It made Clip's set look very very small! It must have been an enormous head that it was fitted on judging by the wear and tear on one buckle hole. You don't often find them with the bit still attached so although it's not one that l would ever use, it was certainly too good a piece of bygone history to not snatch up for $10!
And a bit of oil later it came up looking like brand new!!!
My second lot of finds were these absolutely gorgeous light fittings for $3 each!!! It's hard to tell by the photo how small they are. They are only tiny , probably about 1930's, with the little porcelain cups being about the size of half a very small apple!!
And a beautiful little visitor this afternoon. A Spiny Tailed Swift also known as a White Throated Needle Tail. Reasonably uncommon in Tasmania we have had them gathering food over our airspace for a couple of days now. Interestingly they are in fact THE fasted flying bird in 'flapping flight' (as opposed to soaring and diving speed) in the World with confirmed speeds reaching 111.6 km/h (69.3 mph,
Let me cut and paste a bit about them here....................it's easier!!!...............
"The white-throated needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus), also known as needle-tailed swift or spine-tailed swift, is a large swift. It is the fastest-flying bird in flapping flight, with confirmed speeds reaching 111.6 km/h (69.3 mph).[2] It is commonly reputed to reach velocities of up to 170 km/h (105 mph), though this has not been verified.[3][4][5]
These birds have very short legs which they use only for clinging to vertical surfaces. They build their nests in rock crevices in cliffs or hollow trees. They never settle voluntarily on the ground[citation needed] and spend most of their lives in the air, living on the insects they catch in their beaks.
These swifts breed in rocky hills in central Asia and southern Siberia. This species is migratory, wintering south in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia. It is a rare vagrant in western Europe, but has been recorded as far west as Norway, Sweden and Great Britain. In June 2013, the bird was spotted in the United Kingdom, the first sighting in 22 years. This bird flew into a wind turbine and died; its body was sent to a museum.[6][7]
The white-throated needletail is a mid-sized bird, similar in size to an Alpine swift, but a different build, with a heavier barrel-like body. They are black except for a white throat and white under-tail, which extends on to the flanks, and a somewhat paler brown back.
The Hirundapus needletailed swifts get their name from the spiny end to the tail, which is not forked as in the Apus typical swifts..
The White-throated Needletail feeds on flying insects, such as termites, ants, beetles and flies. They catch the insects in flight in their wide gaping beaks. Birds usually feed in rising thermal currents associated with storm fronts and bushfires and they are commonly seen moving with wind fronts. Hence their nickname Storm Birds.While feeding, the White-throated Needletail protects its eyes with a special membrane and a small ridge of feathers. The birds also drink in flight"
Our little visitor unfortunately might have been left behind due to injury or ill health. Geoff found him clinging to a sheep fence. We thought he might have had his feet caught in the wire but l easily picked him up without much stress and no visible damage. He just wanted to run up my arm and sit on my shoulder! Incredibly strong little feet he had too! We put him in a box for a few hours just in case he simply had hit a window etc as birds often do and he just needed a bit of quiet time to recover. Two hours later he was still bright eyed, seemingly unafraid and quite chirpy ............but not still not flying. l rang our local Wildlife Rescue Centre and within no time they had organised a Wildlife Rescuer to collect him and take him to a bird specialist/vet the other side of Hobart. A very impressive system of Volunteers indeed! We can only hope the little fellow survives and gets to join his mates on the long migratory trip to Asia in the next few months.
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