.
Trish read up on quail, learned that they post a sentry on a high point like a fence or rock to sound an alarm if there’s danger to the covey as they forage for seeds on the ground. This raises all sorts of questions in my ever-curious mind:
1. Who appoints the sentry?
2. Is there a covey committee or birdie board that decides whose turn it is to pull duty, how long the shifts last and so on? If so, are the committee/board members elected? How often are elections held, who is eligible to vote, are there term limits?
3. Could be that birds have benevolent dictatorships rather than democracies; in what manner then is the head bird determined?
4. Maybe it’s a just a volunteer position and after a few hours the on-duty bird cheeps the message, “Hey, I’m starving here! It’s time for a new sentry. Dan, get your fat ass over here!”
5. What if Dan responds with, “Pluck you, Quentin. I just found a really good mess of seeds, my favorites, gonna snarf ‘em up.” Who does Quentin complain to? Is there a grievance committee? A union?
6. Is this a males-only position or do females pull guard duty also?
7. May gay birds be guards if they don’t ask and don’t tell?
8. If the sentry falls asleep and a cat nails one of the grazing birds, is the guilty birdie punished? In what manner?
Does anyone out there speak Quail?
