Collectors, and birds

My latest read is John McPhee's The Random of Russian Art, which describes the search and recovery of underground unofficial, dissident Soviet contemporary art by Norton Dodge throughout the 1960s and 1970s.  Apparently the guys has thousands upon thousands of their works, having grabbed them indiscriminately -- often more for the sake of the artists or the sake of the works' safety than necessarily out of liking them (though he did like many of them). 

This part had me in absolute stitches...

Nancy Dodge has said of her husband: "Northin is a collector in all respects.  Books.  Magazines.  Art catalogues.  It's like living with the Sorcerer's Apprentice.  If you clear a place it fills right back up." 

But what isn't said is how this occurrence with collected items also takes place with any and all possessions of the collector.  I won't mention any names as example, *cough*cough*...

Any of you out there bird watchers?  I came across these two (or more?) birds in something of a heated argument while walking along the west side greenpath around 155th St.  One was definitely in the tree, and one was tucked in the rafter beneath the Henry Hudson Parkway.  The bridge bird was the only one I could actually see.  Light green on top, white underneath, curved beak.  Is this supposed to be a mating call?  Sounds more like high pitches screeches and wails. Were I of this species I think I'd forgo the whole mating and procreation thing....

And all you techies out there -- I keep trying to embed my videos, but every time I copy/paste the embed coding it never brings up a video.  Doesn't matter if I use new or old embed codes, and I've already enabled embedding in my blogger settings.  Any ideas?