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Fridge Talks About Birds (Now featuring: Grackles vs Corvids!)
Hello hi, Fridge here
If you've been around the forums for a while, you'll undoubtedly have seen me go on about birds.
I can unabashedly hijack threads to talk about crows, pigeons, parrots, puffins, any bird goes (even some fictional ones!)
So, in an almost certainly futile attempt to stop myself from doing that (the hijacking thing), I'll be making this thread instead.
Starting with our Lord and Saviour, Rainbow Birb, aka., the Feathers of Pride Bird!
Obtainable in DbD for free right now by using the code "CAWCAW" in the in-game store!
A bit of a personal story here. It turned out a bit longer than expected whoops.
This lovely fellow released on June 8th, 2022, near the end of the academic year. At this time, I was still in university, English Language & Culture. 2022 had been kind of a shite year for me up until then, in hindsight. I had something of a mental breakdown in January, induced by my complete inability to plan out things (I have been diagnosed with ASD in December of 2020) and getting overwhelmed with deadlines. I tried getting back into therapy to see if I could learn some kind of "lifehack" or whatever. They did offer some things I don't remember, but the main takeaway from them was that I needed to inquire at uni itself. There's a student psychologist, but contacting them became part of the "I'll get to it eventually". I never did end up contacting them.
Now, very early on in the academic year of 2021/2022, we had a course that was all about writing academic English. It covered all kinds of writing, including translating, from Dutch to English. It was a single assignment, but unlike every other assignment, I went through this one at rocket speed. Shocked at my own sudden capability at Doing a Thing, I quickly realised that I really enjoyed translating. In what I can only describe as a paradigm shift, my "intrinsic motivator", as my therapist called it, was discovered. I wanted to become a translator. That was my end goal. That's why I did this study. It would be nothing short of a battle, but there was a goal in sight.
It... didn't work out that way.
After the advise of a student councillor, I tried to do less courses in the next semester to "ease the load". A whopping 5 courses, out of the standard 8, or even 9 I should've done to keep up, but that didn't fare much better. I got sick with COVID on my birthday of all days. I could barely work up the motivation to attend hallway nights anymore. That, of course, became something of a cycle. I wound up flunking or even skipping those courses as well thanks to a complete and utter lack of motivation (but not without a crippling feeling of guilt :) )
Come April/May, I shifted into an even worse version of the "do what you can" mode to try to salvage anything. I wound up salvaging 1 course, and another one that had a weird deadline that allowed me to extend it into the summer break.
I didn't tell a soul how bad things were going. Not my friends, my hallmates, my mother. It was always "could be better", and for most, that sufficed. I shudder to think how many sleepless nights my mother had because of me, though. I never explicitly told her what was happening, always "I can manage". And, somehow, I believed that myself.
What I really needed was a goddamn break. No deadlines, no assignments. Nothing.
And then Rainbow Bird released. To me, out of nowhere.
There was something about that day. I don't know if it was the sun shining or whatever, but for the first time in over half a year, I was really happy about something. Specifically, something that made me happy. Here, on the forums, I got really excited about a silly colourful bird. Now, birds have been my weakness for some time, but for the first time in my life, I felt completely unashamed about it, because I was just that excited. For the first time in forever, I wasn't holding myself back because of some arbitrary self-imposed rule or because I trying to adhere to a persona. And people got excited with me, and started posting more birds. Because of me. That thread was a dumpster fire, but I couldn't care less. I got to be really passionate about birds, and people humoured and appreciated that. I specifically got tagged in the very important Cute Animal Thread a bit later, with a bird pic, because I was being myself. I don't think tippy has even the slightest inkling how important it was to me that he said "I remember someone saying they like birds", and I could go "me!" and not be ashamed of it, because yes, I do like birds!
That whole event kickstarted something within me. I started following bird accounts on other platforms, and started manureposting using our friend Rainbow Birb, because I wanted to do that, and it made me happy, made me smile, all that cringe stuff. I started to do things for me.
Going back to my academic... "career", summer break came. And there still was that one assignment. Deadline: the very last day of August. Assignment: a 2.5k word essay on "sustainability", using two very old American works of literature.
That deadline was so, so bad for me. For the entirety of the summer break, that deadline was on my mind. What should've been the time that I had absolutely nothing to worry about, instead became a very long period where that ######### assignment was on my mind every waking hour. For starters, it was boring as all get out. The works didn't interest me in the slightest, didn't even relate to the study (I did English, not American), and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the hell I was supposed to do.
But I had 2 months. Two whole months. It would be so, so laughably pathetic of me if I couldn't get that assignment done, when I had 2 months to do it, and literally nothing but the assignment to do. I did get it done, but my god those last two weeks weren't pretty. There's a different, smaller story there, but that's for another time.
I went into the new academic year already feeling like shite because of that 1 assignment. "Hope you're all refreshed and ready to go!" Hahah, I certainly wasn't.
I once again tried the "reduced load" approach. Once again, it culminated into 2 essay deadlines and 2 exams, the former being precisely what I wanted to avoid.
The first essay was already a slog, but surprisingly manageable, because I got to do it about a topic of my choosing (FoMO, specifically prompted by DbD's limited-time winter skin debacle). I didn't even bother with the other essay for the "new" course, because I really wanted to pass the courses I was retaking. There'd be a resit anyway. As for the exams, I passed one.
And then, one fateful morning in February, I found myself asking a simple question.
"Is this worth it?"
and the answer was a resounding no.
Yes, I still wanted to become a translator, but no, this is not worth it.
In arguably the biggest decision of my life so far, I chose for myself.
Because that's what I have been doing since June of 2022. I ignored the councillor's advice, and went with what I thought was manageable. I did that assignment in the summer break, because I would not have been able to do it at all had I not gone out of my way to request that third opportunity. And I passed the course because of that.
I started choosing for myself more and more, culminating in me putting and end to the cycle that made me so miserable.
And what started that trend?
The release of the Feathers of Pride charm. That moment where I was able to be myself, which allowed me to realise that I, in fact, do not have to maintain a persona to be happy.
Why am I trying to achieve academic prowess? Who am I trying to please? Myself? Why's that abstract me so hellbent on doing the very things that are making me miserable? I will have to do some sort of higher education if I want to become a translator, but I can make my life so much easier by switching to a dedicated translating course, instead of a uni study where translating is a very small part of it.
By now, I'm half a year into my new translating study, I have yet to fail an exam, all my assignments were on time and all but 1 were graded superbly. I'm doing fantastic and feel great. I've still got quite a few bad habits to kick, but we'll get there.
So, uh... Yeah.
That's why I'm so very fond of Rainbow Bird.
More (real) bird talks coming soon!
Comments
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Great post. It takes a lot of courage to reveal these kind of feelings. It sounds like you found your serenity, that’s amazing. I’m sincerely happy for you 😊
A family friend has a Scarlet Macaw for a pet. Her name is Lady. She is so big but super friendly. She loves to talk and loves to give kisses.
This isn’t a picture of Lady but this is the kind of bird she is. She’s so beautiful. The family friend also keeps miniature horses but that’s for another thread lol.
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GentlemanFridge,
First off - Fellow Rainbow Birb fan club member unite!
Secondly, all the virtual positive energy to you. I know something very personal like that is not always the easiest thing to share, and we appreciate you so much, and are so proud of you.
Your story actually resonates a lot with me, believe it or not! 20+ years ago I was in a similar situation with my college-level schooling. Underlying issues with myself (physical & mental things; one horribly misdiagnosed years prior, and some that would be brushed off as "nothing" for years to come) that made classes a struggle no matter how much drive I had and put into them, along with pressure I put on myself to do all the things. I was so upset about it, but, then... life happened.
Shortly after, I went into creative business with my other half, and we have slowly built something for ourselves all these years we're proud of. And way back in 2015, I was given my first-ever moderator sword (on Twitch), and over time, slowly led me all over, including here with all you lovely fellow DbD people!
Life is beautiful in its surprises and spontaneity, and its easy to forget that when we are often so good at only seeing the negatives.
Be like Pride Birb... show your colors, and never let anyone, including yourself, dull their vibrancy 💗
And if we are posting favorite birds...
Pesquet's parrot, aka Dracula Parrot...
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did someone say birb
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Rubbertis-Duckitus, most commonly referred to as the Rubber Ducky, is rarely seen in the wild and most commonly found in children's bathtubs. It's the most buoyant of the birb species and is often featured in the top ten of "What Will Survive the Apocalypse", alongside cockroaches and Cher.
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i am glad i asked for this
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Puffins! I haven’t met a soul who didn’t fall in love with these fellas. Sometimes called the “clowns of the sea” they’re very, very social birds who are naturally very curious.
(I'm going to be referring to the Atlantic Puffin in particular here. I don't know much about the other species of puffin.)
(A friend I obtained when I was on Iceland last summer. Snagged him at the very last opportunity I had, because we were boarding the plane back home 15 minutes later)
Like other pelagic birds, puffins live on the ocean, bobbing about until the time comes to nest. Then they arrive at the colony en-masse. Thousands upon thousands of birds can live in a single colony.
If you’ve ever visited such a colony, you’ll know they can be rather tricky to traverse. Puffins dig a roughly 2-meter hole into the ground where they’ll build their nest. (If you’re visiting at the right time, you can see dirt flying everywhere!) You can imagine that because all breeding pairs will be digging their own hole (or taking up residence in an abandoned one), there’s a lot of holes in the ground. Watch your step, you don’t want to twist your ankles. Though you really don’t need to worry about crushing any eggs, they’re really deep into the nest!
Puffins are easily recognised by their clear white underside, black topside, the markings at their eyes and, of course, the distinct, vividly coloured beak.
Thing is, this is not the “default” appearance of the atlantic puffin. The bright beak in particular only appears during the breeding season. Outside breeding season, this distinct beak shrinks considerably, and their distinct black-white plumage fades in colour, making them resemble their younger versions (technically it works the other way round, but y’know)
(image source: https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/466404105145592342/)
I’m not completely sure where the rest of the beak goes, but you can see it’s a whole different look!
Puffins are creatures of habit, much like ourselves. They are monogamous (they have a single partner throughout their whole lives), and will keep using the same nest for the rest of their lives. That means that if you keep coming back every year to the same colony, you’ll be encountering the same birds as before!
Now I mentioned the monogamy, but there have been observed cases of puffins “divorcing” each other. This is thought to happen because the one puffin thinks their partner isn’t properly taking care of the chick.
Speaking of chicks, puffins typically have but a single one, and only a single brood. These pufflings are raised near-exclusively on sand eels and herring, which both parents will be delivering in turns.
What you may not know, however, is that pufflings fledge at night, instead of day. Using the moon as their point of orientation, they fly out whilst predators are fast asleep. As they make distance, they immediately chart the oceans they’ve explored. It’s thought that puffins use their first three years after fledginng to establish a map of the oceans.
Puffins can can fly surprisingly far away from their home, yet always know their way back. Flight pattern studies have shown that, no matter how far they’ve flown, they always remember where they came from. One pair studied in St. John’s revealed that the two birds separately make their way all the way over the Napels and New-England respectively, yet are able to return to the colony within 2 weeks when the time comes.
Now, because young pufflings fledging orient themselves using the moon, they can get in a spot of trouble in our modern world.
They can get confused by our civilisation’s lights, and instead of the open ocean, they wind up stranded in human towns.
In Iceland, there’s an entire event dedicating to helping these lost puffins out. The local population gathers to locate and catch the birds, to keep them safe until morning. And then when the time’s right, the Icelandic people will take the birds and toss ‘em off a cliff, from where they’ll fly off as they should. From there, the puffins can start their journey.
I’ve already mentioned that puffins are a very social species. They have shown a willingness to adapt certain mannerisms of their neighbours, just to fit in better.
The best example of this is seen in one particular colony that was started by conservationalists. They used decoy puffins to make the real puffins feel more at ease. Thing was, these decoys stood atop a stick. The real puffins saw this, and started standing on one foot, imitating what they saw their “neighbours” doing!
Lastly, the common name of the puffin is actually a misnomer! In English, anyway. There’s another bird, the Manx shearwater, whose scientific name is “puffinus puffinus”, which entirely unrelated to the bird we now call puffins. The original “puffin” name came from the puffed meat of the Manx shearwater. Supposedly, the name shifted towards the aulk that bears the name now thanks to its similar nesting habits.
Lastly lastly: I can’t talk about puffins without mentioning the sound they make. It is often compared to the sound of a revving chainsaw.
^ the atlantic puffin, in MS paint, by me :)
[slightly edited to give credit for the image, and correct a small error]
Post edited by GentlemanFridge on6 -
I have none planned at the moment apart from the dodo, but if you have any suggestions, fire away!
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excellent choice
I'll need to do some research, so it won't be the next one i cover, but I'll work on it!
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So many beautiful birbs in this thread, makes me smile.
Always have appreciated your love for birds on this forum, always a bright spot to see a celebrity appearance from them :)
I wish you luck with everything and am happy to see that your taking control of your life, I know that feeling a little too well sometimes. I graduated from college in '22 and for what felt like the majority of my life, never could find that intrinsic motivator as you called it. It took me hitting a low point to realize what truly made me happy and pushed me forward. I'm glad that you seemed to find yours :)
My mom used to always say that Robin's bring good luck and fortune so here's a little chunk for you :)
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You know, I really wasn't expecting this kind of response when I was writing the original post. Thank you all so much for the kind words! And I wish all the best for you too!
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im currently having a terrible week. but that bird made me smile, and the sentence "Be like Pride Birb... show your colors, and never let anyone, including yourself, dull their vibrancy 💗" that has made me smile even more. imma try be like pride birb now
thank you
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I'm so sorry the week has been rough for you, and wish you all the positivity <3 and I'm glad it helped out, and its true! It can definitely be difficult sometimes to get through some things, or know what to do, but being true to yourself, and not compromising for anyone (again, including ourselves because I can attest to being my own worst enemy over the years). You've got this!
And thank you too, @GentlemanFridge I knew a lot about Puffins... but now I know EVEN MORE 😄 and throwing in my suggestion; after the Dodo and Passenger Pigeon, the Laughing Owl might be interesting. I've always had a fondness for Owls and other Birbs of Prey!
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I purchased a new birb feeder over the winter (the big wood one)
I didn't get the pic but a Cardinal was on it yesterday. Which made me excited cause usually the big birds can't fit on my feeders, which is why I bought the big box feeder as they can now land on something.
I'm excited to see it already worked and will hopefully have many a big birbs to share this year. We need a happy forum!
EDIT: Also for your Puffin lore, supposedly Porgs in Star Wars (the little fellas on Luke's island in the new trilogy) exist because there were so many puffins on the island that it was easier to replace them with CGI creatures (which became the Porg) than it was to either remove them from the area or erase them from the movie).
Post edited by tippy2k2 on2 -
Crows! Where would horror as a genre be without them?
I was already working on a first draft of this a week or so ago, inspired by my discovery of the fraud of the Crow of Judgement. I wasn't necessarily planning on covering crows as the third bird, but now TierZoo has gone ahead and posted a video about crows as well. He focuses on their intelligence, which is remarkable in its own right, but it's not what I want to focus on right now.
What I do want to focus on is an error TierZoo made. Specifically in the footage he used to demonstrate corvids' iridescent plumage.
Taken straight from his video. (The editing is his, not mine. I also don't know his source.)
This, much like the Crow of Judgement, is not a crow. It's a grackle.
I'm not completely sure what kind of grackle, since the tail is obscured (I think a great-tailed grackle?).
That aside, I'm starting to get the feeling that I, as the forums' resident bird fanatic, should clarify about this misconception.
The bronzed grackle. The original Crow of Judgement. (Admittedly, Grackle of Judgement doesn't roll off the tongue as well.)
Now, I'll fully admit, it's an easy mistake to make. In the right lighting, a black, mean-looking bird is gonna be called a crow. They can't help it.
So how do I know that this isn't a crow? Well, that is what I want to focus on today.
Take this American crow.
Since grackles only appear in the Americas, this is likely the bird you'll be comparing it to.
Now, if you put these two birds next to each other, you'll immediately be able to tell a very obvious difference. However, I also want to use this particular image to highlight some other things. In order of how easy they are spot:
1: The eyes are, very obviously, very different from grackles. Grackles usually have yellow or lighter brown eyes. Crows have very, very dark brown eyes (American crows, anyway)
4: The "whisker-feathers". A feature of most corvids, which obscures their nostrils entirely. Notice that I wrote "most", as there are corvids that don't have 'em.
3: A bit hard to tell from this picture, but the crow's beak is a lot thicker. Corvid beaks also tend to bend downward at the tip, forming a sort of hook. The beak's shape, more than any other part of a bird, is determined heavily by what it's used for, so it's gonna vary for where you find your local corvids.
4: The iridescence, while present, is not nearly as defined as the iridescence seen in grackles. In grackles, the iridescence makes their feathers look purple or brown depending on the bird's gender. In the American crow, and most crows in general, it looks blue-ish, or only slightly purple in the right lighting. For the most part, the crow will still look mostly black.
Other features, which cannot be shown in image format, include the fact that crows and grackles have different calls. American crows are very well known for their CaaW-CaaW-CaaW as wikipedia so helpfully describes it.
Grackles, on the other hand, have calls more resembling what you would expect from a passerine bird. Mostly, anyway.
Another asset that corvids have that grackles don't, is their sheer intelligence. I've already mentioned their remarkable intelligence. Some estimates put corvid intelligence at roughly the equivalent of a 7-year-old human child. Grackles don't possess that level. You won't see any grackles drop nuts onto the roads to have cars crack them open, or use sticks to
Now, for some harder stuff. Get ready, 'cause this is going to get confusing.
Now, crows are known as wholly black birds. It's part of what granted them their doom-&-gloom connotations in pop-culture. However, crows aren't always completely black. Take the piebald crow for example. The name already hints at it.
https://www.birdguides.com/gallery/birds/corvus-albus/1002033/
Given what I've already mentioned, you'll still be able to tell that this is a crow (the "whiskers", dark eyes, and the general shape which I find hard to put into words).
But what if I threw these at you?
(apparently from wikipedia? i couldnt find it on the bird's page)
https://www.birdguides.com/gallery/birds/coloeus-monedula/1005390/
Suddenly it becomes much clearer how grackles can be confused for crows.
These are the Australian raven and jackdaw respectively. Both are corvids, but lack the dark eyes. Instead, they have white eyes. Not yellow, but white. They both have the "whiskers" as well. You won't find these sitting besides grackles, either, since tje jackdaw is a European bird and the Australian raven is…well.
Both of these can be distinguished by their size as well. Ravens are generally much larger than grackles (and most corvids), and jackdaws are amongst the smallest corvids.
I'll stop myself here, since I'd be going on a tangent about other corvids that you really wouldn't confuse for grackles.
To finish off, I'll throw some test birds at you. Can you tell if these are grackles, or corvids?
Post edited by GentlemanFridge on0 -
small addendum:
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I have already seen it, I’m afraid
But that doesn’t mean this isn’t an excellent way to showcase a corvid’s understanding of cause and effect!
very good burb
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I remember seeing ravens for the first time in my life like over 10 years ago. I couldn’t believe how big they were! Huge! They were huddled next to each other on the back edge of a pickup truck. They looked bigger than chickens! I still can’t believe it lol. And they were fearless too.
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Oh yeah, ravens are huge!. They're easily the biggest of the corvid, with the Common Raven having a wingspan sometimes surpassing 150 centimeters. They're also thought to be the heaviest passerine bird of all.
For additional Raven content, check out Loki the Raven on youtube:
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posting it here as well since that other thread is going to be deleted
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