If you haven't figured it out already from the title, the Invasive Species Weblog is having a contest. Think up the best punny title for the post below and win a prize! The prize for this round is: A cool "Pests in your lake" decal from the Vermont DEC, plus an optional one-day Vermont park pass, if you're near Vermont and are so inclined. Post your entry (one per person) here or email it to me via invasiveblog AT knottybits.com
Contest ends at midnight EDT on July 11. The Invasive Species Weblog is not affiliated with the Vermont DEC, this contest is just a fun way of donating my "massive" profits from the ISW store to a good cause.
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The post:
According to this story from the Berkshire Eagle, an artist has created an exhibit called "Teach the Starlings" that consists of a birdhouse and a feeder that aims to teach starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to speak the name of one of the men who first introduced the birds to the U.S. over a century ago. When a bird enters the birdhouse or visits the feeder, a motion-tripped sensor activates the recording, which repeats "Shieffelin" over and over. The artist, Brian Collier, notes that starlings can learn to mimic human sounds. He also notes "Most people think I'm a nut" :-). I think it's a pretty cool modern art exhibit - what about you?
Update: Congratulations to coco_beans for the winning contest entry "Starling for attention", which has now been installed properly at the top of this post, to be heralded by all for the life of the ISW! coco_beans chose to receive a "I've been Knotty this year" magnet as a prize. Thanks to everyone for entering, a new *Your Punny Title Here* Contest will be coming up in August.
28 comments:
"His Master's Voice"
"What did you hear, Agent Starling?"
How long before someone tries to use this for advertising..."Cokeisit"..."DrinkPepsi"...
"Pavlov’s revenge"
"REALLY ANNOYING BIRD FEEDER ACTUALLY PIECE OF OUTSIDER ART"
Maybe not "outsider art" strictly speaking, but it sounds good so eh.
Starlings Slur Shieffelin
"We Speak Your Name!"
or
"Quid Pro Quo, Clarice."
or
"A Little Birdie Told Me."
or
"And the Wind Cries.. Shieffelin."
or
"Birds to answer question, "Who's Your Daddy?"
or
"My Birdfeeder says "I tought I taw a Puddy Tat."
or
"Starlings to Sing for their Supper"
or
"Soon to come: Afflac Ducks."
(If I win, which I probably won't, email joshdobbin AT gmail dot com)
"Unholy Birdhouse Promotes Leid Shieffelin"
@avery: I would think something like that has got to have been tried in the tropics, where there are parrots (or in San Francisco for pete's sake!).
@josh and others: Loving all the entries...but it's only 1 per person! Pick your best and post it or out of fairness I will only be looking at the top one (except budak, I am liking "Fowl Art" :-)).
Probably won't beat john wilkins, but how about
"Sing a song of Shieffelin"
"Recordings shape the starlings' dub display"?
"Vocal vulgaris"
Kevin
Eagle reports on Teaching Starlings
Isn't that (or some variation thereof) the obvious, self-writing headline?
Shady chanteuses shriek "Sheiffelin"
Starling Effort
I pitty those birds...
Still, "Prolix, the next step for bird evolution"
Brian Colliers Meltdown
"For the BIRDS" - too obvious maybe?
your humble servant,
Ancient Clown
Honeysuckle Ate My Baby
Learn to chirp English with Mr. Sheiffelin
"Bird-brained art gets Starling reviews"
or
"Starlingly Vulgar Feeder"
or
"the Birds and their verbs"
Or
"Name that nut"
"Flipping The Bird's Speech"
Starling for attention
StarLingo habla ici.
"Bird Call now called Human Call"
A Startling Effect?
SingSing Collie...
Now would be a good time to point out that the contest ended July 11th at midnight :-)
The winner has been contacted and I will post the winning title later today.
Thanks to all for playing. A new Punny Title contest is coming soon!
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