I normally don’t post goofy stuff, but I’m finding Australian local news has a very dry and self depricating humor I enjoy.

Article from UPI

A new South Wales, Australia, man attempted to keep birds away from his cat’s food with a homemade owl sculpture, but “accidentally made a magpie god.”

Giulio Cuzzilla said he learned that magpies can be deterred with owl sculptures, but he didn’t want to spend a lot of money on one, so he made his own out of paper mache and feathers.

“I now know it doesn’t really look like an owl, but a dead cat rather,” Cuzzilla wrote in a comment under his TikTok video.

He said the magpies initially seemed to fear his sculpture, but they eventually started to approach it and engage in behaviors Cuzzilla said seemed like “worship.”

“I accidentally made a magpie god,” he wrote.

Gisela Kaplan, an emeritus professor in animal behavior at the University of New England, said the magpies in the video aren’t actually showing deference to the owl sculpture, they are making territorial calls to try to scare it away.

Cuzzilla said the magpie god’s reign came to an end when a storm dismantled the idol. He said he has now grown a fondness for the magpies.

“When you observe their antics, you can’t help but find them quite cute,” he wrote. “We even named one of the babies Ricky.”

  • livus@kbin.social
    2·
    1 year ago

    Thanks these are awesome! We definitely do not have Barn Owls here. Our only introduced owl is the Little Owls (smaller than ruru) but I’ve never seen one because they’re only in the South Island. We try really hard to not get any new animals, got those in about 1910.

    Screech Owls, I can see why you like them; call number 1 sounds super cute. Almost reminds me of ruru who make this weird croaking purring noise like if a Screech and a frog had a child together (I found more recordings of those here).

    Barred Owl sounds like it’s trying to talk with its mouth full! Omg!

    I was not expecting to see de Sausurre pop up in that other thread.

    • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
      2·
      1 year ago

      There were really some great things in that thread. I enjoy when we get to go on these tangents. It’s fun to learn more of the backgrounds of the people that visit SuperbOwl.

      It sounds like you do have Barn Owls now though.

      From nzbirds

      The eastern barn owl is native to southeastern Asia and Australasia. From the 1940s it was a regular vagrant to New Zealand from Australia but was not recorded breeding in New Zealand until 2008 when pair was located breeding in a large pūriri tree on a farm near Kaitaia in Northland. They are now very widely distributed from Northland to South Auckland.

      • livus@kbin.social
        2·
        1 year ago

        @anon6789 good grief, you’re right! I never expected to learn more about our owls! Thank you!

        Apparently they probably arrived in the landing gear of jet planes.

        I was absolutely horrified to learn this, but according to the article they don’t pose a threat to ruru.

        Then again this blog makes the point that some conservationists have reservations about them in case they start eating our endemic birds and I don’t like that they have been eating fernbirds.

        • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
          1·
          1 year ago

          That was a really good article! I’m glad they’re getting along well with the Moreporks.

          I thought I had read before they had made it over there, but I’m looking for these types of articles every day. I knew they were essentially everywhere since they are so adaptable, and I have no doubt they will be the first owl in Antarctica with the way things are going.