Little Bird Wows Judges on ‘Australia’s Got Talent’

Pips, a Willie Wagtrail from Sydney, Australia, blew away judges during a recent taping of Australia’s Got Talent. The bird sang “Di Quella Pira” from Verdi’s Il Trovatore. 

“That’s a very difficult aria to sing,” said opera critic Miles Bernwhistle. “It’s also a tenor — most birds of his size are more in the countertenor range, so it was surprising to hear it come booming out of him.”

Via birdsaspoetry.

PHOTO OP: Yesssss? You rang?

Via Tambako the Jaguar.

Barn Owl Fooled by ‘Got Your Nose’ Game

The way Jim Squires tells it, he didn’t mean to cause Pipi the barn owl any distress, but the classic “Got Your Nose” game was just too much for the bird to handle.

“I reached over and pretended to grab Pipi’s beak,” recounted Squires, “and then she completely freaked out.  She really thought I had her nose!”

According to Squires, even after he showed Pipi that he wasn’t holding her beak — it was in fact just his thumb — she continued to squawk and flap her wings for a good 15 minutes.  

“It was awhile before we could calm her down and explain how the trick worked,” he said. “Now that she understands, of course, she just thinks I’m lame.”

Via faultier1985.

Penguin Ditches Cold Weather, Moves to Boca Raton

Tired of achy bones and shoveling snow year after year, Marty the penguin finally packed it in and relocated from Antarctica to Boca Raton, FL.

“He’s been thinking about it for a while now,” says Joe Parnici, Jr., a neighbor and longtime friend. “And by thinking, I mean complaining. Glad to see he finally did it — not sure why anyone still lives around here in the first place. It’s miserable.”

Via Ben Fredericson.

Help Name These Two Snowy Owls

Two 12-month-old snowy owls arrived at the Dublin Zoo earlier this month, and they’re settling in comfortably. There’s only one problem: They need names.

It’s too soon to tell whether they’re male or female, so think of some creative, gender-neutral monikers and leave a comment on the zoo’s Facebook page.

Birds Excited to Watch ‘Home Alone’ on Christmas Eve

Watching Home Alone on Christmas Eve has been a tradition for JoJo and Katie for 4 years.  The two birds like to spend the holidays quietly, just the two of them.

“Katie absolutely loves Christmas and the two have a huge collection of movies,” said Lauren Malloy, a source close to the situation.  ”But Home Alone has always been their favorite, so they save it for Christmas Eve.”

Via leshane.

Happy Thanksgiving [COMIC]

At The Fluffington Post, we’re very thankful for Liz Climo and her incredible comics.  We’re psyched to debut her latest here today.  We hope it gets you in the holiday spirit and we’d like to wish all of our readers a very happy Thanksgiving!

As always, be sure to follow Liz on Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter for more great funnies

BREAKING: Goslings Undecided About Which Way to Swim

According to multiple reports out of Oxford, England, a group of baby geese splashing about near the bank of the Thames river are split about which direction to swim.

“As best as we can tell, two of the goslings want to go to the left, but the other three apparently want to swim right,” said one onlooker.  ”They’ve been at a stalemate for the past two hours.”

We’ll keep you updated as this story develops…

Via dipfan.

Defiant Chick Stays Up Way Past His Bedtime

Three sources have confirmed that Scooter, a great crested tern chick from a small island in Sri Lanka, ignored his parents and stayed up long after his 7:30 bedtime.

“He just wouldn’t go to sleep,” says Rich Canberry, a tourist on holiday there at the time. “He was still awake in the early morning when the rest of the neighborhood flew off to work.”

Scooter is expected to crash big time at around 11 am.

Photo by Lalith Ekanayake/National Geographic, via The Animal Blog.