The Grue-Blay Cat-Gnatcher If you are missing any cats, this beast is sure to blame. It's call sounds deceptively like, "Here, kitty kitty kitty!" Many a cat-owner has called their cat..too late...to save it from the awful fate awaiting it in the talons of the Grue-Blay Cat-Gnatcher The Duddy Ruck The only MALE nest parasite in the wide world of birds. Many sorrowful male birds have lost their mates to the shameless, no-good, lowdown, two-timing, double-dealing, triple-threating, quarter-pounding (quarter-pounding?)... Duddy Ruck. It can imitate the mating call of any...and I mean ANY...male bird. It's devastation on the population of local breeding birds is far worse than any invasion of cowbirds. The Gruffed Rouse This bird does NOT like to be disturbed and those who come too close do so at their own peril. "Just a flurry of wings and I was beaten senseless", was the remark of one who survived such an attack. If you feel you must add this bird to your life-list, approach it avoiding any noise or disturbance whatsoever. Otherwise IT may flush YOU. The Pheastern Oebe There are some who doubt this bird's very existence. There are presently no photographs extant to prove it. But those who have come near enough to it claim it DOES exist. But the bird has a defense which allows it to escape and it only allows the observer the slightest glimpse as it flies away. This secret weapon is a call which sounds so funny that any who venture close enough to hear it are completely convulsed in fits of uncontrollable laughter which so incapacitates them that they are unable to function normally. Some even claim they have lost control of their bladders. One attempt at an explanation of a description of the call was, "If you've ever heard the way a reed from a woodwind (not the instrument itself - just the reed) is played on those PDQ Bach and Spike Jones records - now imagine something which sounds 10 times funnier than that." As for a physical description of the bird, only one observer managed to control his mirth long enough for a prolonged look at the bird. But the sketch looks uncannily like Woody Woodpecker so the jury is still out on this one, folks. Barry Jernigan Murfreesboro, TN =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423) 764-3958 =========================================================