Every day now there is a fashion show going on in my backyard. My admission price is supplying the models with plenty of food. These models definitely don’t like to starve. The stars of the show are the red-winged blackbirds with their shock of striking color hidden in each fold of wing. They top understated elegance when it comes to bird-style. You can’t miss the flamboyant male cardinals. They never cease to amaze me with their bright red feathers, especially when there are two together competing for attention and strutting around like the religious leaders after which they’re named. The cowbird shows that “brown is the new black”, with his curiously non-showy brown head atop a shiny black-feathered body. Not particularly haute couture, but his girlfriends don’t seem to mind. Perhaps he has not been blessed with the beauty of the others due to his nasty proclivity for parastic behaviors.
After the fashion show the birds often throw a wild dance party. I suppose they are really just trying to rustle up some bugs with their feet, but the sight of them jumping quickly to and fro with the funniest little steps always causes me to smile. The parties always end much the same way with a few rowdy crows and squirrels showing up to raid the buffet table (aka suet feeder).
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