Bird watchers let down in Glasgow

By Wotta Perratits, Our Ornithology Correspondent

cleggTwitchers from the Society of Dumfries Ornithologists – Rarely Known Species eagerly flocked to Glasgow this weekend to see the last en masse appearance of a domestic species.

They had been promised that 7,000 Long-tailed Ducks (LDs) would arrive in the city and congregate near the River Clyde.

Chairman of the Society, Dr Opping spoke of his disappointment at what they actually saw. “The numbers were vastly exaggerated. It was more like a Better Together meeting. We had been really excited about seeing this flock because the LD is an unusual bird. More than any other species they maintain most of the features of their small dinosaur ancestors.

“In colouring, they present themselves as being black and white, but when the sun shines on them (which is very seldom) their true colours – red on side, blue on the other, with a wide yellow stripe down the back – appear. They have another unusual characteristic, which gives them their name. In courtship rituals as they try to persuade others to join them, with every lie they tell as to their virility, power and attractiveness, their tail feathers get longer and longer

“This is an opposite mutation from the Pinocchio duck, whose lengthening beak is more widely known.

“We were keen to see this assembly, because the LDs are predicted to become extinct in Scotlandshire by 2016, and also by then, flocks from the rest of the UK may well have become foreign birds, and won’t want to come here at all. As it turns out, few of them wanted to come anyway. They were probably put off by the referendum on splitting next year. Ducks are well aware of recipes that require them to be split with poultry shears, and may have become confused. Those that did turn up certainly showed signs of confusion.

“Even more disappointing, the leader of the flock, when appearing on Scotlandshire Tonight turned out to be a chicken.”

anasFellow twitcher, Lowd Screach, said that he was more interested in a genus of babbling ducks known as Anas. “I was particularly interested to see a rare example of a 'Shitehawk Anas clypeata (non-breeding)‘, and I wasn’t disappointed”, he enthused.

“There was a great example of the male of this species in action across the river. Ornithologists have long been puzzled by their inability to breed here, but the behaviour of this one to the female of the species was very revealing. He was constantly aggressive to them, screeching at and over them, and never once showing them respect.

“Like many immature males, he had not yet learned that birds in Scotlandshire don’t appreciate that kind of performance. As a result, his ‘performance’ is never likely to be more than show and, rather fortunately, will result in his genes dying out. I was glad to see him before his type disappear from Scotlandshire forever."


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