I am not crazy about alliterations. They seem a poor device, suitable for children’s books but not for refined literature. After all, there is no Oscar Wilde novel titled “The picture of Dorian Day”, nor is Raymond Chandler`s hero called “Philip Parlowe”. Admittedly, the private detective in a few decent Howard Browne novels is named “Paul Pine”, but then again, these novels are not quite as good as the Chandler ones (notice that I do not use the phrase “the exception that proves the rule”, which I have always found to be really stupid).

In any case, this blog is not literature. So, for some reason, after talking about a Dozing Dunlin in a previous post, I set myself the challenge to extend this theme. This is a perfect illustration of the dangers of being underemployed during corona times.

Here is the original Dozing Dunlin (Nanhui, Shanghai).

And here is the extension of a theme that was never relevant in the first place: 12 more useless alliterations.

A Slumberous Sandpiper (Green Sandpiper, Nanhui, Shanghai)

A Sleepy Shoveller (Northern Shoveller, Nanhui, Shanghai)

A Tired Teal (Eurasian Teal, Nanhui, Shanghai)

African Penguins, asleep (Cape Town, South Africa)

A Burnt out Barn Owl (Kruger Park, South Africa)

A Somnolent Speckled Mousebird (Cape Town, South Africa)

A Snoozing Spotted Eagle Owl (Kirstenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa)

A Napping Nightjar (Grey Nightjar, Nanhui, Shanghai).

A Conked out Common Greenshank (Nanhui, Shanghai)

An Exhausted Egret (Little Egret, Nanhui, Shanghai)

Cat-napping Curlews (Eurasian Curlew, Tiaozini, Jiangsu, China)

A Resting Redstart (Daurian Restart, Nanhui)

A Fatigued Frogmouth (Tawny Frogmouth, Brisbane, Australia)

Some more photographic targets for the future:
Weary Warblers
Lethargic Laughingthrushes
Jaded Jays
Comatose Cormorants
Drowsy Drongos

Semi-scientific observation in an otherwise content-free post: looking through my photos, it seems it is difficult to get photos of sleeping passerines. Why is that? Do they only sleep at night? How do they avoid having their photo taken when asleep?

Next week: Bird names that rhyme with pizza toppings …

Written by Kai Pflug
Kai Pflug has been living in Shanghai for 20 years. He only became interested in birds in China – so he is much more familiar with birds in China than with those in Germany. While he will only ever be an average birder, he aims to be a good bird photographer and has created a website with bird photos as proof. He hopes not too many clients of his consulting company read this blog, as they will doubt his dedication to providing consulting services related to China`s chemical industry. Whenever he wants to shock other birders, he tells them his (indoor) cats can distinguish several warblers by taste.