Issue 2:
Pet
Cris Bisch
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Bookaburra
The book smelled like an old cedar chest. A hand written note pressed between the pages read, "conical eggs are often laid by waders and gulls, always pointed inward to minimize the surface area occupied."
Small gray feathers fell out from amongst the loose pages. I watched them crisscross, lazily floating toward my feet. For a moment, I felt as light as a feather tracking the pattern of their descent, but the weightiness of the book drew my attention back to the open page.
I was unfamiliar with the words pennae, plumulae, and rachis, but I did recognize names of birds whose feathers were colorfully illustrated: emu, woodpecker, kingfisher, peacock, and sparrow hawk. As I read on, I learned that the Ruby-throated hummingbird has about 950 feathers while the Whistling Swan has over 25,000, and the weight of a bird’s plumage can be more than twice that of its skeleton.
There are songbirds that can sing a complexity of 80 notes per second. A bird’s sensitivity to individual notes is three times greater than that of a human. Although largely a male dominate characteristic, there are female singers, and duetting couples. There are birds like the Laughing Kookaburra, not recognized as a songbird, that have a beautiful, complex call.
This old book about the life of birds puts a song in my heart. I find the scent of its paper, glue, and ink to be nesting material for the hatching of fresh, new thoughts.
~Cris Bisch
Cris lives in Oregon, where she chronicles life through her photography and writing.
© 1999 by Cris Bisch. All Rights Reserved.
© 2000-2002 by Cayuse Press. All Rights Reserved.
This page updated April 23, 2002.