My Gen X Playlist: Space Age Love Song – A Flock of Seagulls

My sister’s house has a large tree in their backyard. It’s so tall, they thought about chopping it down because it seemed to pose a threat to their home if it ever fell over. Unfortunately since it’s one of the tallest trees in the city, the city declined their request to remove it.

The tree once was the home to a flock of wild parrots. They were a noisy bunch – always squawking and talking. Fortunately, they were short term tenants.

For the past ten years or so, their tree has been invaded by a group of wild peacocks. There’s at least ten of them that have claimed their new home. They are loud and messy and my sister’s family has tried everything to shoo away these new neighbors, but to no avail. It’s an impossible problem to solve. I did some research and found a possible solution.

Peacocks are repelled by the smell of coyote urine. The idea is that the scent of a larger predator will scare away smaller pests. However, the smell of coyote urine doesn’t last very long because it oxidizes quickly in the air. You’ll need to reapply it frequently, especially after it rains.

My sister wasn’t keen on the idea of constantly applying coyote urine around their home and in the trees. Yeah, scrap that idea. Ultimately, they have just accepted their new neighbors.

I always thought all groups of birds were considered flocks. Fun fact, they’re not. Groups of birds go by different names. Here are just a few:

a muster of peacocks

a murder of crows

a parliament of owls

an unkindness of ravens

a host of sparrows

a rafter of turkeys

a descent of woodpeckers

a bouquet of hummingbirds

a gaggle of geese

a kettle of hawks

a raft penguins (in water)

a waddle of penguins (on land)

an exaltation of larks

a vatican of cardinals

a badling of ducks

a dole of doves

a convocation of eagles

a round of robins

a siege of cranes

There are more, but I’m getting tired of typing.

I’ve always assumed that a flock seagulls was the correct terminology. I just figured the band did their homework before choosing it for their name.

Despite often being called a flock of seagulls, the collective noun for a group of seagulls is a colony. These birds often live near water, whether that is the ocean, a large river, or a large lake.

HomeworkStudy

In their defense, A Colony of Seagulls doesn’t have the right ring to it and would massively suck as a band name. I think we can let this technicality slide. A Flock of Seagulls it is then. In their honor, here is Space Age Love Song. You gotta love the hair.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

I saw your eyes
And you made me smile
For a little while
I was falling in love

I saw your eyes
And you touched my mind
Although it took a while
I was falling in love

I saw your eyes
And you made me cry
And for a little while
I was falling in love

I was falling in love

I saw your eyes (I saw your eyes)
And you made me cry (And you made me cry)
For a little while (For a little while)
I was falling in love

I was falling in love
Falling in love
Falling in love
Falling in love
Falling in love