Posts Tagged ‘birds’

Swallows nest in Japanese bathroom

A video clip of a bathroom in Saga Prefecture where swallows come to roost:

The swallows come twice a year to build nests and lay eggs, and the human family that owns the house is happy to host them. Interestingly, the video makes no mention of all the bird poop the humans no doubt have to clean up before bathing each day.

[from "Nanikore Chin Hakkei"]

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Chicken rides bicycle

A video clip of a pet chicken in Nagasaki Prefecture that enjoys riding on the handlebars of its master’s bicycle:

Pi-chan the chicken was purchased as a chick at a festival in Nagasaki, and has been a good friend to his master ever since. When they ride to the park, Pi-chan patiently waits on the bicycle while his master plays with friends.

[from ナニコレ珍百景]

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

North American Bird Makes Rare Appearance In Japan

A FTV report about the sighting of a bird that is rarely seen in Japan:

The bird in the video is a White-crowned Sparrow, which are native to Northern Canada and the Western United States. There have only been 7 recorded sightings of White-crowned Sparrows in Japan, and this is the first time one has been seen on the island of Shikoku. The bird’s summer plumage is now visible, so observers expect that it will soon fly north and return to its home.

According to Wikipedia, this isn’t the first case of a White-crowned Sparrow migrating far from its natural breeding habitat. Vagrant White-crowned Sparrows have sometimes made their way to England and Ireland.

A Friendly Pelican

A news report about Gori, a Pelican at a park in Shimane that loves to sit on the shoulder of Sato, one of the park’s employees:

A brief summary:

• Gori was abandoned by his parents, so Sato ended up feeding and raising the bird. He thinks that Gori may regard him as a parent.
• Gori likes to play with Sato’s ID card. He also likes to play with Sato, which involves lots of beaking. Sato says that Gori does not clamp down strongly with his beak, so it usually does not hurt. However, when Gori tries to do groom Sato’s hair, it can bit slightly painful.
• At one point, Gori starts moving around on the Sato’s shoulders. Sato tells Gori that he’ll be really angry if Gori takes a poop on him! [The clip then cuts away.]
• Gori sometimes becomes jealous and angry when other people get close to Sato.
• Gori was born last June, and has since grown to a weight of 12 kilograms and a length of 1.15 meters. His wingspan is about 3 meters. He eats about 3 kilograms of food a day, and is expected to grow larger.

If you’re interested in visiting Gori, he can be found at Matsue Vogel Park in Shimane Prefecture.

[The park has an English homepage, but it has a lot of very strange machine-translated sentences. Maybe somebody out near Shimane should offer to a new translation?]

Kyoto Geisha Facing Bird Poop Terror

Kyoto’s most well-known geisha district, Gion, is facing a major problem: poop attacks! Here’s a hard-hitting news report on what’s going on:

Summary:

• As a few geisha are commenting on how one must be careful walking on the streets, a young man is suddenly hit by bird poop! The white bird feces stains his dark-colored jacket. While he tries in vain to wipe the crap off his shirt, poop falls in another location within feet of the cameraman.
• The source of the poop is revealed: crows! A sizable murder of crows is perched along the power lines on the street, regularly dropping feces.
• During daylight the crows usually spend their time elsewhere, but as soon as it becomes dark, they flock to Gion. They indiscriminately poop on sidewalks, buildings, cars, and people.
• Some locals have found that making loud noises can scare off the birds, but the birds will always return within a few hours.
• A bird expert believes that the crows come to Gion because they are young. Older crows usually avoid resting in cities, but this group does not fear humans and is used to living in busy areas. There is also plenty of food to be found in the morning when the humans put out their trash.

Will Gion be able to drive off these party poopers? Only time will tell…

Dumb Pheasant Attacks Reflection

Video from Yamaguchi Prefecture of a pheasant that attacks the reflection of itself it sees in an old bathtub:

The epic battle has been going on since February of last year, and is expected to continue.