The Arabian Babbler

The Arabian Babbler is a small bird that lives in the Levant and the Arabian peninsula. Babblers live in small groups usually consisting of three to twenty birds the together defend a "territory" made up of a few small trees and shrubs.

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Babblers are smol and vulnerable to predators, so maintaining the flock requires the birds to share duties like guarding the nests and feeding each other. Despite the onerousness of these labors, babblers compete fiercely for the "honor" of taking guard duty and feeding one another. They have a rigid dominance hierarchy and maintaining alpha status requires the leading bird to excel at these tasks. It is not unusual to see two babblers fight over who gets to do more guard duty or who gets to feed the other, even when they are not hungry. They are very silly birds.

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I love these birds as a metaphor for competition within human society. Paradoxically, modern life features intense competition to be more cooperative. The wedding photographer that wins is the one that delivers the most client value. I named the company that as a tribute to the pursuit of excellence by millions of tiny, brown, hooknose little birds.