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His name is Szechwan (Pepper) — the "Pepper" is silent. He is a male Spice finch. He likes to hang from the ceiling. He has a pink band on his left leg. He gets nervous when I stand near the Finsterium to watch him; I try to walk away before he flies away from me.
He keeps biting at that pink band. So how will I recognize him if he manages to get it off? Not to fear. He also has quite a bit of feather damage, almost as much as Nutmeg. Both birds are small, or at least they seem that way, and have naked rings around their necks, but while Nutmeg has a bare back, Szechwan (Pepper) is missing a surprising number of feathers on his head. Sort of a receding hairline, except the receding part is at the back of his head. If I'm lucky, he won't chew off that band and grow all his feathers back. Otherwise, I'll try getting the tiniest paintball set available, and do some target practice.
The rust-colored Szechwan pepper is not actually in the pepper family, and is less spicy than black peppercorns, but it is associated with dishes from the Szechwan province of China. Food in that region is much hotter and spicier than the rest of China.
Why "Szechwan (Pepper)"? Partly because I like to say the word(s). ssssse — shwannn!!! But he also has a very interesting song, and deserves a name that matches it in style. Remember when I claimed that the new Finsters make sounds like creaky gates, and a tape player eating up a cassette tape? Well, Szechwan (Pepper) does it all! Here's a picture of the song, which is meant to describe sections of the song, and hint at the tune (meant to, I said, hint, I said):
He starts out with a lovely whistle in the first section, but the second part starts getting a little creaky. Parts three and four steadily sound more and more like a creaky gate, and the fifth part progresses into the sound of a small mechanical appliance taking its dying breath. A cassette tape getting eaten by a 15+ year old tape player is a pretty good description. Now, sometimes the song ends there (and if he catches me staring at him it ends much sooner), but often there's a transition, which consists of a barely-audible whistle, and then he repeats the first two sections again. It's lovely! And impressive!
The Finster Log
His Name Is Szechwan (Pepper)
Posted on: 12/11/04, 19:12:27
He keeps biting at that pink band. So how will I recognize him if he manages to get it off? Not to fear. He also has quite a bit of feather damage, almost as much as Nutmeg. Both birds are small, or at least they seem that way, and have naked rings around their necks, but while Nutmeg has a bare back, Szechwan (Pepper) is missing a surprising number of feathers on his head. Sort of a receding hairline, except the receding part is at the back of his head. If I'm lucky, he won't chew off that band and grow all his feathers back. Otherwise, I'll try getting the tiniest paintball set available, and do some target practice.
The rust-colored Szechwan pepper is not actually in the pepper family, and is less spicy than black peppercorns, but it is associated with dishes from the Szechwan province of China. Food in that region is much hotter and spicier than the rest of China.
Why "Szechwan (Pepper)"? Partly because I like to say the word(s). ssssse — shwannn!!! But he also has a very interesting song, and deserves a name that matches it in style. Remember when I claimed that the new Finsters make sounds like creaky gates, and a tape player eating up a cassette tape? Well, Szechwan (Pepper) does it all! Here's a picture of the song, which is meant to describe sections of the song, and hint at the tune (meant to, I said, hint, I said):
He starts out with a lovely whistle in the first section, but the second part starts getting a little creaky. Parts three and four steadily sound more and more like a creaky gate, and the fifth part progresses into the sound of a small mechanical appliance taking its dying breath. A cassette tape getting eaten by a 15+ year old tape player is a pretty good description. Now, sometimes the song ends there (and if he catches me staring at him it ends much sooner), but often there's a transition, which consists of a barely-audible whistle, and then he repeats the first two sections again. It's lovely! And impressive!
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