Two birds and a Strathy Strangler

Three things I learned from the nature diaries feature in the NTS magazine:

1. A new word: kleptoparasitic -

- describing a bird which steals food from other birds. Applied to the great skua, the bonxie (also known as 'pirates of the sea'), which seems to have developed a degree of immunity to avian flu. Which has to be good news, doesn't it?

2. Corncrake chicks are ridiculously cute.

Scroll down that article, past the intimidating bonxies, to see the little black fluffy thing. I don't know why the picture is so small. Here's another one. The world needs more baby corncrakes.

3. The Strathy Strangler is a fungus.

A parasitic fungus.

Plus a bonus bird. I have never owned an umbrella. I have never wanted to own an umbrella. But if I did this is the umbrella I would want to own.