Little Red Rooster !

.
.
.
Over at World Bird Wednesday today the one and only Mr Springman has produced a simply awe-inspiring piece about the elusive Green Heron which he tracked and trailed through Michigan swamps and vales bringing home in his digital game bag a series of photos which cannot help but leave one subdued and moved by the pure grace of this ornithological wonder. Once again, bravo to the Pine River Review, where WBW is hosted.
.
As some of you seemed to enjoy the rust colored hen I posted last week in order to participate in my own small way in WBW, I am returning again to the farm where the free range hen was running loose when we stopped by there in early July, on the high plateau of the Causse Méjean, in south central France. Where there is a hen, there is usually a rooster somewhere not far off; this farm was no exception. He was a bold, brazen bird, as most roosters are. He displayed his strutting cockiness of male dominant behavior as he chased off intruders who dared not cry fowl lest they risk the wrath of his sharp claws and beak. No wonder the cock (coq), otherwise known as the Gallic Rooster, or Gallus Gallus in Latin, is the French national bird. Here he is in all his crested glory.
.
.
.
.

.
Not long after we met the rooster, I was poking around the farm a little to see what other feathered or furry creatures might be seen, when I saw that some hens had been locked up in a coop, they were peering out from their prison, no doubt wondering when their jailor with the red crested head would be back to harry and harrass them.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
I was tempted to set them free from their dingy dungeon, but with this sharp-eyed fellow lurking around, no doubt they would have been rounded up quickly and faced even more dire punishment once our backs were turned. As we wandered off a resounding "Co-co-ri-cooooo" rang out, no doubt audible for miles around, striking fear into the hearts of the hardiest of hens. 
.
.
.
.

.
A spot of music to go with this, Little Red Rooster, the origins of which go back into the blues of the early 20th century, but whose more recent version was written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Howling Wolf in 1961, which since then has been performed by the likes of the Rolling Stones, the Doors, the Grateful Dead, and many other fine performers ; many versions can be found on YouTube... what can't be found there ? Enjoy ! 
.