birding-aus

[Fwd: [BIRDING-AUS] Rare gulls and an emu penis]

To: "" <>
Subject: [Fwd: [BIRDING-AUS] Rare gulls and an emu penis]
From: Amytornis <>
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 22:17:14 +0930
Greetings

If the climate around Darwin is conducive to growing nuts, imagine what
a week at sea does to the good fellows!


Amytornis
--- Begin Message ---
To: "birding Aus" <>
Subject: Rare gulls and an emu penis
From: Goodfellow <>
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 00 18:28:37 +0000
Having recovered from my state of exhaustion and my notebook having been 
rescued from the depths of my Leeuwin cabin I add to my notes on the 
mystery gull seen in the middle of the Arafura Sea.  

I had good views of the bird through 10 x50 binoculars at a distance of 
about 30 m for about ten seconds as it flew from starboard to port and 
beyond.  Time was 1730 and the day was clear.  We were sailing at a rate 
of about six knots.

The gull was smallish to intermediate size (hard to judge in the middle 
of the ocean), and appeared slighter than Silver Gull with relatively 
slender long wings (at rest I would assume wings reached beyond tail. 
tip).  The beak was stouter and longer than that of Silver Gull (and of 
Little, Sabine's, Franklin's, Saunders) and then there was the lack of 
white in the wing.  The underwing was white (ruling out Little) with a 
dark wingtip. .As I said the beak was dark but this may have been so 
because it was in shadow.   I couldn't discern white around the eye - it 
might have been absent, or obscured (in shadow, wet or windblown 
feathers).  

I think this gull is probably around Goulburn or Croker islands or 
perhaps Maningrida by now.  Perhaps someone might like to nick out and 
have a look!

Now to all those interested my long search for particular bits of the 
male reproductive system of an emu (to illustrate for the new book), I 
have finally succeeded!  One arrived courtesy of the president of the emu 
farming association.  On opening the box in which it was ensconsed my 
admiration at the courage of workers in this industry rose substantially 
for the pong outweighed anything I'd ever encountered in my years working 
in pathology and then rendering down dolphins on the kitchen stove (for 
the WA Museum), the smell of which was so foul that not even my dog known 
until then to eat virtually anything turned her nose up.  Now all I need 
is some help with waterfowl reproduction.  
Regards
Denise

Denise Goodfellow (Lawungkurr Maralngurra)
Specialist Guide
Ph/fax 08 89818492
PO Box 39373
WINNELLIE NT 0821, AUSTRALIA
www.earthfoot.org

Parap Bookshop
2ndhand and new books
08 89813922



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