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............
DeleteWell if the eat more maggots it means fewer flies.......
ReplyDelete