Monday, September 28, 2009

Z-A Mondays: the Obscure O

Xavier moved in closer to see what was originating from the park.
In among the oaks, it turned out, were ornithologists, ogling their surroundings.

"OK", Xavier inquired, "Where is your obsession leading here?"
"We are open to anything, but offhand, we are only looking to up our overall bird count", opined Oliver, the organizer of the ornithologists.
"This group, in the past year, has added orioles, owls, ovenbirds, even ostriches, and in one case, an ochre collared piculet, to their lists."
Another called, "Don't forget the eurasian oystercatcher!"
And yet another "Oh! And that absolutely ostentatious orange beaked woodpecker!"

You could not overstate these people's awe, or their optimism in pressing on.
"Here", said Oliver, "Take a gander", handing Xavier a pair of opaque binocs.
Xavier scanned the open land and the sky overhead, stopping at one particularly ornate specimen.
"So, Oliver, what is this one?"
Oliver obliged and, once his orbs focused on the subject, let out an "Oh....my......"
The other ornithologists all trained their lenses on the object of interest, and almost in unison, nearly screamed...
"AN....OCELLATED....ANTBIRD....!!!!!!!"
"Can't be right...obviously wrong", Oliver muttered. "That species originates out of Colombia... Costa Rica..."
Another ornithologist named Oona officially recognized the find as Xavier's, noting "We shall duly note in the annals of ornithological observation that this....Xavier...., only an amateur, observed this precious ocellated antbird on this day. The bird is off-season, off-continent, and awfully far from home, yet there it is."
Lots of ooohing and awwing from the ornithologists.
Oona asked "Xavier, "Would you oblige us with your signature to evidence your original observation of the ocellated antbird?"
Xavier, writing his name in outsized letters, was overflowing with pride. But he knew he needed to move on, maybe obtain a room for the night, and outline and weigh his overall options tomorrow.

Note: Those bird types...All real, somewhere on the planet!


4 comments:

Minerva said...

Oooo..I must opine on your obviously original offering this evening. Outstanding!

Baby Rocket Dog and Hootie said...

O - O - O! Such fun oogling your Xavier's novella. Good O Ben!

Cassie (using my dog's blog today)

Jen said...

Obviously it was bird watcher beginners luck! ha!

Connie said...

HA HA HA! I got a good laugh out of this one, Ben! I am Obviously late in visiting and commenting again. Sigh. I enjoyed this one a lot. Have a good week. :D