In honour of Mr. Fumier.... its a Parus major

The Kite

Ho ho ho! This Santa is about 50 years old. How do I know? Because it hung on our family Xmas tree when I was a child and it has the words "Empire Made" on it. Those were the days, when Wales had an Empire. We called it "England" or something like that. The other 2 are of a pre-Christmas kite enjoying the tree opposite my home. If you are really lucky I shall post a photo of the home-made gingerbread men.

In response to public demand....

The middle 4 images are of a Bull-headed shrike; lanius bucephalus. This was a good find at the Lion's Nature Education Centre near Sai Kung. There aren't too many records of this species although there was a repeat visitor for many years in the orchard at Tai Po Kau.

The top one is our old friend Mr. Daurian Redstart and the final image is Blue whistling thrush. This is almost a misnomer as it utters a rather wheezy whistle and it has none of the jauntiness of the Cockney sparrer's whistle or the lilting harmony of Roger Whitaker. But there we are. The BWT can and does fan its tail rather engagingly and as far as I know that is something Roger W can not do but I stand ready to be corrected.

I do of course wish my reader a most enjoyable holiday season (note that I am politically correct and do not assume the celebration of Christmas) and a prosperous 2009. However, unless my reader is a bankruptcy lawyer I suspect the second part may be a struggle. Humbug.

A cornucopia of flora and fauna.