#my favorite birds are albatrosses and magpies

[dreamsy990]

You're intriguing ,theres likely a lot you could put in a pinned post if you really wanted to

there really Is Not

[somanypolls]

i did my best to include lots of birds. sorry if i missed your favorite or miscategorized it! i am no bird expert

[albatross-the-pen-chewer]

Trick or treat, what do you think of birds?

I like them! Funky lil dinosaurs. Although would you believe me if I said that my favorite bird was actually a magpie, instead of an albatross?

(you get an extremely scrungly portrait of my sona. Happy Halloween!)

[egirlgarak]

this is Quite late, but @kulliare tagged me in this so i am now putting my responses under a read more, approximately 23 years later.

tagging @vexedandperplexed @spectraling @gingerteaonthetardis @chaotictomtom and @breaddo only if y’all want!

Were you named after anyone?

My birth names are a variant of a name that has been passed down on my mom’s side of the family for several generations. basil, though, was just a name i gathered one day, tried it out, and it stuck.

When was the last time you cried?

this morning, with my mom in the bedroom. (grandma has severe dementia and it’s Just Rough)

Do you have kids?

FUCK no <3

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

define: a lot. i am a silly guy, so it’s not above me to make sarcastic comments, but not more or less than my fellow citizens methinks

What sports do you play/have you played?

last time i played a sport i was genuinely like 7 years old. i took dance/was on the drill team in high school, but once i got into college, most of my time was dedicated to course work. being a music major really does not let you do too much else.

What's the first thing you notice about someone?

if they’re tall(er than me), especially if they’re fem presenting. otherwise, i guess i’d say wether or not a smile reaches their eyes.

Eye color?

brown

Scary movies or happy endings?

i can do both, but i usually lean towards thrillers/horror

Any special talents?

when i’m not around other classical musicians, I say I’m an opera singer. when I’m around other classical musicians, I tell them i’m really good at saying no <3

Where were you born?

texas. yeehaw etc etc

What are your hobbies?

media consumption. language study. day dreaming about being a little bird who’s sunning his feathers by a nice lake

Do you have any pets?

two black cats! one is my brother’s, her name is magpie. the other, my little baby girl, my princess, my plumberry sweetie pie darling angel, albatross. behold. magpie (left) albatross (right):

How tall are you?

6 ft. still remember the first time i met one of my online friends and she looked up at me with awe and just says something along the lines of: “wow….you’re huge” honestly best possible feedback to receive from another trans person u like and trust. also gave me Gender, which? still not sure what to do with that aside from thank the universe for giving huge guy genes to the dude with silly little guy neural circuits

Favorite subject in school?

high school doesn’t apply here, just because i felt stupid the entire time that i never got to enjoy anything. but that being said, in university, i looooved taking italian. i have Some Scraps of knowledge left, but i remember loving it immensely, at least. i also really enjoyed the few semesters i sang in my uni’s early music vocal ensemble. that shit changed my life, genuinely. there’s so much nuance to that style of music. i think a lot of people can’t hear the appeal but man. give me some medieval recorder. a fuckin. cantiga or two. maybe we even pull out some baroque instrumentation; a funky little continuo line w a little portative organ action. i love it, man. my work as a professional opera singer has been mostly early music, and i’ve loved every fucken second.

Dream job?

despite pro opera exp, i’m not entirely sold on following that as a career option?? i’ve been floundering since 2020, honestly. but just as long as i have a flexible job that lets me enjoy being alive both in and out of the workspace, i’m good. my last few jobs were Not That, but meh. there’s still time to figure it out.

[runthepockets]

I wish humans flirted like birds did. Like I should be able to put on a lifechanging choreographed performance to My Love by T.I. and Justin Timberlake or give a girl a CD copy of my favorite Cobra Starship album and she assesses the vibe for a few minutes and decides if she wants to get more insight into my world or not, like the way dude Albatrosses dance for ladies and dude Eurasian Magpies give girl Eurasian Magpies shiny objects. Not a huge fan of this "guys should always initiate conversations and make all the date ideas and buy all the drinks because women aren't socialized to be assertive and also (understandably) find unfamiliar men kind of scary" nonsense. Let me give you an adequate and intimate display of my rich inner world and you decide whether or not you wanna move forward after it's all said and done. No more small talk. No more ghosting. Just vibes.

[saint-magpie]

Opaque and marine for the pretty word asks!!

✨Marine: Favorite sea animal?

ooooh. my first instinct is to say seals. but there are so many interesting sea creatures! like sea slugs and coelacanth and octopods and. idk if birds count but albatross? majestic!

✨Opaque: Do you wear any jewelry?

yeah! i have a bunch of bronze pendants on leather cords:

a bronze unicorn in a circle

a bronze blackbird claw

a bronze replica of a coin from Haithabu (the viking city in Denmark)

a bronze bird skull my friends gifted me (they know me well ;)

a silver trans symbol in a triangle

a small spool for sewing machine thread on a silver chain

a silver ankh bc i used to be obsessed with Egyptian mythology

a laser cut acrylic faerie on sage green thread (from layaroseart on etsy)

also spikey collars, one with alternating short - long - short silver spikes and a D- ring and one with red spikes (all long).

i don’t have any piercings but i would love to wear certain earrings. like a dangly sword earring (my inner sword bisexual is showing✌️) or a single dragonfly wing!

and sometimes i wear bracelets that i made from little glass beads and letter beads (with corresponding colours obviously)! i have:

one that says "COWBOY" (brown-gold-ish)

a "SNEET SNART" one (trans colours)

a "CROW" one (black + gold accents)

a "MAGPIE" one (black, white + iridescent)

a "THEY THEM" one (forest green)

a "ZUKO" one (fire colours)

a "GOTH" one (black with iridescent beads)

a "BUTCH TWINK" one (pink + black)

oh i also have a couple rings but i don’t wear them that often. a black ace ring (made from a leather scrap) and a silver ring with red coral which is from my grandmother and only fits my pinky, a pair of filigran but thick "gold" rings.

you could say i love accessoires ;)

[luv-engineering]

Delightfully written Draws on a large literature, fascinating in depth sketches of radically different species, using as a hook similarities and difference from humans in area as diverse as love, art, and ritual. As a teaser, Magpies observe funerals for dead magpies in a given territory. Go to Amazon

Wonderful Not only was the book chockfull of fascinating facts about birds, but those facts were revealed in a most delightful way. I appreciated the underlying humor. It wasn't forced or artificial, but flowed smoothly and subtly throughout. I wish there had been more about the albatross, or starlings (I took the author's advice and checked out "murmurings" on U-tube – wow!) or...well, I guess I wish the book hadn't ended as soon as it did. It was truly a remarkable read and gave me a feeling that there is still much right about the world. Go to Amazon

Insightful look at the importance of studying birds! An excellent look into the behaviors and traits of birds and humans that build our knowledge of the other. I would strongly recommend this book to the avid birder, a budding ornithologist or even someone interested in sociology. Go to Amazon

Would recommend this book and buy others alike Written in way that Biology majors and the general public can find enticing, Strycker provides an addicting read where you are both entertain and instructed in...well, those things with feathers. Would recommend this book and buy others alike. Go to Amazon

Fantastic book! Noah is a great writer and a ... Fantastic book! Noah is a great writer and a wonderful birder. He also now holds the record for the most bird species seen in a single year! Go to Amazon

Fantastic book about our feathered friends! Being a bird nerd myself, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Balancing witty anecdotes and technical, peer-reviewed articles, Noah Strycker does an excellent job giving readers fun and surprising insights into the lives of our feathered friends. Going from stories about sterile poop from vultures to the love lives of albatross to red contact lenses and chickens, each chapter is equally interesting. I highly recommend this book to everyone! I have already suggested it to many friends and almost everyone in my family has read it now. We're huge fans and thank Noah for writing such a wonderful book! Go to Amazon

A real gem. A great little collection. My favorite book of 2016 Go to Amazon

Fascinating and fun to read I bought the book because I often wonder why birds do what they do, and sometimes I even wonder what the heck they're actually doing. This book exceeded my hopes from the very first page. Strycker is not only an excellent and entertaining writer, but he is also obviously a curious and thoughtful researcher. Chapter after chapter I've learned something new - not just about birds but about humans, and the world we live in. It's so delightful that I keep reading excerpts out loud to whomever is in the room with me, and now there's a waiting line in my family; but since I can't put the book down, they won't have long to wait. Go to Amazon

Five Stars Some interesting facts but too many other things Five Stars Great informative read... this book does not disappoint A Fun and Informative Read A quick, interesting read Soars above! One Star Not what I expected

[dreamsy990]

I FUCKING FORGOT ALBATROSSES!!! my favorite birds are albatrosses. magpies are second though

Heya! Same chattering anon here!

I'm glad you enjoy it! I get the whole attention thing, so I'm glad to help.

Hmmmm... Conversation topics to chatter about....

Favourite type of bird, maybe?

Take breaks, drink water, eat and sleep well!

hmmm,,,,, i love magpies. and most corvids actually buy mostly magpies