h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I set an unopened bottle of beer out in the garden, meaning to come inside, get my book, and finish reading it outside since it's such a lovely evening. When I got to the door with my book, I saw a rook trying to open my bottle of beer!

I had to fight the automatic reaction to chase it away, and see if it could. It hasn't managed yet, but it has knocked the bottle open and is now trying a sideways approach (pecking the underneath of the crown cap). It's a promising technique, although it does mean most of the beer will spill if it opens. The first approach was to peck at the top of the cap.

If it does actually manage to open the bottle, I'll be impressed. It will have earned it!

Erratum: "...it has knocked the bottle *over*..."

This is great! Let us know if the rook gets the bottle open.

And if it likes the beer.

Fascinating indeed!

It got it open, but it mustn't like beer. It prized the top open enough to make some fizz out of the bottle, and then it either did not like it, or decided to keep the rest for later.

I'd like to leave the bottle there for it to finish, but I think I'll have to remove it. Beer is a great slug trap, but I have a couple of young songbirds who have just left the nest, and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to get them drunk on inebriated slugs at this point in their life cycle.

True. Besides, their mamas might belong to the Temperance Union.

Back when I first moved aboard my sailboat one of the neighbour's held a party on his sailboat.

He had a large parrot in a cage, I think ir was a Green African, or maybe a Macaw.

He showed us that if we placed an empty beer can into its cage he would immediately tear it into three pieces.

I put my can into the cage, with about a quarter inch of dregs in the
bottom.

He rolled onto his back and drained the can. Then he tore it into three pieces.

I suspect he was tired of getting empty cans.




F S

I'd hate to see you lose a can of beer, though. You'd be rooked.