like squirrels. They are powerful planters of trees, and can carry acorns for great distances, with each bird able to plant hundreds of trees a year. They hate leaving trees and are basically NEVER seen outside of dense tree cover, so this is probably their attempt at conquering Eurasia by means of forests.
This may be surprising to people who know the Blue Jay. The Blue Jay is a North American bird and was named by colonists after the Jay, though they’re only distant cousins. (still corvids but not close relatives.) They’re a a Big Yeller and just…. very Much, all the time. They are smallish and made out of volume and boldness. They shout at cats and Start Shit and are very brave and clever. They don’t worry about trees half so much.
Tag: us vs uk
I felt like I needed to clarify some things before we could continue any more conversations on this godforsaken website.
I’m very proud of the European Robin, I think I really captured it.
ALSO A DADDY LONG LEGS is different in the UK vs USA. I learned that by arguing with some Brits because they said there was a daddy long legs on the wall, i looked and only saw an insect, argued with them all for 45 minutes until we all looked it up and saw that we were both correct.
British badger: jovial fellow, eats toast and jam. Might invite you in for a cuppa with the Mrs. Agricultural nuisance.
American badger: pallas cat of a wolverine. Very defensive. Fuck immediately off.
Bonus African badger: Silverback gorilla of mustelids. Should be a cryptid. Bro, don’t even. You are nothing to him.
an extremely good post addition