Traditionally, April Fools' Day is a time to play pranks, share hoaxes, and tell jokes. April Fool stories published by newspapers and other media outlets may trick readers into believing tall tales -- until they realize the date. Here are some bird-themed funnies that have come out on April Fools' Days in the past.
Google is known to reveal a prank each April Fools' Day, often involving a new product or service in their technology offering. In 2002 they introduced PigeonRank to the world, exposing the truth behind their search technology. Pigeon Clusters (PCs) were the true power Google used to rank and sort web pages. The somewhat elaborate story behind PigeonRank was shared in detail, including graphs and diagrams and a FAQ.
A popular video was released by the BBC in April Fools' Day 2008 which showed Adelie Penguins taking flight. At the time it was one of the most viewed internet videos.
Then there was that time when we revealed a new species of crane that was discovered in South America. We even shared a colorful Birdorable image of the new species, which we dubbed the Painted Crane (Grus pictus). This April Fool prank came out just as we were celebrating Crane Week -- it was an incredible coincidence!
Watch out for more pranks and hoaxes as you go about your day and keep in mind the date! Happy April Fools' Day!
We're celebrating Vulture Week because this Saturday, September 6th, marked International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD). This commemorative day has been celebrated since at least 2009 and aims to highlight the importance of vultures and vulture conservation through education. Happy Monday, vulture lovers! Here are some vulture jokes to kick off your week with a laugh!
Vulture underwear joke:
Q: What is a vulture's favorite kind of underwear? A: Thermals! They're always flying in them.
Vulture airplane joke:
A vulture boards an airplane with three dead raccoons. The flight attendant says to him, "I'm sorry, sir, it's only two carrion per passenger."
Vulture clown joke:
Two vultures are in a field, eating a dead clown. One vulture says to the other, "Does this taste funny to you?"
Rare vulture joke:
A White-backed Vulture, a California Condor, and a Red-headed Vulture walk into a bar. The bartender says, "This is amazing, I better call the Audubon Society!"
Do you know any vulture jokes? Share them with us in the comments! In the meanwhile, have a great week, everyone, and remember to always...
The Egyptian Plover is a beautiful species of wader that lives in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the common name, their present range does not extend to any part of Egypt. The bird is sometimes known by another name: Crocodile Bird.
During a visit to Egypt in 459 BC, the Greek historian Herodotus noted having seen a small bird picking out food from the mouth of a crocodile. The behavior was presumed to be symbiotic, or beneficial to both animals. The crocodile got a nice teeth cleaning, and the bird got an easy meal. The bird named in Herodotus' account was an Egyptian Plover. Our first clue that this may not be true is the fact that Herodotus, while often recognized as the world's first historian, had a nickname of his own: "The Father of Lies." The Crocodile Bird myth was later revived by explorers in the 19th and 20th centuries. Two separate personal eyewitness accounts, one by a German zoologist, the other by a British birdwatcher, are widely disputed. In fact, there is no substantial record of any type of symbiotic cleaning relationship between any crocodilian species and any bird, anywhere. Despite its questionable background, the nickname Crocodile Bird does make the Egyptian Plover sound kind of cool, don't you think?
May is Warbler Neck Awareness Month. Warbler Neck (WN) Awareness is promoted with a cerulean blue awareness ribbon, one side of which is transformed into a feather, shown here at left. Over the next few weeks, we'll be highlighting WN and how it affects birders during migration. We'll discuss the symptoms and remedies (to stop birding altogether is not an option most sufferers choose). We'll also be sharing our new line of Warbler Neck Awareness designs with you. Our Birdorable line of WN designs feature the cerulean blue awareness ribbon-feather, and a cute Birdorable warbler or two. This awareness campaign kicks off today and will continue through the next few weeks, both here on Birdorable and at our sister site for birders, MagnificentFrigatebird.com.
This week's featured t-shirt is this design featuring our Birdorable Cardinal thinking "One day I'm going to be the Pope!". This is a funny design for birdwatchers, backyard birders and cardinal lovers. Cardinal is just one step away from Pope, after all.
