I ate breakfast this morning with a couple of friends at my second-favorite breakfast joint in town, a place right out on the wharf with fishing boats all around. On the fishing boat across the way there was a kingfisher sitting on the rope and tackle for the mast. It was grooming and cleaning itself off, moving its head around, fluffing up its feathers. It had a longish feather hanging out off the back of its head, sort of like a rat-tail emerging from under the haircut of a teenage boy, and even as it groomed itself the black feathers on its head seemed to get more and more spiky-looking and rumpled. It was fun to watch.
Hmmm. I was sure it was a kingfisher when I looked at it but on the web as I look for it right now all the pictures of kingfishers I can find show a much smaller bird than what I saw. And it's not like I know anything about birds, so I'm not sure where my idea that it was a kingfisher came from. This bird was the size of an owl, with a big white chest. I'm wondering if maybe it was a black-crowned Night Heron. Anyway, it was a kind of bird I don't usually see when eating breakfast.
It was probably just that the bird looked so regal. Looks go a long way in forming our opinions. The Kingfisher sounds like a grand bird, not a glorified Bluejay, so it's reasonable that you'd think this was a Kingfisher and not some watery tart of a bird.
The bird your describing meets my mental picture of a cormorant, as inaccurate as that may be. Anyway, have a nice weekend.
-Adam
Posted by: Adam | July 24, 2004 at 04:27 AM
Definitely not a cormorant. Those are everywhere here, a slick black with yellowy brown beak. Some people call them "shags." They stand on rocks or buoys with their wings spread to dry them out, and they dive and swim long distances under water chasing fish. Wouldn't merit a second look at breakfast, although I suppose it would be strange to see one perched in the rigging of a boat. I imagine they have webbed feet.
http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_pages/0027-0405-1807-4611.html
Posted by: Scheherazade | July 24, 2004 at 08:37 AM
What's your 1st favorite, Bintliff's?
Posted by: | July 24, 2004 at 02:50 PM
Bintliff's is my third-favorite. I'm not identifying my first favorite. It's crowded enough.
And no, it's not Becky's. That's not even in the top 10.
Posted by: Scheherazade | July 25, 2004 at 09:16 PM
Becky's sucks. Their food is just not good. Portland has great food, but other than Bintliff's, it's not much of a breakfast palce.
Posted by: | July 26, 2004 at 09:16 AM