Colombaccia, Wood Pigeon hunting

We have 2 strange towers in our street (don't look at me soo, it's our street on the first photo too). I thought always, those are Medieval guard towers, but somebody said me, it's not true: those towers were used to hunt Colombaccia.




What is this: colombaccia? It's a sort of wild pigeon, columba palumbus, Wood Pigeon. (Photo from this site). It's bigger than other pigeons and that is why, I think, was and is so interesting for hunters. These pigeons have white lines down the middle of the wing and are easy to distinguish. Once they were very numerouse in our zone, I think, and maybe migrated in autumn and spring, these I'm not sure. The internet sites like this don't say they are migrating birds.

I tell you here about a story I read in old books.
Once Wood Pigeons were sooo numerous that they migrated in great flocks. The hunters spread enormous nets on their ways over the mountains. And from the towers they watched if the flocks are coming in the direction of the net. Because, they say, the most difficult part of this hunt was, that they had (and have today too) to study winds and clouds, the colour of the sky, examinate territory befor the hunt begun. And had to wait many days.

Today hunters use guns. And maybe it's not so terrible for the population of pigeons. But sometimes they blind one-two pigeons to use them to attract others. Today they do it with special bung. The pigeons make noise with their wings and others come in this place too.

In the years I live here, I've never seen great flocks of Wood Pigeon. "La Colombaccia" is now a restorant that remembers the old times.

What do you call beautiful life?

On 18 January veterinarian sterilized Basja.

She is too young and too week, other cats beat her, and she is favourite female of my husband, so she lives in the house from that day. She has the wound in not very good condition too...
"Don't touch her, let her stay here till she feels good." (he feels guilt that he wanted this surgery)

Well. Now it's impossible to live in this house.
In the moment when I sit down she climbs on my knees. And she pass all the rest of the time (when not disturbing me) in bed now. With my husband! And what they do there! It's a scandal this life! Look at them!

Now we'll see what pillow is more sweet today (before they see me and catch from here)
He is not here else...
Finally together

Ahhh... She catch me "in flagrant delict"... I have to go...

Meity and Bimo the Shar Pei

Berry Sudirno from Jakarta/Indonesia, author of these interesting blogs: howtoboostyourwealth, journeytomakemoney, sweetjourneyinmylife .
You know him in my blogs from his articles Endagered Species -Orangutans, that many of you found interesting, and Batu Caves Hindu's Shrines that I posted in my "Vacation and Travel Talk" some days ago. The new article of Berry is about Shar Pei.

Meity (my daughter in law)’s friend just come back from China after long stayed there followed her father as a diplomat, she brought two male Shar Pei, one of them is namely Bimo nine months old, this kind of dog has a life span up to 10 years.

Shar Pei is a breed dog that originated in China and has the distinctive features of deep wrinkles and blue-black tongue. Shar Pei has an alternative name Chinese Shar Pei or Chinese Fighting Dog.

Shar Pei has a temperament loyal, intelligent, playful, active, dominant, stubborn, bold, brave, easy going, calm, independent, devoted, in need of a confident handler firm, gentle, consistent training. If poorly socialized or trained, it can become especially territorial and aggressive.

Shar Pei’s were once named as one of the world’s rarest dog breeds by Time Magazines and the Guinness Book of World Records, and the American Kennel Club did not recognize the breed until 1991 (Wikipedia).

Bimo the Shar Pei is suspicious of strangers, Bimo barked at me and tried to jump on me when I touch the fence of their house, fortunately Bimo was calmed by the owner. Bimo is amenable to accepting strangers given time and proper introduction like Meity, because she has frequent visits to her friend’s house, and she could play around with Bimo as seen on these pictures.

(Sequence photos when Bimo plays with Meity).

If you are interested that I publish your article/post or your photo with MY post (I can host and retouch your photos) in one of my blogs you can write me a mail (my address you can find on the right side of the page) with very clear object (that I do not cancel your mail as spam). In change I ask you to post my blog's addresses in one of your permanent posts -like this (you can copy it):

My friend's blogs:
Diary,
Animals as Friends,
Lazy Yogi,
Vacation and Travel Talk

Stick insects -so interesting!

On 31 December I wrote a post Animals of Campania: Monster without name
where asked you if you know this insect.

Today finally I know it's name. One of the magazines about life in a village published it's photo and an article. I wanted to know more about it, and here the very surprising things I read.

Stick insect or walking stick so as the leave insects are relatives of mantis. They are from the family Phyliidae and live mostly in tropics. There are 3000 described species today and nobody knows how many of not described are there, even from those that are in museums! In Europe there are about 20 species, 2 of them I've seen in my garden.

One of the sticks is the longest insect in the world and is a female Pharnacia serratipes that measured 555 mm. Other, Pharnacia kirbyi, from Indonesia (have to ask well known to you Berry, author of the post about orangutans: how can he live with these neighbours?) arrives till 36 cm.

These insects are vegetarians.
They eat leaves of one branch. And are SOOOOOOO LAZY to move to kill themselves with hunger but do not move in an other place. The only period when they move is when they go out from the egg and look for their home. It lasts some days.

Many species have only females.
They can make their kids with a male too, but if the girl do not find a male, she makes eggs without male. In this case she gives life to clones, all females. The female makes eggs all the life, 3-12 months (if I understood good). They are similar to seems or excrement. And even the eggs are too slow: they need about 2-18 months to develop.

Imagine, there are persons that raise them!!!!!
And there are even FARMS cultivating them!

Endagered Species -Orangutans

I'm very happy to present you Berry Sudirno from Indonesia, author of these interesting blogs:
howtoboostyourwealth,
journeytomakemoney,
sweetjourneyinmylife
and his article that I publish here.

Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) are endangered species, nowadays they are found only at the parts of Sumatera and Kalimantan (Borneo) of Indonesian Archipelago. Their habitats are highly disturbed by illegal logging and other forest destructions.

Adult male orangutans can weight 90 kilograms, with his long arms they can grasp the tree branch, or use their weight to sway the trees so they could reach the other branch.

Orangutans living at the tree top as their home, they eat fruits, leaves, shoots and animal protein like insect, bird nest and eggs.

According to recent research by Harvard University psychologist, James Lee, orangutans are the world most intelligent animal other than humans, with higher learning and problem solving ability than Chimpanzees, which were previously considered to have greater abilities (Wikipedia)

Orangutans live as single animals, young may stay until six years old, female are mature about ten years old, but they breed every five years until they reached 30 years age.

We ought to be doing our best to save endangered species.

Photos: My daughter, a few years ago when she was at the high school.

Place Taman Safari Indonesia (Wild Park) at Bogor, West Java, Indonesia.

Related post:
A Monkey with a Nose Like Pinnochio! written by my other friend JB


If you are interested that I publish your article/post or your photo with MY post (I can host and retouch your photos) in one of my blogs you can write to me a mail (address on the right side) with very clear object (that I do not cancel your mail as spam). In change I ask you to post my blog's addresses in one of your permanent posts -like this (you can copy it):

My friend's blogs:
Diary,
Animals as Friends,
Lazy Yogi,
Vacation and Travel Talk