Sunday, September 7, 2014

Chupacabra Sighting

Tonight, as a nearly full moon was climbing the celestial vault, and the setting sun painted the western welkin a lovely orange, I had a rare treat... I saw a chupacabra. No, this wasn't the chupacabra of urban legend, but a real old-school goatsucker... and no, it wasn't Mickey Kaus.

In the deepening twilight, I had the pleasure of seeing two common nighthawks (Chordeiles minor) in flight. These birds are easily identified (if rarely seen) by long, narrow wings, each marked with a large white patch. They are very graceful in flight- more aerobatic than a jay or a crow, but less than a swift or a swallow- as an aside, my mind was damn near blown the day I learned that the swifts and swallows are not-closely related... this is a really beautiful example of convergent evolution. The nightjars have a feeding style similar to that of the swifts and swallows (and bats)- snapping up insects on the wing. Their aerial dance was something to behold.

3 comments:

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

They are pretty cool birds. Imagine just nesting on the open ground, and relying on camoflage?
~

Pupienus Maximus said...

When I saw 1/4 pound mixed pork offal such as kidney, liver, or tripe, chopped by hand into pieces no larger than 1/4-inch (see note above)
in the ingredients column I figured I had to share.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/09/larb-muang-moo-northern-thai-style-chopped-pork-salad-recipe.html

Think I'll make it this week.

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

They are pretty cool birds. Imagine just nesting on the open ground, and relying on camoflage?

That is pretty badass, though it might cause them serious problems as deforestation proceeds.

in the ingredients column I figured I had to share.

Awesome! Pork kidney tends to be very cheap when it is available. N00b should know that there's no such thing as pork tripe, though- pigs don't chew cud.