Another "half-asleep" thought slithered into my potato-like head this morning ..so here goes. You all must remember all that "ghostbirding" stuff ... I've written about it quite a bit lately. And "explained" it in about 100 different ways. [ It's called "Diallage": Multiple arguments to establish a single point. ] Anyway, about that "thought " ... I thought ... "can one bird be the "ghost" of another ??? Woooo ! And within a minute I'd found one. Coot is the "ghost" of Cormorant !!!! CORMORANT The other letters just fade away ! Leaving the "ghost" behind. Crumbs ... and Cripes...... and Oh Wow ! as everyone says these days. That has to be called a SUPERGHOST. Then there's the KEA .. it's the "superghost" of Black Redstart !! It's species of Parrot by the way. I thought of that one on the way downstairs. I'm a multi-tasking old Hector ! If you can count extinct birds, which often have very short " ghostable" names by the way, then you can find one of them buried inside....... you'll never guess..... Yes, 'tis CORMORANT again. It's a versatile bird is the Cormorant. There's a ghost lurking inside LADY AMHERST'S PHEASANT as well ... I wrote a terrific poem about it just a few days ago .... it's the South American version of the Ostrich ....... LADY AMHERST'S PHEASANT If you haven't read my Rhea poem, you've hardly lived at all ... it's on the far end of this link ... 271-the-truth-about-the-rhea.html Well, you've got the general idea by now, I hope. So, of course, I can't do ALL the important work around here ...... so I want you to rack your brains ( if you're called Brian, by the way, you can use Brian's Brain) and find some more of these Superghosts ... birds hiding inside other birds. In particular .... what's the longest bird which IS a ghost ? ( so far, COOT+ RHEA) ....... what's the shortest bird which HAS a ghost ? ( So far, CORMORANT ) ..... we've already seen that Cormorant has two ghosts inside it. So, are there any other birds which have two ghosts inside them ? And, of course, there's UK and world versions of the task too. Another thing ... it's quite possible that this is a completely new idea. Ghosts is an established, well-known word game, but applied to birds in this way ... birds within birds ... I don't know. You might get a World Record and be on Love Island ..the next series ! Let me know if you've "got" any, I shan't "nick" them from you or 'owt like that .. and then we can make a list !! We like a list. Music ..... it's the excellent Band of Horses and a " live on Jools Holland" performance of " Is there a Ghost" ... .. plus, of course, the singalong version .....
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AuthorThat's the author up there ... I was young and sprightly then. Archives
October 2022
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