The Birds
One of the far from unpleasant side-effects of the lockdown here in Maynooth is that you notice the birds much more.
For one thing the marked decrease in traffic means that birdsong a lot more audible, which is very pleasant; for another, some otherwise rather shy species are to be seen out and about. I saw (and heard) one of these critters fo on Maynooth Campus yesterday when I went for my daily constitutional:
It’s a song thrush. I’ve never seen one on the campus before. I’ve also seen various colourful finches from time to time.
The resident bird population of Maynooth University campus is dominated by various members of the crow family: Jackaws, Rooks, Hooded Crows, Magpies, etc. They’re still around but they live mainly by scavenging and there are far fewer people around leaving far less stuff to scavenge, they seem to be roaming farther afield. Yesterday, however, I noticed that a couple of Magpies swooped on the cat’s dish after he’d finished his lunch to see if there was anything left to eat. They must be hungry.
Outside my flat there’s a group of tall trees. Yesterday afternoon I watched from a window for a full twenty minutes as a rather large and clumsy Rook tried to balance precariously on a long slender twig right at the top. Why it didn’t perch on one of the thicker branches lower down instead, I don’t know.
It struck me as an excellent metaphor, but I’m not sure for what.
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In the Dark 
April 6, 2020 at 9:08 am
Corvid-19?
April 6, 2020 at 9:17 am
Nope, that’s Bertrand Russell’s summary, exactly as written in his History of Western Philosophy (except that the penultimate word is ‘become’). Here is an English translation of the relevant lines of Plato’s Timaeus:
the race of birds was created out of innocent light-minded men, who, although their minds were directed toward heaven, imagined, in their simplicity, that the clearest demonstration of the things above was to be obtained by sight…
April 6, 2020 at 9:47 am
You might inform him what Plato says just before that about women, too (also summarised by Russell).
April 6, 2020 at 10:55 am
Amazing what bollocks greats like Plato were prone to talk at times!
My favourite classicist of the 20th century, Gilbert Highet, was once asked what was the best piece of advice he received early in his career. “Verify your references”, he replied.