Some shots from Yakumo last Saturday................
Near where we parked was an area used for processing seafood. The ground is a mix of sand. silt, mud. rotting seafood and birds**t. It is full of insects and maggots which provided a bonanza for these Red Cheeked Starlings.
The males are beuatiful birds..............which is at odds with the nasty location.
'Uji' is the Japanese word for maggot. 'Hodai' when added to a word means 'unlimited', thus Nomihodai (nomu=drink) means 'all you can drink'. Nomihodai was the first Japanese word I learned.
This species looks nice in the cherry blossoms...............not eating a maggot buffet.
Thanks to John for answering my question the other day about these birds. I have never seen them so these photographs certainly give me a better idea of what they look like. Thanks Stuart
ReplyDeleteAlso known as Violet Backed Starlings.............
DeleteI feed mealworms to American Robins in my backyard. No so different, I guess.
ReplyDeleteYour backyard probably smells a lot lot nicer than this place David.............
DeleteThey are beauties! Glad that the smell doesn't come through on the blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad too............
DeleteMagnificent! I shall ignore the maggots....
ReplyDeleteWell if the eat more maggots it means fewer flies.......
Delete