I once heard about a boy, his sister, brother
& dad who visited Featherdale Wildlife Park in western Sydney. The
boy was enthusiastic about feathers and with a few helpers, so it
goes, ended up with quite a collection at the end of a great day.
They hoped they would see many of the birds again -
but in the wild. Just as they were about to leave a male regent bower
bird feather was keenly spotted, tantalisingly close to the edge of
the cage. A stick was fetched & in no time they were fletched - might I
add with great paternal dexterity ! By now quite a flock of Japanese
tourists had perched themselves close at hand & must have been wondering
what on earth they were doing crouched down so low ( odds on
a photo or video ?)
The suburban myth has it that the boy,
also keen on drawing & craft, glued the feathers onto a drawing he made
& presented the finished article to his Dad as a present - &
there, unmistakably, was the black & gold amongst the other prized
plumes.
Matt
|