The Curious Compendium 2023 Tour Finale: Australian shepherds!

Nice birds again. Are that 3 different crowned doves?

I thought I already comment about your birds but I was wrong, I'm getting older and older

I like very much the Bandai Frigate bird but the PV seems awesome too.

I see you have the two Safari Ltd Anhinga versions, I think I will custom the black one as an African anhinga.

I'm so glad my Papo Marabou stork is in a closed display, mine can't stand on its two legs without help and I don't want to have Simone adventure

In fact, it would appear that the Dodos were not as fat and plump as previously thought. In any case, they were neither stupid nor maladjusted, as is often claimed. In their little paradise, they had the good fortune and misfortune to evolve far from predators, especially those in sailor hats. Their nests and eggs had never had to face the plundering of rats brought by accident by the sailors.

Will you add the Papo Pigeon and Condor ?

Thank you everyone! @Andreas, those are 2 Nayab (a mini and a regular size) and a copy of the full size Nayab. 

@Kiki, yes, I plan on getting the papo birds sometime too. :) 

More vultures!
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There are 13 subspecies of  bearded vultures. The Egyptian vulture is the closest living relative.These are some of my favorite bird species!

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Simone, I was aware of the stability issues with this stork but goodness! I am so sorry it gave you such grief!

Another catch up post!

First up are Pigeons and friends.

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I learned about dodos! The things that intrigued me are that it is now believed that the original depictions of the dodo (from the few scant remains of stuffed specimens and drawings of them) are incorrect; that the birds would have been a lot slimmer than commonly depicted. Also, I didn't realize until recently that they have 2 also extinct relatives. The solitaire and the Reunion or white dodo. All three went extinct around the same time of the 1600s.
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Well, incorrect but... correct also. We have to remind us that even if the witnesses mostly have seen dodos fed with cookies, we have to keep in mind that they must have represented the plumage AS IT REALLY WAS. Let me explain.

A few years ago, I saw that some people made a dodo replica with pigeon feathers, claiming that the dodos must have had firm feathers like today's pigeons, ancient artists being too ignorant to represent dodos as they were... even if those @ignorant artists@ were the ones who actually SAW live dodos.

But it is not what actual dodo witnesses saw... nor represented. They drew dodos with feathers that look somehow like ostrich feathers, which makes sense because they were flightless birds; they are never represented withtotally firm feathers like those of flying pigeons. And look at the RUMP.  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

See that artists who actually saw live dodos drew them with less firm feathers... and long ostrich feathers on the sacrum. The tail itself, lower on the body of the bird, was extremely short with very small feathers. The sacrum ostrich feathers are hardly ever a subject of discussion when it comes to dodos, but they were there and were different from the tail itself. A difference today's replicas don't always represent, the creators of today having never seen live dodos.

So, to recapitulate, yes, actual wild dodos were slimmer than the captive ones witnesses saw and drew. But they DID represent the plumage AS IT WAS. With less firm feathers on the body... and ostrich feathers on the sacrum.

All of this to say that even if we have knowledge about dodos ancient people had, they STILL DID SEE LIVE DODOS, which none of us did. It is too easy to claim that we are 100% right and they were 100% wrong; we need to observe carefully what they drew if we wish to reconstruct exactly what they saw before jumping on, well, somehow arrogant conclusions. If it wasn't for ancient paintings and drawings, we would probably represent dodos in totally wrong ways like having crests on their head or with bright colors on their wings...

Bowhead Whale wrote:

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Simone, I was aware of the stability issues with this stork but goodness! I am so sorry it gave you such grief!

Another catch up post!

First up are Pigeons and friends.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I learned about dodos! The things that intrigued me are that it is now believed that the original depictions of the dodo (from the few scant remains of stuffed specimens and drawings of them) are incorrect; that the birds would have been a lot slimmer than commonly depicted. Also, I didn't realize until recently that they have 2 also extinct relatives. The solitaire and the Reunion or white dodo. All three went extinct around the same time of the 1600s.
.

Well, incorrect but... correct also. We have to remind us that even if the witnesses mostly have seen dodos fed with cookies, we have to keep in mind that they must have represented the plumage AS IT REALLY WAS. Let me explain.

A few years ago, I saw that some people made a dodo replica with pigeon feathers, claiming that the dodos must have had firm feathers like today's pigeons, ancient artists being too ignorant to represent dodos as they were... even if those @ignorant artists@ were the ones who actually SAW live dodos.

But it is not what actual dodo witnesses saw... nor represented. They drew dodos with feathers that look somehow like ostrich feathers, which makes sense because they were flightless birds; they are never represented withtotally firm feathers like those of flying pigeons. And look at the RUMP.  [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

See that artists who actually saw live dodos drew them with less firm feathers... and long ostrich feathers on the sacrum. The tail itself, lower on the body of the bird, was extremely short with very small feathers. The sacrum ostrich feathers are hardly ever a subject of discussion when it comes to dodos, but they were there and were different from the tail itself. A difference today's replicas don't always represent, the creators of today having never seen live dodos.

So, to recapitulate, yes, actual wild dodos were slimmer than the captive ones witnesses saw and drew. But they DID represent the plumage AS IT WAS. With less firm feathers on the body... and ostrich feathers on the sacrum.

All of this to say that even if we have knowledge about dodos ancient people had, they STILL DID SEE LIVE DODOS, which none of us did. It is too easy to claim that we are 100% right and they were 100% wrong; we need to observe carefully what they drew if we wish to reconstruct exactly what they saw before jumping on, well, somehow arrogant conclusions.

The strangest thing is the guinea pig next to the Dodo.

Beautiful birds of prey! I'm hoping Safari will do an osprey one day, and I'd LOVE for Papo to make a bearded vulture. The Bullyland one is great but I'd love to see how one from Papo would look. I'm also surprised there aren't more red-tailed hawk figures

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Thank you everyone! @Andreas, those are 2 Nayab (a mini and a regular size) and a copy of the full size Nayab. 

@Kiki, yes, I plan on getting the papo birds sometime too. :) 

More vultures!
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There are 13 subspecies of  bearded vultures. The Egyptian vulture is the closest living relative.These are some of my favorite bird species!

Lovely, i am wondering not to see the egyptian vulture

Thank you everyone!

@Andreas, someday I might find that Epoch Egyptian vulture.

Griffon vultures!
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These guys (and their relatives) have been confirmed to consume anthrax, botulism, and cholera causing bacteria when feeding on carcasses. Their bodies have evolved to deal with these diseases with very little effect on themselves and thus end the circulation of those diseases from that specific carcass source!

Thank you both. :)

More mixed vultures!
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The cinereous vulture taught me some new things that connect to the factoids I shared yesterday. Vultures often have microflora all throughout their bodies that are designed to inhibit the bacteria that they will come into contact with. These colonies of microflora can be found on their bald head, all throughout and within their digestive tract, and even on the exterior tissue arouns their cloaca (this pairs will having incredibly acidic stomach acid that coats the entire GI tract). This not only ensures that the bird itself reduces its risk of infection, but ensures that even upon expelling rotted and newly digested meat will not carry a heavy enough bacteria load to be a big threat to other animals.

So the next time you see one, maybe thank them for singlehandedly reducing environmental risk of such scary bacteria.

Vultures are fabulous birds, you only have to look up at them to be convinced, unless of course they're circling around you.
These cleaners of nature have extraordinary recycling techniques, nothing is lost, we should take inspiration from them.

Nice again

Wow, amazing bird collection!

A few updates given my recent additions. I will get these updated in the thread and on the website as soon as I can.
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So many treasures again

Many great models.

Thank you both. :)

Bald eagles!
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Their talons have a crushing 400 psi grip! They live to be about 30 years old in the wild, but can reach 50 in captivity. They do pair bond strongly, but it has been shown that these pairs can break up. I.e. if a couple loses a territorial dispute, it has been documented that the pair break up and look for new mates. So "mate for life" is a little bit of a stretch... as per usual.

Many nice bald eagles

Beautiful bald eagles! I'm happy to see the Naturalism in your collection now! I love its pose. Although bald eagles are typically what I think of when I hear ''eagle'' I really do love seeing them.

We had a pair at our old house that would regularly perch in trees on the marsh. You don't realize how massive they are until they're close. I miss seeing them.

Great flock I only got two

Thank you everyone! I have been very fortunate to have witnessed dozens of baldies in my lifetime, and they really are handsome birds to say the least.

Golden and wedge-tailed eagles!
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Goldens often bring aromatic plants to weave into their nests; this is believed to help as insect repellant! While farming chemicals like DDT nearly decimated many raptor populations, it largely left golden eagle populations unaffected. Mostly because their prey items don't ingest the same crops/chemical as others do, and because their egg shells are often much thicker than other raptors'.

Mixed eagles and other friends!
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White-bellied sea eagles are known to fly directly into the sun or utlize the angle of the sun casting rays in order to avoid casting shadows on the water/ground- thereby avoiding to alert their prey. Because of its hunting prowess and distinctive looks, this bird features in a lot of mythology and folk tales from their endemic region.

What brand is the eagle of the stand with the open wings?