FIELD NOTES Feathered Finds
The treasure hunt is a literary trope that has spanned history; pirate maps, the Ark of the Covenant, the Lost City of Atlantis, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Inca gold, that B-grade movie where Nicolas Cage steak the Declaration of Independence… The story arc is generally the same - a small band of misfits goes through trials and tribulation to uncover untold riches. There is usually danger, a fearless leader, moments of despair, and, ultimately, success against all odds.
Here is another story along that theme. But this time, the treasure is a bird.
For those who are not as obsessed with feathered finds as our band of four, allow me to fascinate you. The treasure we sought was a bird formerly known as a ‘jewelled thrush’ - the African pitta. One look at the African pitta is enough to induce awe. Take an oversized plover, paint it in all the colours of the rainbow and give it a black mask for a dash of intrigue, and you have the bird. It is primarily golden in its underparts, with a green back. Its belly is bright red, and its wings flecked electric blue. On its rump, a startling turquoise patch transitions into deep violet tail feathers.
The ‘Zorro’ mask hints at its elusive assure, despite its gaudy appearance. On
