What’s All the Flap About? (85)

Or should I say, “About what is all the flap?”

Grammar aside, I have been very interested lately in the photos taken by Stephen Donnelly of birds of prey and more particularly, his photos of owls.  The pictures are stunning and detailed, showing the birds in flight as well as still.  Owls are majestic, like our Bald Eagles, but are completely different in their flight habit. The reason for this is not only in the shape of their body and wings but also of the design of their feathers, some being serrated and some being downy soft. They soar, swoop, and dive almost silently.  A faint ‘swoosh’ is all you hear as you walk through the woods and one flashes by you in a chase for a squirrel or mouse.  By the time you realize the sound was an owl, it is usually out of sight. I am sure for a squirrel or mouse the old war saying about a bullet must be true, “You never hear the one that hits you.”

Another bird I see often in the summer months and encourage to visit by placing many feeders around the house, is the humming bird.  We only have one variety in the St Louis area, but it’s a beauty–the Ruby Throated.  If you are sitting outside, almost dozing off, and hear something like a very, very large mosquito near you, it is usually a hummingbird.  Their wings are designed completely differently from those of owls or other birds and, because of the design and because they ‘flap’ so fast (up to 52 times a second), they create a ‘hummmmm’ sound.  Their ability to hover, dart, dash, and fly a slipside fascinates me.

But, the question about the ‘flap’ is about pigeons.  They not only make loud flapping sounds when they take off, they also make verbal sounds, as if to announce to the world they are leaving.  The timing of the sounds is inopportune I think since they are usually taking off because something threatening is coming near or is after them. Going silently might be more protective but they just don’t seem to be able to do that.

Words of flight are so inspiring we use them in our every day talk to describe human actions or activities. Soaring (this is good), diving (not necessarily a good thing), gliding/coasting (usually bad but could be good), hovering (usually not a good thing), and whiffling (maybe good, maybe bad) are some of the flight terms we use.

I don’t know that there is a term we use when we act like pigeons at take off. I have seen people behave the same way though. Instead of gliding off silently like an owl, they go away cursing and shaking the fist, or showing a middle finger. They complain, whine, and generally make a scene.

There isn’t a one word term for these actions, but it does often generate a question, “What’s all the flap about?”