Strange Stationary Winged Dinners Sit Behind Circulation

Behind the Circulation Desk at my Library are lots of shelves upon which special stuff sits.  As I happened to be passing through on my way to supper visit the newborn chicks in Youth Services, I noticed that several winged dinners had taken up residence atop the shelves above the talking books along the back wall.

 Winged Dinner (Commonly Called a Blue Jay)

 Hey, B.J.--Welcome to My Dinner Plate!  (Chitter-Chitter!)

  

How'd they get that winged dinner to hold a welcome sign?  There were some other winged dinners sitting nearby, also, amazingly, holding welcome signs in their beaks.

Official Hoosier State Winged Dinner ("Cardinal")

  Hey, Where's Batman?  (Winged Dinner Commonly Called "Robin")

I sat watching these winged dinners for what seemed like hours, but was, according to the wall clock, only about five minutes, and--you won't believe this--they didn't move a muscle the entire time!  What sort of zen Buddhist monks do we have here, anyway?  Winged dinners are usually quick-moving little fellers.  They swoop in, chow down fast, and then fly away.  The entire time they're grounded, their little heads swivel around in constant jerks, allowing their beady little eyes full view of their surroundings.  (I presume they're searching for predators from which to escape.)  Even mommas sitting on eggs in nests move their heads around and look generally nervous (at least if I'm in the neighborhood).

These dudes, however, made no movements whatsoever.  It was downright spooky.  Maybe these winged dinners are like spookersnouts, who play dead as a defense mechanism against predators (news flash, spookersnouts:  Playing dead won't work against scavengers).  If that's what they're up to, it's a startlingly convincing act, I must say.

I even went so far as to swat a couple with my forepaws to see if they would fly away.  Nothing doing!  Still they just sat there, eerily immobile.  They felt much heavier than most winged dinners I've swatted or pounced upon.  I simply don't know what to make of it.  Your thoughts?

Well, most of the chicks have gone away to foster homes for awhile, so there was nothing much doing in Youth Services.  It just started pouring down rain, so I think I'll curl up in the Indiana Roving Reporter Room until the sun shines.  Stop by and say hello.  Scowl-Face can take a message (if you speak slowly enough), in case I'm off covering breaking news.

Simply Stumped Over These Strange Stationary Winged Dinners,

Cauli Le Chat

MPL Roving Reporter

Aviary News Beat

P.S.  B.J. (see top pictures) welcomes the Byrds with their folk-rock arrangement of this traditional folk song, I Know My Rider (I Know You Rider) (1966), which is included among the bonus tracks on the group's Fifth Dimension CD.  I Know You Rider appeared in the 1934 compilation of American folk songs, which was prepared by musicologists/folklorists John Lomax and Alan Lomax.  They attributed the first stanza to an 18-year-old Black girl imprisoned for murder, who sang it in a blues style.