... so here is a photo of a weasel riding a woodpecker.
March 3, 2015 5:23 PM   Subscribe

Martin Le-May was birding with his wife when he caught this once-in-a-lifetime shot.
posted by Joe in Australia (49 comments total) 22 users marked this as a favorite
 
"riding", "trying to kill", same diff.
posted by kenko at 5:32 PM on March 3, 2015 [6 favorites]


Well, it's not like the weasel can drive.
posted by double block and bleed at 5:32 PM on March 3, 2015 [6 favorites]


I have never seen the word "Wheeeeeee!" so clearly demonstrated.
posted by Kitteh at 5:33 PM on March 3, 2015 [10 favorites]


For being nature, that doesn't look very natural.
posted by mazola at 5:35 PM on March 3, 2015 [3 favorites]


That woodpecker looks thrilled.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 5:38 PM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


I bet that weasel didn't wait six hours to ride the damn bird.
posted by srboisvert at 5:39 PM on March 3, 2015 [2 favorites]


WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
posted by Going To Maine at 5:41 PM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


The weasel is me and metafilter is the bird. Sorry guys
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:42 PM on March 3, 2015 [6 favorites]


I like this reboot of Neverending Story much better than the original.
posted by isopraxis at 5:43 PM on March 3, 2015 [21 favorites]


Who cares, the bokkeh sucks.
posted by johngumbo at 5:44 PM on March 3, 2015 [6 favorites]


I WILL SHOW YOU THE WORLD
posted by Sticherbeast at 5:51 PM on March 3, 2015 [6 favorites]


And............ plot goes the weasel.
posted by chance at 5:54 PM on March 3, 2015


It was at that point Mr Le-May said he noticed the small animal on the back of the bird and realised it was either a stoat or a weasel.

He said: 'I said to my wife: "It has something on its back and I think it's a stoat or weasel".


Now that's just outstanding writing.
posted by key lime guy at 5:58 PM on March 3, 2015 [86 favorites]


'Good writing' is the woodpecker and the 'Daily Mail' is the weasel.
posted by mazola at 6:00 PM on March 3, 2015 [5 favorites]


I don't know if woodpeckers are much larger than I imagined or weasels much smaller.
posted by newpotato at 6:01 PM on March 3, 2015 [6 favorites]


Doesn't matter if it's land, sea or air. A weasel will eat you if it can figure out how to get a good grip.
posted by Kevin Street at 6:06 PM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


^ Weasels are classified as scientifically 'eentsy' and uber cute for the most ferocious pound-for-pound predator on earth.
posted by isopraxis at 6:07 PM on March 3, 2015 [8 favorites]


Right. I must have been thinking badgers.
posted by newpotato at 6:12 PM on March 3, 2015


THE WOODPECKERS ARE THE SPICE! MUAD'DIB! MUAD'DIIIIIB!
posted by XMLicious at 6:13 PM on March 3, 2015 [3 favorites]


"I don't know if woodpeckers are much larger than I imagined "

My bird guide says European Green Woodpeckers are about 8 inches (21 cm) tall, which is a good size for a bird. If you're North American, you might have thought the bird in the picture was a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird ... Hummingbirds are really the only North American birds with green bodies and red heads. I did like a triple take before I realized it WASN'T a hummingbird and then my brain had a hard time readjusting for size after thinking the bird was so small!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:15 PM on March 3, 2015 [3 favorites]


North American birds with green bodies and red heads
Huh? It looks like a white body with a gold head to me.
posted by unliteral at 6:23 PM on March 3, 2015 [23 favorites]


WEASELS RIPPED MY FEATHERS
posted by Existential Dread at 6:23 PM on March 3, 2015 [11 favorites]


TO WAAAAAAR!
posted by lalochezia at 6:25 PM on March 3, 2015 [3 favorites]


And then it laughed itself to death.
posted by Brocktoon at 6:25 PM on March 3, 2015


Some weasels can be quite large, newpotato, but the least weasel (which I think this is) is a wee thing. Though that doesn't stop them from killing full grown rabbits and hares. The woodpecker was very lucky to get away whole.
posted by tavella at 6:26 PM on March 3, 2015


Ah the fur was flying.
posted by spitbull at 6:28 PM on March 3, 2015 [2 favorites]


Told you, you could fly the ring into Mordor.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:32 PM on March 3, 2015 [10 favorites]


This is blatantly viral advertising for Plaid Hat Games' upcoming boardgame Tail Feathers.
posted by gurple at 6:36 PM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


30 comments and nobody said "POP", yet?

Were they trying to catch up with the llamas? Which one thought the dress was white and gold, the weasel or the woodpecker?

Normal animal behavior: Woodpecker. Weasel.
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:53 PM on March 3, 2015


Quick, Pican Redtip, you must shake the evil ferret and warn the good creatures of Redwall the forces of Swartt Sixclaw are approaching!
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:57 PM on March 3, 2015 [2 favorites]


Because of this photograph I learned that while 'weasel' usually refers to anything in the Mustela genus, British English limits it to the Least Weasel, the tiniest species of the group.

Also it reminds me of Hamish, the Nac Mac Feegle who rides a bird in Discworld.
posted by traveler_ at 7:40 PM on March 3, 2015 [4 favorites]


This photo showed up in my FB with Putin, shirtless, riding the weasel, on the bird, with a bridle. Just so you know, its out there.
posted by Oyéah at 8:44 PM on March 3, 2015 [9 favorites]


I'm pretty sure this is from a live-action remake of Avatar, with the Na'vi played by weasels.
posted by George_Spiggott at 8:57 PM on March 3, 2015


WHEEEEEEEsel.
posted by charlie don't surf at 9:23 PM on March 3, 2015


I figured it was a Lord of the Rings remake. That's Gandalf the Grey on the back there.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:32 PM on March 3, 2015


It's just like the Annie Dillard book.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:48 PM on March 3, 2015


Recently a friend pointed me to Ozzy the Least Weasel a little while ago. Evidently he lives in France and is adorable. If also a jerk.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:07 AM on March 4, 2015 [1 favorite]


This photo showed up in my FB with Putin, shirtless, riding the weasel, on the bird, with a bridle. Just so you know, its out there.

Oh, there's more.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 12:26 AM on March 4, 2015 [1 favorite]


"Being ridden by the least weasel" seems like a euphemism for something that at first sounds dirty and fun, but ultimately proves to be unsatisfying.
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 1:33 AM on March 4, 2015 [8 favorites]


While we're back on that dress, this turned up in my Twitter feed.
posted by chavenet at 2:37 AM on March 4, 2015 [1 favorite]


I think this frog is having more fun.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:41 AM on March 4, 2015


And that, boys and girls, is how the weasels discovered Air Cavalry. It looks bad for the badgers, but then the weasels got caught up in a land war in Asia, and well, we know how that ends.
posted by eriko at 5:09 AM on March 4, 2015


I had a least weasel. Looking back I should have just bought it outright.
posted by freecellwizard at 7:35 AM on March 4, 2015 [4 favorites]


"Being ridden by the least weasel" seems like a euphemism for something that at first sounds dirty and fun, but ultimately proves to be unsatisfying

My coworker and I got discussing in detail how to fake this with superglue, fishing wire and, eventually, duct tape. After a while the guy who shares my cube wall stood up and said "Okay, I can not for the life of me figure out what you guys using the weasel and woodpecker as euphemisms for."

We showed him the video and now he thinks we're slightly less perverted.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:35 AM on March 4, 2015 [2 favorites]


BAM!
posted by rosswald at 9:58 AM on March 4, 2015


Tell Me No Lies: ""Being ridden by the least weasel" seems like a euphemism for something that at first sounds dirty and fun, but ultimately proves to be unsatisfying

My coworker and I got discussing in detail how to fake this with superglue, fishing wire and, eventually, duct tape. After a while the guy who shares my cube wall stood up and said "Okay, I can not for the life of me figure out what you guys using the weasel and woodpecker as euphemisms for."

We showed him the video and now he thinks we're slightly less perverted.
"

May I introduce you and your co-worker to Photoshop?
posted by Splunge at 11:17 AM on March 4, 2015


Photoshop is for amateurs. Pros use duct tape.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:39 PM on March 4, 2015


I'm having one of those "I love the internet moments"

How absurd. I just purposely googled "Putin weasel woodpecker"
posted by Jalliah at 1:46 PM on March 4, 2015


It's official.
posted by mazola at 8:11 AM on March 10, 2015 [1 favorite]


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