We all know how a lizard sheds its tail to a predator, but how does a Diving Pochard lose its head to a fisherman?
It is the oldest trick in the world revealed for the first time in the histories of fresh water fowl, and footwear in general.
The Shoe Billed Diving Pochard follows a fisherman, waits until a fish toggles the bait at the end of the line. With grace and speed the Pochard dives and catches the unfortunate fish before it bites on the hook, in a flash, it unscrews its head like a light bulb and hooks it to the line, giving it a good tug.
Our fisherman, his adrenaline rushing like the Yosemite Falls, grabs his fishing pole, reels in the line, finds what looks like an old shoe at the end of it , takes it off the hook, curses , and throws it back into the water in a fit of anger.
Our bird is left to search the bottom of the pond for its lost head. The process itself lacking a certain measure of organization, it can take quite some time before the Pochard pulls himself back together. The Pochard's hatchlings, are the darlings of the fresh water kingdom, they walk side by side bobbing their little white or bronze colored baby shoe bills, and playfully kick each other in the rump.
J.F.Podevin
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