PNG Nature - Papuan Frogmouths

Say "Gude" to the Papuan Frogmouth, a bird that is a native of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Australia.

"Are you lookin' at me?"
Picture: spiceoflifetravel c/o TripAdvisor

The frogmouth may not be as pretty as the Kumul bird of paradise that graces the PNG flag, but it's not the most ugly bird in the world either*. Instead the Frogmouth's appeal is in it's rumoured method for catching prey which (if true) mean it is an awesomely lazy energy conserving creature.

While it can move from tree to tree catching small lizards, frogs and rodents it is suggested that it's also able to lie in wait for insects who simply fly into its open beak. Apparently it manages this by having a sort of intriguing halitosis that attracts bugs on the look-out for food. Instead of finding a tasty meal, the insects become one as the frogmouth closes it's huge mouth. Superbly efficient for the bird, a little bit disappointing for the bug.

If you think the Papuan Frogmouth looks smug you could be right - If I could attract pizza to my mouth just by opening it, I'd be pretty smug too!

For more pictures of the frogmouth visit http://beautyofbirds.com/papuanfrogmouths.html

*The accolade of ugliest bird surely belongs to the Frogmouth's cousin the hilarious Potoo from South America (go ahead and have a look, it's worth it!)

PNG medals at the Commonwealth Games - Glasgow 2014

Papua New Guinea's first medal was a Silver for weightlifter Dika Toua in the Women's 53kg on the 25th July 2014. There is still a chance that this may be upgraded with the gold medallist having tested positive for some substances.

On 29th July there was another weightlifting medal for PNG, with Steven Kukuna Kari winning a Gold in the Men's 94kg category. This moved Papua New Guinea up to 16th position in the medals table (as of 29/7/14).

Hopefully there will be some more to add to this list as the games go on. Go PNG!

What's in a name?

Like the All Blacks, the British Lions and the Springboks, the Papua New Guinea rugby teams have nicknames. The Rugby League teams are called "The Kumuls" after the bird of paradise that graces the PNG flag. The bird can be also seen on the team's badge.

The Rugby Union teams (including my much loved Sevens side) are nicknamed "The Pukpuks" which is the Tok Pisin word for crocodile. Their mascot animal appears on the team's badge as well.

Cricket is another huge sport in PNG and the nickname of their main team is the Barramundis, however unlike the teams above, the barramundi fish isn't on the cricketing logo. Instead it's a lovely stylised kumul bird of paradise blended with a cricket ball knocking the bails of three stumps.

Other teams have animal-based nicknames too, the Football (Soccer) team nickname is "The Kapuls" which is a type of possum and the Australian Rules team is called "The Binatangs". As binatang means mosquito in Tok Pisin, they are also called "The Mozzies".

Have I got all these right? Have I missed any? Let me know in the comments section below.

Glasgow 2014 Rugby Sevens - The Facts

The first weekend of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games saw the Rugby Sevens tournament at Ibrox. Usually home to Glasgow Rangers Football Club, the stadium was host to 45 games over two days - and hosted fans from all 16 of the competing countries. In brief, Rugby Sevens is a game of Rugby Union, where two teams of 7 players battle on a full size pitch for two seven-minute halves. In this tournament the teams were as follows:

Pool A New Zealand, Canada, Scotland, Barbados
Pool B South Africa, Kenya, Cook Islands, Trinidad and Tobago
Pool C Samoa, Wales, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia
Pool D England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Uganda

The Glasgow 2014 website has the Team Sheet and Results of the PNG Rugby Sevens team