Early morning somewhere in the mountains of Arthur’s pass. The greyish light of a world about to dawn outside the tent. I wake up to a piercing scream that makes the blood curdle in my veins. It sounds like the creature vildvittra from the Swedish movie Ronja Rövardotter. Nightmareish, bird-like creatures that hunt down humans and feed on their flesh. The screams continue, and before long several other voices come flying and join in on the screaming. Terror seizes me and I have time to think “Oh no, we’re all gonna die!”.
“Now the blood shall flow!”
Then I hear someone in the next tent say “It’s all right, it’s just keas! They’re gigantic, highly intelligent parrots who kill sheep and eat their flesh.” Oh all right, no worries then. … wait, what? New Zealand and its crazy birds!
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| Kea in flight. (Image source: Wikimedia Commons) |
Love and birds,
Winterdragon
