Strange Birds Spotted in Kin Town

Helmeted Guineafowl

These birds are natives of Africa but, some are domesticated in locations around the globe.

How and when these characters arrived in Kin Town, Okinawa is a mystery.

For about a week, I've been tracking them down and observing their behavior.

Early morning and late afternoons they may be seen in different parts of town.

 

On a morning walk with the dog and no big camera handy, we first saw the birds.

Thanks to iPhone 7 and a curious dog this scene was quickly composed.

The mutt is normally afraid of his own shadow but, wanted to see what all the racket was about.

The birds, when they saw him coming, squawked, gobbled, honked, and squealed.

They ran around like a couple of lunatics and as the dog got close, flew a short distance away.

When he approached again, they escaped into the forest nearby.

Getting an Identification

Luckily, a young man was leaving his house and saw me taking shots with the cellphone.

He grabbed his phone and began zooming in on the dog and birds, too.

Asking him if he knew what the birds were, he didn't know. First time for both of us.

He walked back to his front door and showed the photos to somebody.

When he returned he said, they were Horohoro tori.

At home, I did some internet research and found out the birds were Helmeted Guineafowl.

It Was Time for a Real Camera and Big Lens

It didn't take long to figure out, Mr. Canine couldn't be with me as I was photographing birds.

As long as they would squawk and run away, he'd chase them, just for fun.

A little kitten, could raise its back, and be ready to scratch, and the dog would get scared.

But, something runs, and he'll chase!

Hunting without the dog and carrying the Pentax, tripod, and 560 MM lens, worked.

A few things learned about these birds leads me to belive they are alright.

A local, described the meat as tasty. And some on Facebook claim the taste as, gamy.

"Horohoro" in Japanese means, a gurgling bird sound.

The critters eat just about anything, including ticks!

To learn more about Helmeted Guineafowl visit eBird and, you can listen to their sounds.

The only way these birds could have arrived in Kin Town, is somebody brought them here.

The closest zoos are miles away so, I don't think they are escapees.

There is a place in Japan raising Helmeted Guineafowl on Yoron Island.

That's more than a few miles away so, it's unlikely the birds flew here. Maybe, they were pets.

Somebody got tired of them and didn't want to eat them, and turned them loose.

They Also Do Crazy Stuff

On another non-camera walk with the dog, I was in an area the birds aren't normally seen.

On a sidestreet overlooking the ocean, not far from a restaurant, the Guineafowl appeared.

The restaurant's chef was ready to chase the birds away with a broom.

My unleashed canine spotted the birds and ran towards them, chasiing them away.

The chef had noticed a bird, looking at its reflection on the side of a black car.

The creature saw another male bird, looking back at him, and began scratching the car door!

This photo was taken with the iPhone, zoomed and in a rush to shoot before the dog ran it off.

Are there any birds like this in your neck of the woods?

 

Flower Photos: African Tuliptree (Spathodea campanulata) in Okinawa

Beauty of a Beast

When I first saw these flowers blooming, I thought they were early Deigo Blossoms.

But, the leaves are different so, I did some research and found out what this gem could be.

Plenty of photos were taken, to help with the identification and, I got some facts to share.

1.  The plant's botanical name is Spathodea campanulata and, it's native to Africa.

Drought resistant, it can be grown in containers, indoors.

2. People around the globe, like the pretty red flowers and, started growing them, everywhere.

The plant became an invasive, in many South Pacific locations because, it grows rapidly.

3. Children love to play with the flower buds, before they open, using them as squirt-guns.

4. People in California and Arizona, can grow these trees in their yards.

5. The tree has some medicinal uses but, you should know something before, planting one.

Africans, make poison arrows from part of this tree. I won't tell you how.

If, you see a string of these red flowers at your door, someone thinks you're evil !

Get some of these beauties for your garden by checking the links. Not me !

Crazy Looking Plants Turned Out to be Papyrus

Growing Within View of the Kin Town Powerplant

Down in the wetlands, I noticed these a few days ago.

There were tall reeds with what looks like pine needles sprouting in the sky.

Somehow during last night's research (at a bar) the fuzzy plants came up.

 The gal I was talking to kept saying pa-pi-ru-su. 

And, I got her to write it down for me:

パピルス

Pa-pi-ru-su, sounds like someone trying to say, puppy loose.

No, I didn't have any puppies escape recently !

Today's mission was, get some more photos and identify the subjects.

For starters, I took "パピルス" and put in Google Japan for a search.  

 That led me to a Japanese website with photos and a Latin name.

What we have here is Cyperus papyrus.

The plant has its origins in Africa.

It thrives in wet soils and, Egyptians had many uses for this reed.

Boats, baskets, sails, sandals, bowls and, some foods were made from it.

The most famous use of papyrus was, making paper scrolls.

Dig a little deeper and, you may find blueprints for the pyramids on papyrus !

 In Japan and, many other countries it is an ornamental.

At one time the plant was considered extinct in Egypt but, rediscovered in 1968.

It is protected and on the Red List in Israel.

Internationally, it is not considered a threatened species.

If you read the Bible, there's a story about a baby floating in a basket.

It may have been made from the reeds of this plant.

Holy Moses !

Learn More About Papyrus at ARKive

Okinawa Flower Photos: Society Garlic (Tulbaghia violacea)

These purple flowers originated somewhere in Africa.

Called, Society Garlic, Wild Garlic or, Pink Agapanthus, they are really related to onions.

The plants were granted the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

What that means, I think, is they are easy to take care of, if you are a lazy gardener.

Rub crushed leaves and flowers on your skin and, it will repel fleas, ticks and mosquitoes.

The Zulus use it for all kinds of stuff, like, seasonings and snake repellent.

And, they figured out a way to make aphrodisiacs from it.

How wild is that ?