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Post by orflo on Jan 10, 2009 0:47:21 GMT -5
Stephen,
I don't know of the blue tits get some sort of kick out of the papaver seeds. But these blue tits are enormously curious and they learn very quickly. So, if one bird finds a way to something intersting, other ones will follow immediately. I'm sure you know the story about the blue tits in England, many years ago. The milk bottles were sealed with some soft aluminium on the top, and the milk was always placed in front of people's doors. One day a clever blue tit discovered the aluminium was soft enough to prick it, and he could reach the milk. Within a very short time, all tits were using the same practice in that neighbourhood....
I think they will adapt to other things when the papaver disappears..And do these blue tits and others stay in Norway during the winter?
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Post by canadamike on Jan 10, 2009 1:32:57 GMT -5
Blue tits?? At the begining, I taught I was in an episode of star trek!! Then I remembered the girls had green tits  |
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Post by stevil on Jan 10, 2009 4:48:39 GMT -5
Stephen, I don't know of the blue tits get some sort of kick out of the papaver seeds. But these blue tits are enormously curious and they learn very quickly. So, if one bird finds a way to something intersting, other ones will follow immediately. I'm sure you know the story about the blue tits in England, many years ago. The milk bottles were sealed with some soft aluminium on the top, and the milk was always placed in front of people's doors. One day a clever blue tit discovered the aluminium was soft enough to prick it, and he could reach the milk. Within a very short time, all tits were using the same practice in that neighbourhood.... I think they will adapt to other things when the papaver disappears..And do these blue tits and others stay in Norway during the winter? Yes, I almost told that story about the milk bottles myself - I remember when the tits started "milking the bottles" when I was a kid in Southern England...that probably awakened my latent interest in the natural world... Opium poppy has become quite a common garden plant here and is the most requested plant when I have gardening clubs visiting...(I always have some seed to give away). I've introduced many cultivars over the years and their genes have now all mixed up. Nevertheless, lots of nice forms pop up here and there. I've been asking around on Norwegian garden fora if anyone else has noticed this Tit behaviour yet, but nobody yet.... Blue Tits are remarkably hardy for such a small bird and survive the winter even in the very far north of Norway where there's only a couple of hours twilight in mid-winter. They're mostly stationary throughout the year. Yes, Michel, Blue Tits seem to thrive with a bit of exposure... |
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Post by stevil on Jan 10, 2009 4:52:36 GMT -5
Blue tits?? At the begining, I taught I was in an episode of star trek!! Then I remembered the girls had green tits Now that the level of the discussion has been well and truly lowered, you may or may not like to know that Bearded Tits are rare in Northern Europe with a limited distribution. |
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Post by canadamike on Jan 10, 2009 5:03:10 GMT -5
Bearded tits...  We have nothing here with such nicknames. Why do you call it that way? I can't believe it is a real name I used to be an active birdwatcher when young and never saw anything like it. But as sorry as I am for the ''lowering of the discussion'', Stevil, when I read ''bearded tits'' I totally, but totally EXPLODED in laughter. I could not even read the rest of the sentence Might be a cultural thing mind you, but on our politically correct ( and prude ) continent this is a highly funny name, and I can even envision the religious right from the bible belt trying to have the named banned in congress or senate, whatever ;D ;D Maybe tits have a different connotation on your continent ...  I would bet Monthy Python did something with this one.. a nice quiproquo à la Monthy.... I am sincerely saddened for any animal risk of disappearance, don't get me wrong, but it is still a funny name, and there is nothing wrong with a little innocent fun, even when it is not that spiritual... Gosh, I'm still laughing... |
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Post by stevil on Jan 10, 2009 12:17:49 GMT -5
Sorry for causing so much mirth in Canada early this morning. The bearded tit certainly exists and I think you'll see that he and I have certain facial features in common: www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/b/beardedtit/index.aspIt's restricted to reedbed habitat which limits its range. As it's such a rare bird, it's probably not that known a name for most people in the UK, particularly as Monty Python didn't mention it. When I was a bird watching youth, a university "friend" always wrote to me on the envelope as Stephen "Bearded Tit".... A tit is also a derogatory term, meaning a bit of an idiot (yes, I've got nice friends). So, yes, some people in the UK would I guess be amused like you, but they wouldn't "explode".... Well, I must admit that I didn't know the origin of the word Tit (Chickadees in North America), apart from the fact that they used to be called Titmice (Titmouse in the singular), so I had a little search on the web. It seems that both "tit" and "mouse" are probably Scandinavian words originally (well, as we all know the Vikings were bird fanciers ) and mouse doesn't seem to have anything to do with mice either. In Norway a Tit is today called a meis (pronounced roughly like mace in English), so there you have it... In Icelandic, tittr apparently means anything small or a bird.... It also turns out that the Bearded Tit, although originally reckoned to be in the tit family, is classified differently now, so it should probably be called the Bearded Titless... Bearded Reedling is its other name. |
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Post by orflo on Jan 10, 2009 12:59:27 GMT -5
Well, there we see another proof of the indo-germanic language group: mees in Flemmish, and , yes pronounced almost like 'mace'. Apart from the two common tits, we get to see lots of 'staartmezen', they are very social birds, always showing up in big 'families', they aren't shy (in contrast to the other birds around here), and they are so alive.... images.google.com/images?hl=nl&resnum=0&q=staartmees&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wiSpeaking of shyness: wenn I was in New Zealand, I noticed the imported European birds were far more approachable compared to the same ones still living over here... I always wondered why that evolution went like that... Off course, Flanders is overcrowded, but that's just too simple, there has to be more to it... And a very nice bird with one of the most amzing sounds in the bird world lived in New Zealand (well, they have other wonderful birds as well: morepork, kiwi, kea off course...): the tui: images.google.com/images?q=tui%20bird&oe=utf-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi |
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Post by canadamike on Jan 10, 2009 21:41:38 GMT -5
Your staarmeese is a chickadee here. Another species though, in french, we call them mésange...
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Post by stevil on Jan 11, 2009 4:52:02 GMT -5
Speaking of shyness: wenn I was in New Zealand, I noticed the imported European birds were far more approachable compared to the same ones still living over here... I always wondered why that evolution went like that... Off course, Flanders is overcrowded, but that's just too simple, there has to be more to it... As you know I've also been lucky enough to visit New Zealand, and, yes, it's strange hearing blackbird and chaffinch song. However, I don't remember them being more approachable than I remember in the UK, where both Blackbirds, Robins and Chaffinches are all very approachable, at least in some areas, particularly botanical gardens. I guess it's related to predators (=cats and foxes) which I guess there are less of in rural New Zealand than in Europe. I remember when I first moved to Norway, I was surprised to find that the Blackbird and Robin are both very shy forest birds, definitely not approachable. And, yes the Tuis are fantastic - have some slides somewhere of a party of Tuis feeding on Prunus taiwaniana flowers in the Botanical Gardens in Auckland...they were also very approachable. |
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We have nothing here with such nicknames. Why do you call it that way? I can't believe it is a real name 
I would bet Monthy Python did something with this one..