The Curious Compendium 2023 Tour Finale: Frenchies!

Winding down now, only a handful of birds left.
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The scarlet Hawaiian honeycreeper, also called the 'I'iwi, is a popular species for bird watching in Hawaii due to its flashy coloration. They have a huge repertoire of songs that includes sounds similar to squeaky door hinges and balloons being rubbed together. Sadly these guys are struggling due to pressure from mosquito born avian malaria, habitat loss, and fungal pathogens.

Beautiful birds! I love that canary

Beautieful birds

Thank you both!

Ravens and friends!
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Ravens are one of the few bird species that work closely with other animals in collaboration. Famously in this case, with wolves. Ravens will spot carcasses, injured animals, and caches of food (from bears for example) and lead wolves to them. Once wolves bring the animal down or open a carcass and eat their fill, ravens are then allowed to feast (consuming up to two thirds of what is left). Ravens have been recorded as imitating wolf howls in an attempt to attract a pack's attention, play tug of war with pups, and seemingly bond with individual wolves (even following them if that wolf disperses). This is a centuries long reported relationship and a unique collaboration between a predatory mammal and a highly intelligent avian= two very social species who benefit each other.

Beautiful ravens and crows! Are those medium-sized ones from Archie McPhee? I got the itty bitty crows from them but I really like the size of those too... A good in-between

Beautiful again

Thank you both. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], yes those are Archie McPhee, just a different set of items.

Very very very interresting facts about ravens and wolves, thank you Paige

You are very welcome! It was my chance to shoehorn some wolf stuff in again.

I have decided to wrap up the avian category with a double post. The website page is nearly ready but there are a few kinks I am waiting on Wix to address before I can make it ready for live viewing. But as usual, I will let you all know. :)

Passerines and friends!
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Steller's jays (often misspelled as Stellar's) are named after Georg Steller who first encountered them in 1741 in Alaska. When they were officially described and named in 1788 he got the honor of them being named after their original observer (along with Steller's sea lions, and Steller's sea eagles). They vary widely in color forms in different populations. They do hybridize where they cohabit with blue jays. And they have remarkable mimicry; other bird species, dogs, cats, squirrels, chickens, and mechanical machinery!

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Bohemian waxwings are a nomadic species; they travel to follow food sources rather than temperatures, latitudes, or typical migration routes. Because of this, they also don't have a traditional "birdsong" because they don't have territory to defend. One bird was recorded as traveling 280 miles in 11 days!

As a quick aside, 10 years ago when I was in college I had an ornamental pear tree in my backyard (the fruit looked like strange cherries). One winter, it was terribly cold for weeks, and a beautiful hoarfrost set in the yard and visibility was low due to fog. I came home from class and was making lunch when I heard twittering. Looking out the back windows, the pear tree (only 5 feet from the house) had a large flock of cedar waxwings enjoying the frozen and undoubtedly fermented fruit. Amazingly, they fully knew I was there but didn't mind me watching. I got to enjoy the spectacle for about an hour before the food had been devoured and they moved on. I never saw them again, but the experience was the closest I have ever felt to something magical.

Lovely passerines! What brand is the large cardinal? He is stunning! What an amazing experience with the waxwings

and again beautiful

Thank you both again. :)

Now we move into domestic livestock as the next category. I know there aren't very many collectors of these models anymore but I hope that even the most enthusiastic wildlife collector might bear with me here, you might learn something new anyway! Also, for anyone who can, let me know if you notice anything missing from TAW. I am more than happy to help fill gaps!

Holstein Friesian cattle!
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In Europe they are Friesians, in the US they are called Holsteins; this is the most common breed in the US (94% of all 9 million dairy cows can trace their lineage to a holstein).  A single cow typically produces up to 23,000 lbs/2,674 US gallons of milk for each lactation (305 days). That is roughly 75 lbs/9 gallons of milk a day! Some The world record for production was set by a dairy cow named Selz-Pralle Aftershock in 2017; she produced 78,170 lbs/9,367 gallons of milk that year!

Impressive herd

I don't think you could say they are Friesians in Europe. Europe isn't a country like USA, we have a lot of different way to call something because we have a lot of native languages. In France this kind of cows would be called Prim'Holstein for the French ones and simply Holstein for the others.

Wow so many cows! And none of them are part of my collection yet...
We do call them mostly Holsteiner here as well though for the most part it's a mix of both Friesian and Holsteiner.
Your experience with the Cedar Waxwings is truly magical!

Thanks to you three!

Maybe I misunderstood the article I read about their names, or they themselves had it wrong. Occassionally they are calles Frisien cattle here but usuall Holstein is the term I have heard. But it is interesting to see the different derivations of this breed's title.

This is largely my childhood in description; the vast majority of these (along with domestics like horses and common pets) are the toys I grew up with and loved playing "homesteader" with. When I started collecting officially I have maintained this part of my collection even though a lot of the time the additions may not be nearly as exciting as some wildlife... But this will be a good excercise to brush up on my domestic animal breed facts as I have gotten a bit rusty.

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Maybe I misunderstood the article I read about their names, or they themselves had it wrong. Occassionally they are calles Frisien cattle here but usuall Holstein is the term I have heard. But it is interesting to see the different derivations of this breed's title.

It's not you Paige, I don't know who writes these articles, but I always wonder where the author gets his ignorance from.
For example, when I read on Wikipedia that Europeans use the word Elk instead of Moose (USA), it's really ridiculous. I use the words Elan or Orignal. I guess Rogério use Alce and Ricardo Alces. Italians use Alces too. Danish use Elg, German Elch, Estonian Hirv, Finnish Hirvi, Hungarian Jávorszarvas, Swedish Älg, Romanian Elan... European is still not a language

Touché! Europe has so many cultures and countries they really shouldn't be lumped together... But in some cases the same goes for the US. There are little pockets of differences all over.

Brahma cattle!
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These guys are known for their adaptability; heat, drought, insect resistance, ability to tolerate lower quality feed, and their often docile temperament. This has led to a great variety in hybridzation for new cattle breeds such as braford, brangus, Droughtmaster, charbray, and santa gertrudis. Part of their ability to tolerate climate extremes comes from their uniqur folding skin. In hotter climes it droops and increases surface area to cooling opportunity while in cooler climates it shrinks and the hide becomes thicker, retaining heat more efficiently.

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Thank you both!

Ravens and friends!
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Ravens are one of the few bird species that work closely with other animals in collaboration. Famously in this case, with wolves. Ravens will spot carcasses, injured animals, and caches of food (from bears for example) and lead wolves to them.

Once wolves bring the animal down or open a carcass and eat their fill, ravens are then allowed to feast (consuming up to two thirds of what is left).

Ravens have been recorded as imitating wolf howls in an attempt to attract a pack's attention, play tug of war with pups, and seemingly bond with individual wolves (even following them if that wolf disperses). This is a centuries long reported relationship and a unique collaboration between a predatory mammal and a highly intelligent avian= two very social species who benefit each other.

On a different level I can attest to that Paige!
When I come out my front door every day to feed the birds, my crow will always fly over to me and wait for me to put his food in the tree recess for him!

My crow family has raised a few babies over the years, and now this year just the mama and papa are here. The baby from 2 years ago has now left. They had been a family unit of 3 for a long time!

Sometimes I watch as the crow takes a piece of food that I put out and will bury it under some blades of grass!

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Brahma cattle!
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These guys are known for their adaptability; heat, drought, insect resistance, ability to tolerate lower quality feed, and their often docile temperament. This has led to a great variety in hybridzation for new cattle breeds such as braford, brangus, Droughtmaster, charbray, and santa gertrudis. Part of their ability to tolerate climate extremes comes from their uniqur folding skin. In hotter climes it droops and increases surface area to cooling opportunity while in cooler climates it shrinks and the hide becomes thicker, retaining heat more efficiently.

I love all of these Paige! such beautiful models and I love the soft colours.

Did you paint the beautiful spotted one on the right hand side??

Thank you Sunny, corvids are amazing animals. And yes, the spotted bull is a repaint of mine. :)

Pot-bellied pigs!
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This breed has been around for some 40,000 years in Asia. There are several types and/or lines if these pigs, but the American market began when pigs from the "Lon I" line were imported in the 1980s. Despite the stereotype, these guys are very intelligent, clean, and friendly animals but also is one of the types of animals most often abandoned by owners due to widespread misinformation of this pet fad (i.e. "mini" pigs do not exist and these can potentially grow to be 200 lbs animals, they require mental stimulation and attention or else these pigs will find things to do on their own, etc.).

Nice pigs! The little Schleich ones I love so much. The miniature Schleich figures I've always been really fond of.

Thank you both. :)

Herefords!
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This breed was developed in England during the 1700s to produce meat during the industrial revolution. They are known for their unique color, affable disposition, and downward curving horns (all cattle shown here are of the polled [hornless] variety). They were imported to the US in 1840; Kentucky had the first breeding herd. Today there are over 5 million pedigree animals in over 50 countries. One thing they are widely lauded for is the longevity of the animals; cows can produce calves beyond 15 years or older and bulls can be profitable at stud beyond 12 (many cattle breeds females begin to depreciate in reproduction success after 6 years, and bulls between 4 and 7 years old).

I love this breed (and holsteins) because my grandfather had them while I was growing up. He started out as a dairy farmer and then had to switch to beef cattle for reasons I won't bore you with here. I remember 2 individuals all us grand kids loved to visit; "crooked-neck" was a holstein who had gotten stepped on while a baby and her neck had a severe kink in it. My grandfather just couldn't get rid of her, she just had something extra special about her. He kept her in the barn and paddock areas instead of the field, I loved to go visit her and feed her all sorts of snacks. Then later there was Sampson, an old hereford bull that almost went to sale for meat before my grandfather intervened. He continued to be a great stud for many more years to come and he too was a true gentle giant. He would even come when called like a big red and white dog! I have many fond memories with those animals and thus cattle have a special spot in my collection.