Kym Beechey was hiking Australia’s Popran National Park one day. She took photos of wildflowers.
She hikes slowly as she wants to wander around and appreciate nature’s beauty. Typically, she isn’t quick enough to snap the wildlife moving around the area.
But on this particular day, she thought she could finally get up close and personal with a creature. Luck was finally on her side, she thought.
According to Beechey, the birds are generally too fast for her to capture on camera. So when she saw what she thought was a baby tawny frogmouth (a bird that looks like an owl) perched on a limb, she got excited.
She could not believe how lucky she got. So, she quickly grabbed her phone.
She was setting up to snap the little bird, who appear to be smiling for the photo. Then she zoomed in to get a better shot.
And then she got disappointed. The smiling bird was actually something else.
According to Beechey, she zoomed her camera and wondered why the “bird” wasn’t flying away. Then she realized that it was a banksia pod.
It was a cute banksia pod that looked like a smiling bird. These pods grow out of banksia threes.
This one was particularly unique looking. That’s why Beechey had mistaken it for a happy bird who seemed like it was greeting her.
It does look like a smiling baby bird, doesn’t it?
Turns out, the baby bird was actually a banksia pod.
Banksia pods come from southwestern Australia. However, they can also be seen growing in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea
They are typically get compared a lot with pine cones. However, Banksia trees are not conifers.
Therefore, they are not at all related to pine trees. The fruit of the Banksia tree is the pod itself.
They grow from Banksia genus trees. The pods from Bull Banksia are big and durable enough to be used for wood applications.
The tree from which the pods grow out can vary in size. The species that can grow big seedpods is called the Banksia grandis.
They are attractive to artists and commonly turned into crafts. You can see them being sold online too!
After the banksia’s beautiful red or yellow flowers fall off, the cone still grows on the tree.
Then the seeds grow. It is also possible that flowers and grown cones can be spotted on one tree at the same time.
Their unique appearance comes from the pods bursting open. They release their seeds in the process.
The hiker had a good laugh because of the “baby bird”. She still found the experience a pleasant one.
Even though the adorable creature was a fraud, in the end, Beechey was still glad about what happened. Now, she has another picture to add to her collection of beautiful wildflowers.
Since these plants have a distinctive look, they can be mistaken for something else. In fact, one banksia pod can look different from the rest of its kind.
Have you ever seen a plant that looked like something else? Did it look like a bird or another animal?