~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet David Hare-Scott wrote:
I went to fix the net round my plum tree which has lots of nearly
ripe plums. This is who I found waiting inside the net:

http://s1086.photobucket.com/user/Ha...ml?sort=2&o=35


This is one of the macrobats, they feed on fruit, nectar and blossom
and they don't do echo location. They hunt at night by sight (and
smell), hence the smallish ears and big eyes. Bats are one of the
few groups of placental mammals that are native to Oz.

The apparent cuteness belies a very sharp set of teeth and a
willingness to use them. He/she objected violently to being
expelled, that stare is using excellent binocular vision to line up
on me so that the second I get in range I can be accurately bitten.

Once I get them out of the net (leather gauntlets obligatory) they
have to be thrown up in the air as they are unable to take off from
the ground.

I clicked the forward button a few times and saw some of your other
pics.
Those Galahs - they mate for life you say? Man that must be tiring! A
short but happy life.

Most (all?) of the many parrots of Oz do. If you watch lorikeets, rosellas
and many others that move in flocks you will see most of the flock actually
move in pairs. The pair will separate briefly but keep coming back
together. One of the pair will never leave without the other. This is
rather like humans in that monogamy is standard but not always observed in
practice, in the breeding season there is always some nooky on the side.

--
David

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A better world requires a daily struggle
against those who would mislead us.