I don’t know if it’s just me, but whenever I visit a place, I’m not only visiting the place. I’m also checking out the environment, looking around to see if there’s anything worth capturing on camera.
I can’t remember how many times I’ve done this. Do I even need to count? Original photos are part of my content here on Hive, so what am I even saying? Lol.
Last Friday, I accompanied a colleague to an abattoir on Nsulu Street, off Mosque Street, here in my city. She had taken some meat there to be dried — one of the services they offer alongside the selling of meat. Busy spot, unfortunately, I had no idea such a place existed.
While we waited for her package, I looked up and saw the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) perched on the brick watertank stanchion. It stood tall and still, head turning slowly, clearly scouting. Probably watching for scraps or small prey. Perched on the water pipe, its back towards the flamingo, was also a cooper’s hawk.
Seeing the flamingo in such an environment got me thinking again: why do flamingos associate with dirt? For a bird that white, you’d expect it to avoid dirt altogether. But flamingos don’t care. Lagoon, dump, abattoir, muddy, dirty pools of water — if there’s food, they’re in.
Isn't white supposed to be elegant and spotless?
You see them follow herds of cattle, perched on their backs, picking insects off their bodies. Seriously, the bird looks too clean for the places it chooses. Lol.
Well, that’s just their nature. They're nothing but scavengers. If there’s food, they’ll go. Clean or dirty doesn’t matter.
Nature really did them dirty, I tell you. Lol.
Well, nature doesn’t follow our ideas of what’s “fitting.” It just is! Moreover, survival doesn’t care about color - even in humans.
Author's Photos.
