Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Bravely Facing the Mammalian Menace

Monday being my day off, I decided to hit the Bronx River Trailway, one of my favorite local parks. While walking around the Bronxville Pond, I saw this bold young critter:




This is a juvenile American robin (Turdus migratorius), its spotted breast, oversized noggin, and short feathers giving away its youth. For some reason, I think its stubby, insufficiently-fledged pygostyle to be exceedingly comical:




This little birdie held its ground while its parents foraged nearby for tasty invertebrates. It faced down the two-legged mammalian menace with considerable panache, even if its immature panache left something to be desired.

6 comments:

Smut Clyde said...

oversized noggin
You are a fine one to talk.

Unknown said...

You're lucky it was a robin.

With some types of birds, getting that close to a young'un would have gotten you dive bombed!

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

You are a fine one to talk.

Hey, now, it may be big, but it's proportional.

With some types of birds, getting that close to a young'un would have gotten you dive bombed!

I've never been mobbed like that, but I've heard horror stories about red-winged blackbirds.

Unknown said...

In downtown Houston, we have birds called grackles that dive bomb lawyers and oil men all of the time. My mother once got her glasses knocked off by one.

Those things are mean.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

My tripod was recently pooped on.

I AM INDIGNENT!
~

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

In downtown Houston, we have birds called grackles that dive bomb lawyers and oil men all of the time. My mother once got her glasses knocked off by one.

Grackles are pretty brassy. I've never been attacked by one, so the love affair isn't over.

My tripod was recently pooped on.

Passerine poops on paparazzo!