Odd Birds~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Wild Life

They remind me,

very much,

of my childhood ballet teachers.

They have the same haughty

mien,

and graceful moves.

They love shaking their tutus,

and dressing up for opening night!

Who doesn’t?

Check out the even more graceful wild ones in South Africa at:

https://cindyknoke.com/tag/south-africa/

Wishing you a Joyous & Healthy New Year from the prancing dancers at Ostrich Land in California~

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291 thoughts on “Odd Birds~”

      1. That makes sense. It’s funny, I was just reading WILD RITUALS and learned that male ostriches have testosterone pink on their shins during breeding season, and then I saw your wonderful ostrich photos. Synchronicity!

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    1. Cracking up…. They were probably gorgeous, but to my child’s mind, they were oddities. I remember sitting in a circle on the rug in Sunday School whispering with the other children about why our Sunday School teacher, who always sat in a chair, had hairs in her nose. We thought she was impossibly old. She was probably 40, and gorgeous too! Thank you for making me smile. Wishing you ✨Health and Happiness in The New Year!

      Reply

    1. Cracking up!!! This is too perfect!!! I have photos of them opening their huge mouths just as they do in this cartoon but my husband advised me not to post it as it was too ummmm…… biological! Thank you for this. It is hilarious! I read on another site people were starting to caption the post and their ideas were beyond witty. I wish I had done a caption this contest! Wishing you ✨Health and Happiness in The New Year Steve and thank you so much for this chuckle!

      Reply

      1. Glad that you got a laugh, Cindy! I did a lot of scrolling to see if anyone else referenced this scene from Fantasia and was surprised that no one had. There’s more with dancing hippos (with tutus too) and alligators that is even more fun.
        For a while there was an ostrich farm in a nearby town but they had to move it because gawkers were causing accidents.

        Reply

  5. What a perfect connection! This summed up most ballet teachers. Wait… are ostrich birds in Fantasia? I know the ballet dance is with hippos, but why do I think ostriches are in the movie, too?

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    1. Two people mentioned this and one person shared a clip. It IS apparently from the old Disney Fantasia. This must have registered unconsciously in my child brain. Honestly the Disney animators were genius naturalists. I live amongst road runners and coyotes, and the animators obviously studied them closely because they parodied so many of their mannerisms. Here’s the clip:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RGrCyDAVuk&ab_channel=GracielaAlfaro
      I have photos of their hugely incredible mouths wide open (which my husband told me not to post). If you watch the clip you will see them doing exactly this! Amazing accuracy. I vaguely remember the hippos dancing too, in little skirts if I recall correctly…. Now I’ll go find that…… You got me going!

      Reply

      1. Yes!! That’s the clip I remember, including the wide mouths. Disney definitely had geniuses working for them. The hippos- yes! Didn’t they dance with alligators?

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  8. Geoff Le Pard

    I never tried ballet, for which I expect ballet will forever be grateful but the ostrich does have echoes of my preening Latin teacher, Mr Gifford who could make the words ‘Conjugate Geoffrey’ sound like a exhortation to self immolate… aren’t they gorgeous

    Reply
  11. Vicki

    They certainly dance and move, let alone their appearance, like that of a ballet dancer.

    Hope you have a very Happy New Year – good health and safety in 2023. What a strange world we live in today. Sending you much love and greetings across the miles.
    Vicki 🙂

    Reply

    1. Wishing you Health and Happiness in The New Year Eddie! I am sorry for my late response. I just found your second comment in my spam filter with 12 other comments from bloggers I know well. So frustrating დ

      Reply

  27. Ha! A trio of these beauties moved onto a farm near us and I can’t get enough. So stately until they ruffle their feathers. Happy New Year, Cindy!

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    1. Yes I wonder too! 😉 They are striking and beautiful birds after all, and women have always worn their feathers, so hopefully, they would get over being offended and just go with the humor. Cheers & thank you Katie & take good care დ

      Reply

  43. Thank you so much Cindy and I wish you also all the best for 2023 in good health and with a lot of photography fun. It was great to follow your work and hope to do so in the new year. Greets, Rosie 🥰

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  44. I never thought of it that way, but what a great comparison. Lovely pictures, Cindy. Wishing you the happiest of New Years and a wonderful 2023 to come.

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  45. These are some proud birds but beautiful. I pray that the Lord will continue to bless and strengthen your work. I look forward to another wonderful year of beautiful pictures 📸 on your blog.

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  48. They have their own unique beauty.
    I could do without dressing up… I think I only did so twice in 2022. And I just can’t imagine anything I’d get fancy for this year… yet anyway.

    Happy, happy!

    Reply

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