Fish eagle that catches giant salamanders

In the villages around Peacock Lake, many people keep fish eagles. The fish eagle is a common name for the people, but in fact, this bird has nothing to do with the eagle, its scientific name is cormorant, and it is related to the pelican.

Usually, before catching fish, fishermen have to use thin twine to make a live buckle on the neck of the fish eagle, and then, blow a whistle, the fish eagle will fly against the surface of the lake, and once they find the shadow of a fish in the water, they will tighten their wings and dive into the water with a jerk; when the fish eagle catches a larger fish, it is blocked by the "collar" and cannot swallow into the belly, so it has to float out of The fish hawks are prevented from swallowing the larger fish by the "collar" and have to surface and spit the fish into the net.

In the peacock lake area of all the fish eagles, to the number of Bonong Ten bred (huàn) the male fish eagle named Timur is the most outstanding. Tie Muer age 5 years old, is at the peak of life, robust, black feathers shiny, shoulder blades and wings with a bronze-like metallic luster, beak-like cast out of pig iron, condensing hard. He was not only a good fisherman but also intelligent and understanding, especially when he caught a giant salamander for Boonen.

It was a year ago when Bonontin's son was hunting in the mountains and was slapped by a bear and broke three ribs. Boonen took Timur to dip in the lake early in the morning, hoping to catch more fish and sell them to pay for his son's hospital bill. Unfortunately, in the early spring, the fish in the lake were not yet grown, and after a whole day of work, they only caught half a basket of palm-sized Maengkua fish, which was not enough to pay for the hospital bill. As the sun set, the moon rose from the opposite shore of the vast lake, and the surface of the lake shimmered like a layer of broken silver. Bonontin was worried, thinking of his son lying in the hospital waiting for surgery, and could not help but sobbing, bawling. Tie Muer jumped from the bow to the master, "ah - ah - ah - ah -" issued three high-pitched loud and clear chirping, winged towards the other side of the speedy flight. On the other side of the lake is the nine streams, there are several streams from the mountain streams into the peacock lake. After about half an hour, Timur flew back, and to Bonontian's surprise, he returned with a half-meter-long salamander!

The giant salamander is an amphibian that lives in the mountains and streams because its cry resembles a baby's cry. The salamander is rare, the meat is delicious, and it is an effective medicine for pediatric epilepsy, malaria, and anemia, making it expensive. In addition to foraging for food, giant salamanders spend their days hiding in dark holes next to streams, making them extremely difficult to catch. Local fish eagles have been raised for hundreds of years, but no fish eagle has ever been known to catch a giant salamander.

Boston Ten sold the salamander to heal his son's wound. Everyone praised Timur as a magical fish eagle.

For an ordinary farmer, it was a heavy burden to pay the bride price, build a new house, buy furniture, and invite guests.

That day, I paddled a canoe into the lake with Bononten to catch fish, but luck was against us, and we spent most of the day in the lake, with the very little harvest. When the sun was going down, Bononten sighed and said, "Alas, catching ten baskets of catfish is not as good as catching half a baby fish." I said, "Your ironwood can catch baby fish, right? Why not ask it to catch another one for you?" He laughed bitterly and said, "I don't think so, but it seems to have forgotten that it can catch dollish. I have rowed the boat to the other side of the nine ditches several times, expecting it to catch dogfish, but every time it flies over the nine ditches, circling a few times, and then turns back to the center of the lake." I said, "It probably has to wait until you are particularly sad before it will help you to catch the baby fish." Bonontin's eyes lit up and he slapped his head hard and said, "Yes, yes, hey, why didn't I think of this layer, or young people's brains are enlightened."

While we were having this conversation, Timur stood at the bow of the boat, pecking up yellow grease from the tail root grease gland with his mouth, and evenly smearing it on his body. This is a task that all swimming birds are very keen on, just like a girl who loves to wear makeup to make her feathers smooth and soft so that they don't get wet when swimming.

Then, sitting in the middle of the boat, he sobbed and sobbed, starting with a small sob and gradually amplifying his voice, getting sadder and sadder, his shoulders spasming as if he was about to faint. I sat at the stern of the boat and watched, as Bonontien cried, Timur looked agitated and anxious at the bow of the boat. As Bonontien cried harder and harder, he became more and more agitated, trembling, his feathers fluffed, his mouth slightly open, and it was clear that he was in a high state of emotional arousal. I don't know if Bononten is an actor by nature or if he quietly rubbed chili noodles into his eyes, but anyway, a string of tears flowed from his eyes. Timur jumped to the center of the boat and used his big smooth mouth shell to rub Bonontin's wrinkled face and help him wipe away the tears of sadness. He whined softly, as if to console his master not to be too sad, and as if to apologize for not catching more fish for him. The more Bononten cries, the darker the sky, Timur's demeanor gradually grim up, cocked his head, looking at the pale clouds in the sky, "sip -" issued a mournful arrogant cry, and then, a stomp, fly up into the sky, around the boat three turns, squealing loudly, to the other side of the nine gorges fly.

We both waited for about half an hour in the canoe, when it was almost dark, a small black spot appeared in the sky in the direction of JiuXiGou, gradually enlarged, hey, is the ironwood child back! It was carrying a baby fish in its mouth and its body is about the same length, it flew very hard, like a plane with serious mechanical problems, a moment to sink to the surface of the lake, and then pulled up to mid-air, crooked, twisted and slanting, wings flapping dramatically, a long way to hear the whirring sound of the wings and feathers vibrating. As it flew overhead, it landed almost straight down into the cabin from the air. The salamander was blinded by a pair of small green bean eyes on its forehead, but it was still alive, so Bonontin and I hurried to put it in the bamboo basket.

Tie Muer crouched on the bow of the boat, moaning and writhing in pain. The white chin under the eyelids was torn to pieces, the wings were in disarray, dozens of tail feathers had almost fallen out, and one foot had been sprained in the fall and was limping. The salamander has a huge mouth, a strong tail, and four claws that are not sharp enough for the natural enemy to drink, so it's not easy for a fish eagle to successfully catch a salamander. From the analysis of the wounds on Timur's body and his shocked expression, it is not difficult to judge that it was a fight to the death. Unlike an eagle or a golden eagle, which has sharp claws that can be grabbed and torn, its only weapon is its large beak. After dozens of rounds of fighting, Tie Muer finally pecked the eyes of the salamander, and when he tried to take the salamander up to the sky by clamping his beak around his neck, the salamander refused to leave the ground with his four claws clinging to the rocks in the stream. Suddenly, the salamander swung its tail and struck the tail of Timur, causing the black feathers to fade and fall. At last, with the great mental strength of his master's sorrow, he took the heavy salamander into the air.

Timur collapsed in the bow of the boat, exhausted. Boonen smiled and washed his face with a handful of lake water, washing away the old tear marks on his face, and said to me in a relaxed and cheerful voice, "He is not badly hurt, he will be fine in a few days. Even a fish eagle for a baby fish, I also made a big profit. Hey, in the end, it's a beast, it can't tell the difference between real and fake. I will use the fake crying method, and let it catch a baby fish for me every day. Ha, my son's bride price and wedding wine money can be found." The more he said, the more pleased he was, smiling and laughing.

In Bononten's laughter, I saw that Timur looked straight at his master, the expression on his face changed dramatically, confused, bewildered, surprised, disappointed, indignant, it slowly stood up, and the whole body of feathers shivered with excitement like the leaves in the wind. Of course, it could not understand what Bononten was saying, but it sensed a trap, a trap, and a trick from Bononten's oily accent, frivolous laughter, and cunning look between his eyebrows. "Yah--" it mournfully long whistle, a stomp, flying into the twilight sky, wings to the distance.

"Timur, come back! Tie Mu'er, come back!" Boonen shouted anxiously.

But Tie Muer did not return, flying further and further away, soon disappeared in the leaden gray clouds. It left Bononten forever and also left the human forever.