29 April 2006

BLACK & WHITE BIRDS


And you thought nature pleases us with all its colours, Well, here are a few birds for black and white lovers. Nature thinks of you too.

Don't know the names of these birds, please tell me if you know
All pictures are full screen size. You don't see much in small size.

These are a bit uncommon cranes, there are many varieties in them. They look like Income Tax inspectors ( like the IRS ) They raid rich businessmen or film actor's houses to locate hidden undisclosed income. Very serious people to deal with. They raid the houses, knock here knock there, knock the floor ceiling walls, You can't fool with them, but eventually they all get fooled by the tricky and crafty businessmen who know how and where to hide their undislosed treasures.

Just like the income tax inspectors these two chaps look sadly disappointed, not finding any incriminating evidence to nail the offending businessmen. They make news raiding film star houses. Very smart businessmen give them something to find, which happens to be just a little out of their undisclosed treasure, just a tip of an iceberg.

I have never seen them before, I couldn't see their eyes
Very quiet chaps don't keep quacking like ducks.

Blunt Knife
Photography and travel blog

32 comments:

Ruth said...

I always know I'll see creatures on your blog I've never seen before, these included. Beautiful b@w birds, and funny narrative. I can totally see the connection. :) Nice post following the colorful egret.

Anonymous said...

black is beautiful

CE said...

In Friesland where I live, the most favorite animals are black and white. The Frisian cow is black and white. The Frisian dog is black and white too. And the Frisian horse is coal-black. They should be importing black and white cats and call them Frisian cats.
Nice birds and pictures. I thought India is so thickly populated that there is not much natural life anymore. The opposite is true, as I can see from your pictures.

rauf said...

Even I have not seen them before Ruth. When I walk through the country side or in the forest, I rarely get a chance to take my camera out. What you see in the pictures here is hardly a fraction of what I see. Suddenly I remember the camera. but its always too late. I am not fast enough Ruth.

rauf said...

I want to do a feature on the crow Chinna, after all they are birds too. Crows are supposed to be more intelligent than other birds, don't know how far it it is true.
In stories or in myths they are depicted as wise and cunning birds. References are not very complimentary.

rauf said...

Imemine, true, India is thickly populated but mostly in towns and cities, s the farmers migrate to the cities after losing their lands due to failure of crops or droughts. Out of 40% forest cover in 1947 when india gained independence, only 3% is left now.
But still there are pockets of greenery and fresh country side all over India except in Kerala where country side that I had seen in my childhood no longer exists.

Hayden said...

they look masked and hooded. hidden stories...

rauf said...

Hayden, you have the hooded Klan we don't have them here. But like guru's and swamis there are societies who can teach the klan a lesson or two when it comes to racism. We have professionals here with thousands of years of experience, the Klan is just a bunch of amateurs.
Our professionals don't bother to wear a hood or a mask, racism is practiced openly here, the media supports it. they own most of it.

Hayden said...

hoods are passe', rauf. they went out with bedsheet-robes. our racism wears a smile, speaks in a civil tone and insists that equality of opportunity has arrived, although (deprecating smile)not all seem to make use of their opportunities. hoods are way too obvious, no one approves of them these days.

I wonder if there is a place on earth so utopic as to be without racism.

Hayden said...

I suppose, given that the photos were black and white, it was inevitable that my comment would have been interpreted racially. It wasn't meant that way. I was drifting off into a secret world of masked birds, wondering what their hidden stories were. Do they have jewels stashed under the twigs of their nests? Are they running a smuggling ring of contraband muck-dwellers? (They look like to me like the sort of birds that hunt dinner in the muck) We see animals as so nakedly revealed, we think we "see" the creature entirely and can observe them at our leisure. Against that, it was fun to think of masked birds.

much more fun than thudding back to earth with the dreary realities of racism.

rauf said...

Fault is mine Hayden, I drifted into something unconnected. Like
I engage myself in imaginary dialogue with the birds animals trees Like I have seen monkeys grooming each other. Do they have beauty parlours ?

I talk to the planet.
Now the planet tells me that you and an amoeba are same to me. You with intelligence are in no way superior to other species. With all the intelligence you have proved to be very stupid. You are the one who is hurting me not the other unintelligent spesies.I say thank you planet. Thats what we are we have been stupid.
You know my crackpot theories Hayden, they emerge out of such dialogue.
I have even thought of how aliens would look at us and what would be their opinion, i posed this question in one of my earlier blogs which was not well received.
I think the title was 'are we a happy lot ?' and i replied in my next blog 'the alien report'

The response to your comment was rather like a dialogue with myself.
About the injustice what I see in my own country. I try to highlight this issue which is now accepted as common practice. On paper and according to our constitution racism doesn't exist. But in practice its something else. the land of enlightenment and Nirvana. Once I thought education would broaden our minds, I don't see it happening. I see widening of the gap. We have many Albert Pikes here. And they are not going anywhere. India is considered to be a poor developing third world nation. India actually is a rich country Hayden.
Its the growing inequality which has made the country poor.

Leila said...

hi rauf!
we get those ducks over here, and they are quite brash! i do not know their names, though

rauf said...

Ah Laila, I was really missing you, Like its very difficult for me to live without my neice Rubina and my nephew Moin. Though I keep nagging them constantly.

how you've been ? When did you get back and how was your holiday ?
I am really glad that you are back.

Candy Minx said...

Those are funky birds, I've not heard of them. I
Has anyone googled them. I talk to nature and animals too. Have you ever read the book The Ape and The Sushi Master Rauf? I think you would like it. Talks about how animals have culture and society and teach things to each other. It is written by Frans DeWaal the noted primotologist.

You are such an inspiring person Rauf, I like hearing your thoughts.

e2d said...

The Creator went crazy with His crayons!:)
Refering to this one and the previous post....
Actually refering to all the pictures in yr blog.

Leila said...

Thanks Rauf, it's always good to know you've been missed. I've actually been back about a week now. I had a couple of days sleep and then believe it or not two tests on the days I usually get off from university. So I was shattered, and couldn't find any time to blog in between all the studying!

My holiday was absolutely amazing! The kind that almost makes you feel sad to be home again...

What lovely names you nice and nephew have! How have you been?

rauf said...

Thanks Candy, I do sincerely believe that animals and birds communicate with each other. I refuse to believe that humans are the only intelligent species on earth. It is the intelligence which has caused all the damage.
I don't consider superior even to an ant or an amoeba. mother earth takes care of all of us. Mother is supreme thats why we call
mother earth
mother tongue
mother country
mother nature
A mother is giving and giving and giving always and never taking.

Thanks for the tip Candy, I'll look for the book, if its not available here, I'll ask my friends who are coming down from theUS this month to get it for me.

rauf said...

e2dees, good to have you back. Me smiling.
Designs patterns and the colour schemes in nature always make me think. Mother nature, apart from taking care of us is a good teacher as well. Once I saw a scorpion in my childhood, it was mettalic blue. At that time there was no metallic finish paint available. For me it was something very new.
please take rest e2dees.

rauf said...

Please focus on your studies Laila.
No distractions, You have to shape your future yourself. But life is not survival alone. You have to find time to do what you love doing. But that can wait.

Glad you had a wonderful holiday, eagerly waiting to see some pictures.

Patty said...

:) Love your writing, Rauf. Really like the last photo with the reflections & lily pads(?). The beaks of the white birds or "inspectors" :) remind me of the Grim Reaper's sharp scythe.

Leila said...

That's what I figure too, Rauf. I'll post some photos either today or tommorrow - Ive got loads!

rauf said...

I sincerely believe animals and birds have moods too, perhaps they too suffer from depression. We assume that they are well fed all the time. It may not be so. they have their own problems and we have ours.

rauf said...

You are intelligent and imaginative Laila, You'll stand above others in your class and in what ever field you choose as your career.

Leila said...

thank you rauf.. you truly are an inspiration, and an amazing person. you'll be tickled to know that i have posted up the first set of many photos from my holiday..

rauf said...

You have posted very interesting pictures Laila, from a journalist's point of you, amazing details and very good commentaty. You can be a very good photo journalist too.

Anonymous said...

loved the pics, Poms; look like my kinda birds- minus the white though :D that's probably how i look every other day in my all-out black outfits, hehe ! you shifting focus on the Daylight blog, poms ?

Leila said...

thank-you Rauf, I'm not sure I'm deserving of so much praise!

rauf said...

Aree ghodee boo ! sssaaali ! me not shifting focus, Here I have something to say along with the pictures, sometimes humour sometimes crackpot theories, on the blog or in comments.
Huggs & ummmms

rauf said...

We have crows and you have seagulls Mudassar. For some strange reason crows are not treated with kindness. We always shoooo them away. May be because they are too many of them, Like cats dogs and horses they are closer to humans.

rauf said...

Laila, I try to be sincere in my blogs and comments.
You chose to take the picture of the fallen lamp post. That is good imagination and philosophical commentry to go with it.

Leila said...

I'm sorry. All I really should have said was thank-you.

There are so few sincere people that I am not used to it.

rauf said...

What I really appreciate Laila that you are so young and so very sensible.