Americans love grass in all its forms, especially well-manicured lawns, and no American likes a well-manicured lawn as much the great American Robin! These recent shots from South Pier and along the beach at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pennsylvania:
Wishing folks in the United States of America a Happy Independence Day! Schlorp!
Very good essay on the Robin. Always looking for a yummy treat!
Please define ‘Schlorp’………
Is that Robin talk for missing the worm?
“Schlorp” is the sound of someone messily eating noodles. In this case the robin was hoping to schlorp down a worm, but missed.
Most of the comic art is AI generated based on a detailed set of human-generated prompts (natural language instructions) that lay out the storyboard: the scenario, characters, text, bird content, jokes, etc. In this case, using a Google AI model, the prompt outlined the four panels w/ bird content, but with the only specified text being “Excuse me” and “You made me miss!” In one iteration (of running the prompt using the AI model), the AI model added the additional text include “Gotcha pegged!” and “Schlorp!”, although originally misspelled as “Shlorp.” So, an interesting example of when ‘random’ additional text resulting from operation of the AI model makes the cartoon a bit funnier. (And considering the meaning of “schlorp,” really it doesn’t make sense since the robin missed. However, it’s a funny word that all BirdingPI.com staff now associate with any time a robin is hunting earthworms on the grass or otherwise, whether or not successful. I.e., a more nuanced meaning where “schlorp” is aspirational and could result in ‘work slurpage’ or not.)