fush

[Gerard]

In no sense is that a fish.

It does appear to be a clapping Armadillo though.

[hint]

sturgeon are pretty hardcore

[sufi]

that sturgeon is dodgy hint


A young Benkei stalks the monster carp that ate his mother. From the series "New Forms of Thirty-six Ghosts". 芳年 Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892)

[sufi]

kintaro riding the carp
国芳 Kuniyoshi「半上弾正忠影景雲州富田川の山椒魚」

[sufi]

東洲斎 目録 第8号

[rewch]

very nice

[hint]

my fish re-appeared today in my pond - amazing how they disappear completely during the cold weather, for about 5 months, but after just a couple of days of sunshine they're back in action and hungry again like nothing has happened.

I'd had a scare cos a couple died quite close to each other about a month ago (including my one and only goldfish - known as terminator), so I thought there might have been some kind of disease picking them off one by one. but after a couple more weeks with no deaths, I'm assuming they were the unlucky casualties of a heron attack.

[sufi]

you have a pond?< /envious>

[hint]

yeah - nice natural pond - a big hole full of murky water, which the fish seem to thrive in because there's more natural food for them and the low visibility protects them from predators.

a couple of moorhens come and nest on the bank every year and have at least 5 chicks each time (not all survive though, but that's nature for you). this year there's a new addition in the neighbourhood who's suddenly appeared and settled down - a coot (picture below). it's very tame and happily hangs around while I'm out there feeding the fish.

[sufi]

i was educated on this only a couple of days ago by cheekybuddha who had a moorhen encounter recently (but that's another story)
for personal reasons i've always felt some affinity with moorhens, and so assumed that i knew the diff between them and coots.
turns out not
apparently moorhens have a red go-faster stripe on their beaks...coots don't
funky moorhen

coot

more twitcher porno...

[hint]

I assumed it was a moorhen at first, but saw it up close and noticed the differences.

moorhen = black feathers with white details, red beak with yellow tip, yellow legs and long, thin toes

coot = all black feathers, white beak that extends quite far up his head ("bald as a coot"), with white / grey legs and really interesting toes - each one has webbed segments hanging either side. if he gets startled he runs across the water surface - a very impressive trick.

he's quite slow on land compared to the moorhens, so I guess that's why he stays in the water when I'm around - his crazy feet and water-walking skills give him a better chance of escape if he's threatened while he's in the water.

I'm hoping a mate will turn up and they'll make a nest.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/c...tcm5-57769.mov

[luka]

admire the feet on your coot, they're hilarious

[sufi]

megalodorous giant catfish vs. amazon cichlid

[sufi]

เอาไปดู นี่แหละปลากดอเมซอน =amazon megalodoras



....& other catfishies



cnn




http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread19036/pg3

[rewch]

love the nonchalant smoking of cigarette while holding giant fish that threatens to submerge canoe of that last one... mmm... catfish grow to quite extraordinary sizes really...