A pool playing bird on show.

I am sure that the bird was a pool game champion, as he had the 8 ball in his beak.

A lovely view on our way out a few days ago.

A Red-winged Starling (Onychognathus nabouroup) and a Cape Bulbul (Pynonotus capensis) played a game of pool. Farfetched? No. Just the way my mind and imagination work:) In any case, let me show you what I got on this day, and why it reminded me about an event in my younger days.
Come and see, and I hope that you will read the story.

In the photo below, was where I first spotted the starlings, at the tip of the tree in the center of the picture. The two little black dots.

Oh yes, the male had something in his beak that resembled a number 8 pool ball. This meant that he won the game.

And so he turned and flew off towards the bulbul who was the loser.

Can you see the resemblance here, as this below is what a no. 8 pool ball looks like. In the game of pool, whoever sinks the black, is the winner.

Source

The starling handed the number 8 pool ball to the loser of the game, and the loser was so narc that he swallowed the pool ball :))

Yep, he swallowed the ball :)

Maybe the bulbul was happy to swallow it, as now the starling could not go and brag to his friends with the game winning ball. But maybe the starling is a brainy character, and he will go to ask the crows to follow the bulbul, and as soon as the bulbul pooped, the crows could scratch in his poop to retrieve the ball. The starling could offer the crows some KFC bones as a reward for returning the ball to him :)

I am reminded of playing for a pool club in my younger days, and after the preliminary games, I ended up playing in the final against the pub champion. The guy had a lot of swagger about him, and the crowd was behind him. The owner of the pub approached me, and he said that if I beat their champion, he would offer me beers for life. So the game went on in hushed silence and towards the end of the game, I still had 3 balls on the table, and the champion had only the white and the black ball on the table. But he had a tricky shot, as the white laid at the opening of a pocket, with the black immediately behind it. Now the rules of the game stipulate that if one sinks the black together with any other ball, then one has lost the game. He did exactly that, as he lined up on cut ball to skim the black away, in order for the black ball to bump the white into the pocket, while the black would the remain on the table for his winning shot. The silence was like a graveyard, as the champ sunk both balls together into the pocket. So, he beat himself and I was the winner.
Now, I know that the description above is a bit technical, but those that play, or have played the game will know exactly what I am talking about.
Btw. The owner of the pub didn't keep his word to buy me beers for life Lol.
Such is life.

I hope that you liked the story and the pictures.

Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

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