8/15/2023 0 Comments Japanese kite bird![]() ![]() Whereas at first the crow held the element of surprise, then it had the bully’s unwavering persistence, now it looks foolish. It climbs above the crow once more, gaining, at last, the advantage of higher “ground”. Time after time the kite dodges the crow, slipping sideways and away, twisting, lifting, surging suddenly upwards above it on drafts of air that the less sensitive crow seemingly cannot fathom. The kite isn’t carrying food, so there is nothing for the crow to steal furthermore the crow, despite its monstrous bill, has little chance of preying on the kite. It has no purpose other than malice and spite nothing to gain except a thrill. Each time the unforgiving crow swoops back and forth, first above, then below and now from the flank, towards the kite, I am reminded of a classroom bully. The crow initially has the element of surprise on its side and with a raucous call it buzzes the kite aggressively from above, forcing it to jink and swerve suddenly in mid air, clumsily dodging the unwanted attention of an intelligent bird with time on its “hands”. The crow wings in black as night, glossy like the sheen on a new car, and fast like one too it is swiftly closing the gap between it and the unsuspecting drifting kite. ![]() And here comes trouble in the hatchet-beaked shape of Japan’s commonest corvid – the Large-billed Crow. Crows are not afraid but they are, in human terms at least, malicious. There may be trouble ahead for that kite. But crows are a common exception to rules and they are not so much fazed by the kite as drawn to it. Whereas the outline of a sparrowhawk, goshawk, falcon or eagle will set most woodland birds and even waterfowl tolling their alarm calls to one another out of fear and apprehension, or even push them into paroxysms of terror and flight, kites seem not to faze them. ![]() In its turn the kite is of little interest to other birds nearby, it was never a threat to them and they have already forgotten it’s passing – if they even noticed it. I am already forgotten, the kite’s attention is even now elsewhere as it dreams of food. The kite’s outstretched wings enfold the warm gentle breeze and on it the kite quickly rises higher still, its twisting tail, first appearing square-ended, now lightly notched, steers the way and the bird drifts nonchalantly away above the farmland to a nearby woodland edge. ![]() The gentle movement that begins at the base of its tail is barely perceptible, but it transmits along the length of those long, broad rectrices and translates into an elegant twist at the fanning tail tip that sends the bird into a banking curve. I am only of passing interest for a kite.Īs the kite peers down, it twists its tail in a subtle unhurried motion. Overhead, silent as a spiderling’s gossamer thread adrift on the breeze, a spread-winged kite tips its head and glances down at me from a cloudless sky. At last the air feels warm, warm enough to tempt up the sailplanes and the gliders over the Ishikari River plain, and to waft dandelion seeds, willow fluff and spiderlings high into the air. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |