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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: UK National Bird?
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
The UK does not have a national bird. In 1966 the favourite bird to be our national bird was the Robin but nothing has been done about it since.
The Vote National Bird lists 10 possible options
- barn owl
- blackbird
- blue tit
- hen harrier
- kingfisher
- mute swan
- puffin
- red kite
- robin
- wren
but all you can do on that site is vote. Here on this thread you can give your reason for selecting that bird or even choose one not on the list.
I suspect the robin would still get my vote as they are common and popular birds but I do wonder if for a group of Islands where the sea forms such part of our identity whether the puffin might be better. Especially with the current political climate which rather suggests that spending the winter fishing in the north Atlantic might be better than being this close to Europe.
Jengie
p.s. I do not think that site is limited to UK residents. So if people who are not resident want to join in please do. It may help ups to "see ourselves as others see us"
[ 11. April 2015, 12:26: Message edited by: Jengie jon ]
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
Back to my blog
Posts: 20894 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
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Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
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Posted
We have several national flowers in the UK (though, no UK national flower). Why have just one bird?
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Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
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crunt
Shipmate
# 1321
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Posted
I'd go with swan, because of the relationship the crown has with swans (don't they all 'belong' to the queen, or something?).
Even though it's not an option; I'd also like to give my second choice to the raven / crow, because of their iconic place in the Tower, as well as their intelligence, and also because of their link with my hometown in south Wales (Valley of the Crow).
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QUIZ: Bible
QUIZ: world religions
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Posts: 269 | From: Up country in the middle of Malaysia | Registered: Sep 2001
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Dafyd
Shipmate
# 5549
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Posted
The robin: aggressive, bold, and sings beautifully.
Blue tits are more charming but just don't seem to chime with any reasonable construction of the national character.
The birds I see most often in the garden are great tits and woodpigeons.
What really does one want out of a national bird? To reflect the nation's idea of itself? To be most liked? To be the most common? or common indigenous? or endemic?
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we remain, thanks to original sin, much in love with talking about, rather than with, one another. Rowan Williams
Posts: 10567 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Feb 2004
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balaam
Making an ass of myself
# 4543
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Posted
No starlings in the list? A cloud of starlings coming in to roost are a wonderful site (or sight, or both).
And you can teach them tunes. We had one which would roost and sing in a tree near the back garden. So I'd whistle back. The bird would them mimic the whistle.
And it recognised me. It surprised people when I was at the bus stop that a bird would land in the a nearby tree and wolf-whistle. (Yes, that is what I taught it, I really am that shallow.)
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Last ever sig ...
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Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:
We have several national flowers in the UK (though, no UK national flower). Why have just one bird?
I have never understood the obsession with having official state flowers, trees, birds, crustaceans and all the rest of it. It's a load of nonsense.
What purpose would a "UK national bird" have? Nothing. The UK has a wide variety of native birds, and there's no reason to prefer one over the other in this way. Similarly, the UK has a wide variety of people.
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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Kitten
Shipmate
# 1179
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Posted
I have a soft spot for the red kite
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Maius intra qua extra
Never accept a ride from a stranger, unless they are in a big blue box
Posts: 2330 | From: Carmarthenshire | Registered: Aug 2001
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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Posted
WHY would the UK need a national bird? OK - it's not that essential, but it is about a visual image that helps sum up what the nation is about. I would quite warm to a national bird.
WHICH BIRD should it be? I don't think it is easy to look beyond the robin. It is a well-known and well-loved garden bird and can sum up some of the best bits about being British: indomitable, willing to take on anything larger than itself in defence of its territory; colourful and musical.
If you're looking for a bird which somehow represents "Britishness", I don't think that there is a better contender.
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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Cottontail
Shipmate
# 12234
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Posted
I think it should be the ptarmigan, because that is the Best Word Ever. But I take the point made on the radio, that the robin is a design classic.
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"I don't think you ought to read so much theology," said Lord Peter. "It has a brutalizing influence."
Posts: 2377 | From: Scotland | Registered: Jan 2007
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Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jengie jon:
I suspect the robin would still get my vote as they are common and popular birds but I do wonder if for a group of Islands where the sea forms such part of our identity whether the puffin might be better.
Having just come back from Iceland I think they have already laid claim to the puffin. Although they do eat them!
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For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002
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Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
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Posted
I'm amazed you didn't put a good word in for the sparrow, Sparrow!
I think they are smashing little birds. Sadly 'my' flock has left us since we cut the bushes down at the side of the fence ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
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Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
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Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:
I'm amazed you didn't put a good word in for the sparrow, Sparrow!
I think they are smashing little birds. Sadly 'my' flock has left us since we cut the bushes down at the side of the fence
I didn't think of it! I haven't seen one for years.
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For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002
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St. Gwladys
Shipmate
# 14504
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Posted
I thoughjt that the red kite was the national bird of Wales. We saw two on the way from Abergavenny to Hereford today. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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"I say - are you a matelot?"
"Careful what you say sir, we're on board ship here"
From "New York Girls", Steeleye Span, Commoners Crown (Voiced by Peter Sellers)
Posts: 3333 | From: Rhymney Valley, South Wales | Registered: Jan 2009
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:
I'm amazed you didn't put a good word in for the sparrow, Sparrow!
I think they are smashing little birds. Sadly 'my' flock has left us since we cut the bushes down at the side of the fence
Sparrows cannot be the UK national bird! Sparrows don't queue.
ETA:Sparrows mob and fight, so they could be the representative bird of football fans...
[ 11. April 2015, 19:29: Message edited by: lilBuddha ]
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
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Posted
We are blessed in this neck of East Anglia with a colony of Tree Sparrows, which I understand are quite rare. They ain't half noisy as they flutter around!
Of course the national bird of West London (where we used to live) is the green parrakeet.
[ 11. April 2015, 19:37: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
I'm voting for sparrows. Iconic London bird.
Otherwise the mallard would do - they're ubiquitous, most people like them, and "feeding the ducks" is a pleasure that lasts beyond childhood.
quote:
Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
I thought that the red kite was the national bird of Wales. We saw two on the way from Abergavenny to Hereford today.
Wait till you get to Oxfordshire. In some parts of the county they seem to outnumber any other kind of bird. (Possibly they intimidated them into moving elsewhere, or ate them, or something.)
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Enoch
Shipmate
# 14322
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Posted
The reason why the Red Kite is associated with Wales is because they were common everywhere until about the time of Jane Austin. They then got wiped out by gamekeepers and others except for a very small number that hung on around Tregaron. For about 70 years they were down to about 6.
The ones in Oxfordshire descend from a very successful reintroduction near High Wycombe. There have been other reintroductions elsewhere - just north of Leeds for example. The ones in Wales began to spread outwards about 30 years ago, and have now reached Shropshire. So they are a natural comeback, not an assisted one.
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Brexit wrexit - Sir Graham Watson
Posts: 7610 | From: Bristol UK(was European Green Capital 2015, now Ljubljana) | Registered: Nov 2008
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:
I'm amazed you didn't put a good word in for the sparrow, Sparrow!
I think they are smashing little birds. Sadly 'my' flock has left us since we cut the bushes down at the side of the fence
I did consider the sparrow, on the grounds that it's been taken across the world and where ever it has gone it has taken over, squeezed out the resident population, and makes a loud racket in doing so.
We had a pair of sparrows nesting in a box in the garden next door, last year. They were hugely successful and had at least two broods. By the end of the summer there was a little flock of the noisy blighters. Sadly, the new neighbours have removed the nesting box and cut back the shrubs and the sparrows have moved on.
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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Drifting Star
Drifting against the wind
# 12799
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Posted
The red kites are fed daily in a number of places in Ceredigion, so there is a degree of assistance.
The numbers in Ceredigion are very high - we would expect to see between 5 and a dozen on any 10 mile journey, and we have seen more than 20 at one time on several occasions.
[ 11. April 2015, 21:04: Message edited by: Drifting Star ]
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The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Heraclitus
Posts: 3126 | From: A thin place. | Registered: Jul 2007
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IngoB
Sentire cum Ecclesia
# 8700
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Posted
Emma Watson?
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Posts: 12010 | From: Gone fishing | Registered: Oct 2004
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Teufelchen
Shipmate
# 10158
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
Emma Watson?
Or, you could try not being gratuitously sexist.
t
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Little devil
Posts: 3894 | From: London area | Registered: Aug 2005
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Chocoholic
Shipmate
# 4655
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Posted
A recent question on family fortunes was to name small birds. Genuinely one of the answers on the board (so more than 1 person said it) was Kylie Minogue.
Posts: 773 | From: London | Registered: Jun 2003
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Athrawes
Ship's parrot
# 9594
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Posted
Puffins! Puffins are wonderful. Why not go with something so beautiful, hardy, intelligent and fun?
Boogie, I know where your sparrows went. They hitched a ride to Australia and live in my back yard, where they come into the house and eat the dog biscuits. Do you want them back?
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Explaining why is going to need a moment, since along the way we must take in the Ancient Greeks, the study of birds, witchcraft, 19thC Vaudeville and the history of baseball. Michael Quinion.
Posts: 2966 | From: somewhere with a book shop | Registered: Jun 2005
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Macrina
Shipmate
# 8807
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Teufelchen:
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
Emma Watson?
Or, you could try not being gratuitously sexist.
t
I actually chuckled at that *shame faced*
Posts: 535 | From: Christchurch, New Zealand | Registered: Nov 2004
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
I think I'd go for the humble starling, most amazing and beautiful birds - and seen up close their colouring is stunning!
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Oscar the Grouch
Adopted Cascadian
# 1916
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:
I think I'd go for the humble starling, most amazing and beautiful birds - and seen up close their colouring is stunning!
And one of the funniest, as well. They're great to watch in flocks as they feed. And watching them coming together at dusk to roost is awesome.
But I'm not sure they represent "Britishness" as such to be the National Bird.
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Faradiu, dundeibáwa weyu lárigi weyu
Posts: 3871 | From: Gamma Quadrant, just to the left of Galifrey | Registered: Dec 2001
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bib
Shipmate
# 13074
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Posted
When I receive Christmas cards from the UK they always seem to have robins on them and so I tend to see robins as particularly British. (Mind you, we also have robins in Australia.)
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"My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, accept the praise I bring"
Posts: 1307 | From: Australia | Registered: Oct 2007
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
Starlings? Starlings! You know they come here from Northern Europe? Perch on our pylons, take our plumbing jobs, open delicatessens selling weird starling foods...
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Presented for your consideration:
Ben Franklin wrote to his daughter about which should be the US bird--the eagle or the turkey. The top of the article has a great mock-up of what our national seal would be with Franklin's preferred bird.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Athrawes:
Boogie, I know where your sparrows went. They hitched a ride to Australia and live in my back yard, where they come into the house and eat the dog biscuits. Do you want them back?
Yes - please - I will provide the air fare. I miss them! We put decking in the garden as it was becoming a swamp due to such high rainfall - but the sparrows went away.
Here is the new decking where the sparrows' bushes used to be. I enjoy the decking, but miss 'my' birds! They are fine, there's a huge park nearby. But I used to love to watch them eating, bathing and generally sparrowing
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Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
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Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
Otherwise the mallard would do - they're ubiquitous, most people like them, and "feeding the ducks" is a pleasure that lasts beyond childhood.
And, they come in sets of three on the walls of living rooms across the country.
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Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
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Athrawes
Ship's parrot
# 9594
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:
quote:
Originally posted by Athrawes:
Boogie, I know where your sparrows went. They hitched a ride to Australia and live in my back yard, where they come into the house and eat the dog biscuits. Do you want them back?
Yes - please - I will provide the air fare. I miss them! We put decking in the garden as it was becoming a swamp due to such high rainfall - but the sparrows went away.
Here is the new decking where the sparrows' bushes used to be. I enjoy the decking, but miss 'my' birds! They are fine, there's a huge park nearby. But I used to love to watch them eating, bathing and generally sparrowing
The decking is very impressive ( as are the occupants ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) )
![[Overused]](graemlins/notworthy.gif) as to the sparrows, it might be a bit hard to shift them. They are very happy (except when I have to help them find their way out of the house again) and in addition to the (very expensive) dog biscuits, I have several parrots who throw their seed all over the ground. The place must resemble an All you can eat buffet for them.
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Explaining why is going to need a moment, since along the way we must take in the Ancient Greeks, the study of birds, witchcraft, 19thC Vaudeville and the history of baseball. Michael Quinion.
Posts: 2966 | From: somewhere with a book shop | Registered: Jun 2005
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Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
Of course the national bird of West London (where we used to live) is the green parrakeet.
- they are right across London now and out the other side into East Anglia. I had one on my bird feeders a couple of months ago. You too will be enjoying green parakeets soon!
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Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:
And, they come in sets of three on the walls of living rooms across the country.
I haven't seen the flying duck wall ornaments in England since the late 1970s. I think they would be quite rare now.
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Starlings? Starlings! You know they come here from Northern Europe? Perch on our pylons, take our plumbing jobs, open delicatessens selling weird starling foods...
Starlings are underrated. Yeah, I know they are an invasive species. Yeah, I know they kick little mourning doves out of their nests and make a lot of racket on the roof. But they have lots of personality, and like Wod said, they have lovely feathers.
Around here, they flock with the blackbirds. Do they cross- breed?
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I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
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system1
Apprentice
# 18389
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Posted
The answer is eagle and swan - but not together.
Posts: 5 | From: North Britain | Registered: Apr 2015
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Dafyd
Shipmate
# 5549
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Around here, they flock with the blackbirds. Do they cross- breed?
Unlikely - they're not closely related. (They're closer to European blackbirds than they are to American blackbirds, but starlings of all kinds form a distinct family of their own regardless.)
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we remain, thanks to original sin, much in love with talking about, rather than with, one another. Rowan Williams
Posts: 10567 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Feb 2004
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Macrina:
quote:
Originally posted by Teufelchen:
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
Emma Watson?
Or, you could try not being gratuitously sexist.
t
I actually chuckled at that *shame faced*
And me. Mind you, given the datedness of the term, I'd thought it might be Barbara Windsor.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
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Posted
What no pidgeon (rock dove for pr) ?
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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
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balaam
Making an ass of myself
# 4543
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by system1:
The answer is eagle and swan - but not together.
A sweagle would be an interesting hybrid. You are wrong on both counts though, the Golden eagle works for the Scots, but is not the UK bird. Swans stole my daughter's sandwich on Windermere, so that won't do. It has to be the starling. But welcome to the ship anyway.
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Last ever sig ...
blog
Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003
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Alan Cresswell
Mad Scientist 先生
# 31
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:
And, they come in sets of three on the walls of living rooms across the country.
I haven't seen the flying duck wall ornaments in England since the late 1970s. I think they would be quite rare now.
Ah, but you see then you also bring in the British sense of nostalgia. By the time someone actually adopts a national bird the 1970s will be the setting for period dramas. The equivalent of Downtown Abbey seen by billions around the world will have sets of three mallards on every wall, and that will be our national bird. Perfect marketting.
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Don't cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.
Posts: 32413 | From: East Kilbride (Scotland) or 福島 | Registered: May 2001
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
With one taking a nosedive per Hilda Ogden?
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Eirenist
Shipmate
# 13343
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Posted
Our national bird should be the wren. It may be small (it was on the reverse of our smallest coin, the farthing, until they were abolished), it is indigenous, and according to legend became the king of all birds by perching on the head of the eagle ('the special relationship'?). So it punches above its weight.
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'I think I think, therefore I think I am'
Posts: 486 | From: Darkest Metroland | Registered: Jan 2008
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Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
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Posted
Wasn't it tortured for wassailiing as well, sounds like the kind of history you need to be a national icon.
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All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
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Sipech
Shipmate
# 16870
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Posted
I was a bit annoyed that the pigeon wasn't on there. It's ubiquitous, rather annoying and shits all over the place - a perfect metaphor for the British.
I am rather fond of barn owls, kingfishers and puffins for being beautiful birds, but can't see how they embody much national identity, particularly given how rare they are.
Rarity also probably rules out the hen harrier.
The red kite is a great success story. I recall, as a child, having to travel to a remote part of Wales in order to see them; now you can see them from the M40!
The wren has nothing on either the robin or the blue tit.
I would probably go with the mute swan. It's not so rare you have to go hundreds of miles to see one, majestic at times and a bit vicious at others.
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheAlethiophile
Posts: 3791 | From: On the corporate ladder | Registered: Jan 2012
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la vie en rouge
Parisienne
# 10688
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Posted
I’m another one kind of disappointed not to see the humble sparrow on the list. I know they’re kind of ubiquitous and unexceptional, but that’s why I like them.
(My Dad puts out food for the birds and gets a lots of sparrows in his garden. Every now and again a sparrow hawk swoops down and flies off with one. Rather than being filled with ornithological wonder at the sight of this magnificent bird of prey, my Dad gets mightily pissed off that one of “his” sparrows got eaten.
Mum en rouge: That’s how nature works. The sparrow hawk’s a carnivore, he has to eat.
Dad en rouge: (grumpy) I don’t care. Let him go and eat someone else’s sparrows and leave mine alone.
)
When I was a student in Surrey I used to see robins quite often, but since they are not common in the Midlands where I grew up, they always felt quite exotic to me.
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Rent my holiday home in the South of France
Posts: 3696 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
Billions of sparrows over here - just go to any market area anywhere in India and you will see your fill of them but our National Bird is the Keacock - a bird that qualifies as stupid even by bird standards!
And we have many varieties of Kingfisher, most days I see several.
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
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What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
![[Hot and Hormonal]](icon_redface.gif)
I meant, of course, Peacock!
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Sipech
Shipmate
# 16870
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:
the Peacock - a bird that qualifies as stupid even by bird standards!
I'll second that. They roam free around Whipsnade zoo, where I used to work. They just amble along in the middle of the road, oblivious to any cars or pick up trucks that might run them over.
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I try to be self-deprecating; I'm just not very good at it.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheAlethiophile
Posts: 3791 | From: On the corporate ladder | Registered: Jan 2012
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Dafyd
Shipmate
# 5549
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
I’m another one kind of disappointed not to see the humble sparrow on the list. I know they’re kind of ubiquitous and unexceptional, but that’s why I like them.
They're not as ubiquitous now as they were twenty five years ago, although they're beginning to reappear. We didn't use to realise just how pretty the cock sparrows are.
They are nevertheless highly sociable and extravert birds, and I think not really how the UK sees its dominant culture.
[ 13. April 2015, 12:21: Message edited by: Dafyd ]
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we remain, thanks to original sin, much in love with talking about, rather than with, one another. Rowan Williams
Posts: 10567 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Feb 2004
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