Alfred Hitchcock must have visited Scotland at some stage.

As an Australian, I am used to encountering strange and sometimes terrifying wildlife in daily life. You have to deal with all sorts of creatures, and take it in your stride (although spiders, especially huntsmen, are a particular source of fear, and nothing will ever lessen the shock of coming face-to-face with one in the shower. I'm shuddering just thinking about it.) One really noticeable difference between Australia and Edinburgh is the general lack of insects inside and outside the house, although this may have been a winter-related thing.

 

However, while Australia seems to have more animals, reptiles and insects that will kill you than most other places in the world , there is something in Scotland that truly terrifies me: the massive birds.

Like Brisbane, Edinburgh is home to pigeons and seagulls. Unlike Brisbane, however, these pigeons and seagulls look like they've been on steroids, and that they could easily take down a small child. 

An Edinburgh pigeon would be easily twice the size of a Brisbane one, and the seagulls are even larger, proportionally. The sight of three or four seagulls gathered around bags of rubbish on the street is vaguely sinister, and I get the feeling that they're plotting something. 

There's also a pigeon that has taken to sitting in the tree in our garden, staring at the house. It's always there, looking at us, and it gives me the creeps. 

The other day, I peered out the window and couldn't see it in the tree. I smiled to myself, happy that it had decided to stop harassing us....when I spotted it on top of the roof of the office block next door, staring back at me.  I know it's completely irrational, but I get a really bad vibe from that bird.

The situation wasn't helped on the weekend when we were walking by the river. I came within millimetres of receiving a 'present' from a bird, and when I looked up into the trees, I saw it was a pigeon.  I know they look alike, but I could swear it was the same one that sits in the tree outside our house.

The weirdest, though, is some unidentified bird that looks like an enormous Willy wagtail, which I'm pretty sure are native to Australia. I have no idea what on earth they are doing in Scotland, but these things are HUGE. We once drove past a flock of these on the ground, and it was just weird.

There is really no way to properly describe these birds, and even photos do not do their massive size justice. Just be warned, if you ever plan a trip to Scotland, that there are many unexplained phenomena about, not just around Loch Ness.