I’ve been listening to the cricket commentary of the match between Sri Lanka and England over the last few days – it’s going very well for us. The commentators are all still based in the UK but they are doing their best, and doing pretty well, to bring the match to life for us all.
In a way, the cricket is not the most important thing one gets from Test Match Special – it always feels like a wam comforting cloak of well-being howevr badly the England cricket team are doing. It is, as many would agree, the chat about people and places that makes it a good listen, and if the cricket is happening, and if it’s going England’s way, then all the better.
And so I was interested yesterday when birds cropped up – apparently there are black birds and white birds at the ground. The black birds are said to be crows (and probably are I guess) – maybe Indian House Crow or perhaps Large-billed Crow (see here and here)? If there is anyone reading this blog and who was watching the cricket on TV (Sky , I think) then maybe you have a view?
The white birds are thought to be egrets (thanks to a message to TMS from a viewer) and the messenger thought that she had seen Little Egret and, was it Cattle Egret?, but not yet Great Egret or Intermediate Egret, at the ground. Again, any readers here, and viewers there, with a view?
There was then a less than accurate query about whether those egrets weren’t just gulls anyway followed by the statement that it was very important not to call gulls ‘seagulls’ because nothing was more likely to fill the online postbag of TMS more than the use of the term seagull. You see, it’s not all about cricket…
And I have, in the middle of the night, listened to some of the ABC commentary of Australia v India – some exciting cricket going on there. But one also gets the Australian news as part of the broadcast, and it has been fascinating to listen to the news dominated by COVID in a country with very few cases. But you get updates on state-by-state measures and almost, it seems, the names and addresses of affected people.
Test Match Cricket commentary – a window into many worlds other than cricket.
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I prefer to get more personal with gulls and refer to them as Larrys (after their family Laridae).
Both House crows and large billed. Great white egrets, (nothing with yellow legs). Flash of hirundine, probably swallow. Unidentified dragonfly. No gulls or indeed seagulls. Possible cormorant. Cameramen obviously not as interested as at some matches.
Given location, very disappointing so far.
No birds at the snooker!
Paul – thank you very much. Good to know.
what’s wrong with calling them seagulls anyway? that sort of fussy approach to language is one of the things that puts a barrier up for people wanting to learn more about nature
Does Beefy not do cricket commentary? I’m sure he’d know.
I’d imagine that if there are crows on the outfield he must be in a state of apoplexy! I believe there are four harrier species that have been recorded in Sri Lanka; let’s hope that one of them doesn’t do a fly past or the roof might get blown off the commentary box!
Beefy is too busy shooting the birds.
I spotted a Great White Egret standing just outside the boundary beyond deep extra cover during the afternoon session. It didn’t look terribly impressed with our two spinners, or so I thought.
Nice close up of a Cattle Egret on this evenings test match BBC news. caption ‘ not all ducks are white !’ not bad for a sports commentator ! (apologies to Simon Barnes !)_