Good morning! And good morning to you, too!
Basil’s new wrong-way run
Somehow, Basil was inside. Out he went in a big hurry — and tripped! When Basil is outside, he wants to be inside, and when he’s inside, he wants to get out. The reason? As Basil would put it: “I am a chicken.”
How pigeons feed their babies
The white pigeons’ babies are on day 13. Their feather shafts are getting sturdier, and if you look closely, their bellies are round — proof that their parents are feeding them. Happy’s babies are on day six, and their eyes are wide open. The next day, the white pigeons’ babies were wandering around.
Here’s the Happy family, and Happy is feeding her babies. Baby pigeons don’t wait with their mouths open; they put their beaks inside their parent’s mouth and get the food themselves. The parents feed them pigeon milk, which they make inside their own bodies. Both males and females can make it, and they take turns.
The white pigeon team hatched first, so their babies are sturdier. Unlike Happy, those parents are wary of me, and when I try to film, they stop feeding. Sorry, kids!
Balloon, the bug-catching master
This is Balloon, our master bug catcher, who spends all day stirring around in the mud. Balloon, you live a perfectly normal life outdoors, so why do you have balls of dried dung stuck to your feet? Look at this! Some birds kept in cages get them, but you’re outside all the time! And they’re so hard they won’t come off. She’s giving me an “it’s not my fault” look.
I’m taking them off. Can I? It made a cracking sound — scary! No struggling. I know you don’t like it, but this is what happens when you don’t scrub your feet in clean sand before bed. She’s complaining. I can’t get any more off — I’d need pliers. Oh, it came off! No need to stare so hard. There’s another one, you know. Got it! Good, right?
Balloon hasn’t been doing any foot care at all; even her old scales haven’t come off. For a bug master who has to dig, aren’t your feet everything? You need to keep them in good shape. Are you listening? Ouch! She just flung her head and hit me right in the eye. That hurts! And so, the foot care continues…