Saturday 16th July (Pharoah's Chicken)


Mr. Kite looked out of his bedroom window into a dark grey sky. Two Wood Pigeons cooed from inside the thick green foliage of the Lime trees. The leaves moved  slowly in the gentle breeze and rain looked likely.

Today Mr. Kite had a few plans that included a small time to watch birds. With rain bouncing off the window-sill Mr. Kite saw two Egyptian Vultures sitting near the bathroom. Now these were not real live vultures but a print mounted in a frame.

Many years ago Mr. Kite purchased Victorian engraved prints of birds that he wanted to see; these included Hoopoe, Bittern, Purple Heron and Egyptian Vulture. So that is the reason why Mr. Kite could see 'vultures on the landing'.

Now real live birds are pretty amazing to watch but real engravings and prints are pretty amazing because before the days of scopes, bins and photographs people watched, sketched and recorded birds in great detail. So Mr. Kite will describe the Egyptian Vultures on his print.

Two vultures sit on a forked branch; a white male with dark brown quills sits in the foreground. In the background a black/brown female sits facing the right. The male has yellow legs and bill. The fork that the male sits upon is pinky/brown whilst the females perch is tinged with green; probably a moss or lichen; a sign of the good quality of the air. The engraver of this fabulous picture is unknown but he was a real bird-watcher; a person who looked carefully and recorded detail.

Mr. Kite likes to learn and so should everyone. Dutch colonists called the Egyptian Vulture the ' White Crow'; Turks referred to it as 'Akbobas or White Father. These names are fun but Pharoah's Chicken beats them all. What a fabulous name; full of history, full of simple language and showing some affinity to the bird. Birds, bird-watching and bird history is fun; so enjoy.

Now Mr. Kite considers that we should acknowledge the feats of previous bird-watchers and naturalists. So Mr. Kite sipped a tipple of Morland "Old Speckled Hen"  and raised his glass to the Scottish engraver William Home Lizars and the editor of the Naturalists Library, Sir William Jardine, and of course you; anyone reading about birds and bird-watching; cheers. A good health to all 'Pharaoah's Chickens and Mr. Kite's tipple of 'Mr. Kite's Chicked', or 'Old Speckled Hen'.