When I had the idea of writing psychological thriller about watching your neighbours through binoculars, I knew very little about birds. The idea had come from wanting my central character, Lily, to have been a bird watcher as a child, something which had shaped the way she saw the world. The whole story is told through her eyes. So that meant I had to delve into the intricacies of a feathered world.
Ross Armstrong
Here are some of my findings:
Birds sleep during flight: They grab hundreds of short 'power naps' (not so much the twenty minutes rumoured to be favoured by Churchill, Reagan and Napoleon, but a matter of seconds) by gliding at the edge of their flocks, waking up prematurely only if they begin to fall or collide with birds attempting to sleep either side of them. Ducks can also sleep with one eye open. So never try and steal from a sleeping duck.
Some birds are cruel: Golden Eagles are known to pick up and fly their prey into the sky to great heights before dropping them to the ground. Then when they break open they can feast on what's inside. What helps birds fly is that they have hollow bones. Bigger birds know this of course, and are keen to break them open to enjoy the bones marrow inside. It's easier than a knife and fork I suppose.
Some birds are really very cruel: There is a bird called a Shrike that tempts its female by inviting her back to his lair to show her things he has collected for her: The bodies of insects impaled on thorns. The female then judges whether the Shrike will be a good provider after sampling the freshness of the food (extra marks being given if creatures are still alive) and decides whether or not to marry based on this. It's all very Pride and Prejudice really.
Birds are just shrunken dinosaurs: This was only discovered in 2014. Birds and theropod dinosaurs have wishbones, air-filled bones, and in a turn of events your first school teacher didn't see coming, many dinosaurs may have had feathers. The best known and possibly largest theropod was the Tyrannosaur. Now it's largest cousin is the common Ostrich. Does this remind anyone of when Danny Dyer turned out to be related to Edward III?
Some birds use tools: Corvids (or crows, ravens and rooks to us) manufacture their own tools out of twigs and even metal wire to drag larvae out of trees. The crow has even been observed making its own toys. A crow also once started his own factory to manufacture a line of toys known as…not really, I made that last bit up.
Chickens like to talk: It's not just cock-a-doodle do-ing to say good morning, chickens have over 200 distinct noises for communicating. They even pass down knowledge through generations. In fact, if you sit by a chicken coop, learn their sounds and try to communicate, people will forever refer to you as 'that strange chicken woman.'
Kiwis are blind and hunt by smell: They are the only bird that has external nostrils at the end of a long beak. They use this facet of themselves to hunt during the night, not only with their excellent sense of smell, but using their nose as a kind of ear to sense vibrations of prey. But before you rush out and get yourself kiwi nose, remember they can often be heard snuffling as their nostrils pick up a lot of dirt.
Bassian Thrushes find food in an unusual way: To put it bluntly, they pass wind. These resourceful creatures hang around areas rich in worms and bring them out by exasperating them with their self-made odours, so that their prey would gladly wonder into the mouths of their predators rather than suffer another second of the smell.
Many birds cover themselves in ants: The process of 'Anting' is carried out by around 200 species of bird and people aren't really sure why. They might pick up the creatures and rub them onto their feathers as a kind of insecticide. They may also be trying to remove harmful acids from the creatures so they can eat them. (Or maybe they're just being weird.)
Owls eat prey whole: A barn owl can eat an entire large rat and then coughs up a pellet of its bones and fur. This is very similar to the process of writing a book. I try and take in as much research as possible, digest all I can and get rid of everything I can't use. Although everything in the research fascinates me, I can't fit it all into the book. So thank you for reading this little pellet of fur and bones.
