The captain could see none of us now and he held up the first morsel for us all to lay eyes on. The only man who could not see it, in fact, was Mr. Fryer himself.
"Who shall have this?" the captain asked loudly.
Mr. Fryer glanced around the waiting faces, selected one, and announced in an equally formal tone, "William Purcell."
The captain handed the piece -a good sized chunk- to Mr. Fryer, who in turn passed it to Mr. Purcell, who looked at it with ashtonisment, as if he could not believe his luck to be served first, before nibbling the side of it cautiously and then devouring it in one.
-from Mutiny on the Bounty
I've read that this species (song thrush) can produce up to three broods a year. This may be a busy nest. -djf"Who shall have this?" the captain asked loudly.
Mr. Fryer glanced around the waiting faces, selected one, and announced in an equally formal tone, "William Purcell."
The captain handed the piece -a good sized chunk- to Mr. Fryer, who in turn passed it to Mr. Purcell, who looked at it with ashtonisment, as if he could not believe his luck to be served first, before nibbling the side of it cautiously and then devouring it in one.
-from Mutiny on the Bounty
When I looked at the stately bearing of the mama bird in this picture, with her head held up, and seemingly at attention, and the assembly of babies before her, all beaks and hunger, I was reminded of the scene in the lifeboat in Mutiny on the Bounty. The captain was handing out tiny pieces of meat to his little crew. It was done with great ceremony due to the scarcity of the food. Despite their hunger, his men all acted with decorum as well, only their eyes showing how desperately each one longed to be fed.
Looks like Amiri has taken a real liking to this family! I bet he would station himself there 24/7 if he could and keep all threats away from them - including slinky neighborhood kitties! :)
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