Writing Group: Ornithology

The prompt for this week was birds in any context. Maybe something about a specific bird, maybe birds aren’t real, maybe about bird Pokemon. Keltin wrote about blue jays, one group member wrote about swans and how they are represented in myth and media. Another group member wrote a short little horror piece about crows. This ended up being a really fun prompt.

Mine is a bird that I saw in an unexpected place.

Out of Context Bird

From the vibrant jungles of the Indian subcontinent hails the bird that has long captured the imagination with its vivid plumage and regal air. Its tail feathers used as quills and decoration while its roasted form might be the centerpiece of a feast. Living lawn ornaments whose tails drag behind them until raised in a magnificent display. Letting their haunting cries fill the air. 

Visitors expect to see these birds in botanical gardens, zoos, maybe someone’s escaped pet. You don’t expect to see them at a national historic site that prides itself on having that would have actually been there during its heyday. Yes, Bent’s Old Fort in Colorado has peafowl. Bent’s Fort was not a military installation but rather a trading post along the Santa Fe Trail. 

Apparently people were fascinated by peafowl as they conquered manifest destiny – yes, peahens, peachicks, and peacocks  are collectively peafowl. It makes sense to transport chickens, ducks, and maybe even geese in a waggon but who is transporting peacocks? Okay, they were probably transporting chicks but those chicks grow fast.

Yes, is  documentation of peafowl at the fort, from the NPS website: “Grinnell, once wrote that several peacocks were at the fort, and that their “…plummage and harsh voices astonished and more or less alarmed the Indians, who called them thunder birds.””

I just love the idea that these birds fascinated people and were valuable enough to bring across the wilds of America as part of westward expansion. Yes, they were probably bred and hatched on the east coast but it still amazes me how far these birds have traveled and to such remote areas of the world. Because even in this modern time Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site is in the middle of nowhere. 

So never underestimate where people will take things. 

Visit Bent’s Old Fort

• Bent’s Old Fort

Thank you KW Photography for allowing me to use your wonderful photos!

INSTAGRAM│TWITTER│YOUTUBE │PATREON

If you like the banner check out this design and others at Canva!