Some things about the past are a bit obscure. In every single minute on this planet, billions of events are happening simultaneously. As such, it is surprising we know as much as we do.
But on this date, January 31, 1871, a blurb from our anal of history tells us that millions of birds flew over western San Francisco and completely darkened the sky. It also states that the sloop Eliza wrecked at Point Lobos. I can’t imagine that the two events were related, as Point Lobos is roughly a hundred miles south of San Francisco. Unless those birds flew that way. Regardless, it must have been enormous given its reference in history.
I like birds. I’m fond of chickens because of the whole egg thing. Though, as a bird, I don’t think they are quite as cute as those chicken-fanatics say. A farmy-type person once told me about brown and white eggs. A chicken with red earlobes will produce brown eggs, and a chicken with white earlobes will produce white eggs. I think they were jerking me around because, for the life of me, I couldn’t see that a chicken had ears, let alone earlobes.
Birds are among the most beautiful and bizarre creatures on Earth. All of them. There is a bird called the farting thrush, if that tells you anything. This world has a lot of birds — over 9000 species which inhabit nearly every piece of the globe.
For some reason, I always thought ostriches lived in Australia. But, wrong was me. They inhabit Africa these days. Not only are they the largest bird of all, they also have the largest eyes of any land animal. Including the wolf in Grandma’s bed. Those eyes are about the size of a billiard ball. Unfortunately for the ostrich, their eyes are bigger than their brains. I might know some land animals around here who share the same distinction.
On the other end of the scale are the small birds. Like the firecrest and the weebill. Of course, hummingbirds are the tiniest. Most hummingbirds weigh less than a nickel. The smallest of them is the bee hummingbird, and it weighs .005 ounces. You have to go to Cuba to meet one. The largest member of the hummingbird family should be called Brutus. But it is aptly named the giant hummingbird, weighing in at 0.8 ounces. They hail from Bolivia.
But what about the state bird of Ohio? Us and six other states claim the Cardinal as our bird. Illinois. Indiana. Kentucky. North Carolina. Virginia. West Virginia.
But here’s one thing about them that’s a little quirky. Cardinals like to cover themselves in ants. It appears that several other bird species do this too. They really get into it, smearing ants all over their feathers or allowing living ants to crawl on them. Scientists can’t say for sure why. I think it might tickle them and cause them to have a good Cardinal laugh. But researchers think the purpose of “anting” is for the bird to use the formic acid secreted during their ant bath to help get rid of lice and other parasites. I bet it tickles.
Finally. The message.
In ancient Greece, pigeons delivered the results of the Olympic games. I think it is an amazing fact about pigeons. But even way back then, people figured out how to enlist them to deliver messages, including important military information. And those pigeons kept up their good work for centuries. They were used as recently as World War II to carry select messages. Now. We have chat and email, and Instagram, and Twitter, and, and, and.
Getting back to the start of this. Birds can be a mystery. Like the ones who gathered in millions to fly over San Francisco that day. But don’t call them bird brains. I think there may be more to them than we’ll ever really know. Along with everything else in this world.
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“Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her; still, she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings.”
– Victor Hugo
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“The presence of a single bird can change everything for one who appreciates them.”
– Julie Zickefoose, ‘Saving Jemima: Life And Love With A Hard-Luck Jay’
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“In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence.”
– Robert Lynd
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The flying. It is overhead, for most.
