eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog

Well here we are at contest number two. And this one is going to be easy and fun. (As a matter of fact, the funniest entry wins!)

First of all, here’s the prize - a Duncraft feeder! (The manufacturer’s description follows.)

Duncraft Advantage Squirrel Blocker
Our squirrel-proof Advantage is quick to fill and easy to clean. And did we mention it's indestructible? This ultra-clever design is ours alone. The Advantage has a metal Squirrel-Blocker grid on each side that rests above the seed to prevent squirrels from reaching the food. Our EasyClean Advantage provides excellent squirrel protection without batteries, weights or springs. The grids pull right out so you can clean every inch of this feeder in a jiffy. Roof lifts easily for filling then locks tightly to keep squirrels out. Clear plastic view panel lets you monitor the seed level. For best results we recommend black oil sunflower seed or a blend of large seeds. Comes with a hanger or you can post mount. Capacity 6 lbs. 12 x 8 x 10 inches

Now, here’s a bit of background, the contest and the rules!

In researching birds for this blog, I’ve run across hundreds of “common names” with their corresponding “Latin names”… We’re talking about name combinations like:

• Wood Stork, (Mycteria americana)
• Barrow's Goldeneye, (Bucephala islandica)
• Bonaparte's Gull, (Larus philadelphia)

The common names (in bold) are simple and make sense. But the Latin names (in italics) are mysterious and often suggest a behavior followed by a location such as a country, land mass, or a state or even city.

Wouldn’t it be cool if we could discover our own bird and name it as we wanted? Well, it just so happens that such a thing has transpired, (sort of, but not quite). Both Gordon and I almost caught a real glimpse of the “bird” below. (Ok, both Gordon and I had been working long hours… And true, Gordon pictured a creature with a fourteen-inch wingspan, and I‘m pretty sure that the one I saw had at least a forty-five-foot wingspan, but that‘s not the point… We have both seen squirrels “flying” from ground or branch to feeders etc., and this is Gordon‘s “Photoshopped” rendition of what the beasts just might have looked like.)



In fact, Gordon and I have already given the probably-fictitious creature a common name: The “Gordon Alan Pterodactyl Squirrel.” (I would have tossed Kathryn’s name in there as well, but she claims never to have seen one of these impossible “dino rodent birds“. Besides, she thinks Gordon and I are “squirrelly.” I wonder why?)

Ok, ok… On to the nuts and bolts of the contest!

• First, you need to use the comment button below on this post to submit your entry for the Latin name of the “dino/squirrel/bird”, (aka “Gordon Alan Pterodactyl Squirrel“) depicted immediately above.
• Remember, the funniest Latin name wins!
• Only rated “G” comments/entries are allowed.
• Ideal entries should be in the hokey Latin form of Descriptius Locationium. (And no, you don‘t need to put your answer in italics.) A few examples should give you an idea of what we‘re really looking for:
  • SeedStealium cape codior
  • GetMyFillius philidelphius
  • UnstoppableEatingMachinium bostoni
  • They‘reInMyAtticus! floridae
  • CrazedPterodactylSquirrelium new yorkium
• Multiple entries are allowed, but each entry must be in its own individual comment.
• Entries made by eBirdseed employees and/or their families are void.
• All decisions made by the judges at eBirdseed.com are final.
• The contest starts as soon as this post goes live. (That is, if you’re reading this, the contest has begun!)
• This contest ends at 11:59 PM EST, January 26th, 2007.

So there you go... You know, few things in life are truly guaranteed, (it helps if you read the rest of this sentence using the voice of that old “Green Acres” huckster “Mr. Haney“), but I can personally gar-un-tee that should you win this feeder, you’ll never have a problem with a “Gordon Alan Pterodactyl Squirrel!”

Good luck, and see you by the feeders,

Alan