May a Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose

Okay, they may not be birds of paradise exactly--we got some sleet the other night which doesn't quite call up images of Eden--but you have to admit that this part of the world is very pretty.

Incidentally, I don't know the origin of that title. My Dad used to sing it when I was little. The next line went "May an elephant caress you with his toes", which I always found rather funny. I don't know the rest of the song, but I imagine it only gets sillier.

So far, no elephants have emerged from the wilderness and no birds have attacked me, which I take as a sign of good fortune. I decided to give thanks for my unpecked cranium by painting the portraits of some of the birds who have recently allowed me to see them.

All of these types of birds are apparently named after people, probably the devoted birdwatchers that identified their species. The brilliant blue, crested Steller's Jay does look quite stellar, so that name fits rather nicely.

These guys are crafty and naughty; they will steal food and chase other birds, and I wouldn't put it past one to try to fly up your nose if he thought it would do him some good. I like them.

The Clark's Nutcracker is a bit more dull, both in name and coloring, but the repeated letters of the name do work on a visual level (I am a fan of the "K", you remember). These birds are not boring to watch; they are great fliers, often swooping across a mountain trail immediately in front of you. When I visited the Grand Canyon, I saw a huge flock of these sizable birds diving for bugs, and the rustling sound of their quick maneuvers was unforgettable. I was very glad that they were diving for bugs and not my eyeballs, because they were very fast and my eyeballs are very sensitive.

The Wilson's Warbler gets points for alliteration, but these lovely yellow birds deserve better than a name that conjures up images of old men. These birds are extremely tiny--less than five inches tall, compared with thirteen for the jays--and I felt lucky just to see them. I saw them enjoying the berries in the tree in front of my house one day.

I think the name "Kizzik Warblers" would work better because it has both two "K's" and two "Z's" and is a palindrome. It does lose the alliteration, though, which can't be helped. Fizzy Kizzik has a nice ring. Maybe that's what I'll name my next cat.