An Amusing Similarity.

I saw a hen pheasant and a jackdaw feeding on one of my bird tables earlier. The pheasant is a big bird and completely dominates the space on the table. The jackdaw, on the other hand, is one of the smaller of the crow family.

What held my interest with some degree of amusement was watching the jackdaw having to duck every time the pheasant shifted position and swung her long tail feathers around. It reminded me of my days crewing in sailing races at Dartmouth, and hearing the coxswain call ‘prepare to jibe.’ If the boat had a fore-and-aft sail with a boom arm, ducking was required then for precisely the same reason.