Ok... amended version. Single bird that shows best at the size, without over-doing it... starts out faded and comes brighter, then starts over again with a new colour.
The Dodo cracked me up... but I somehow can already begin to read the complaints over feelings of being insulted. I love it... but don't want the headache from those who can't see the point, or have a sense of humour.
I still like different birds, and am actively looking for an owl at present that would depict well, though haven't found one yet. It would likely only be the head, as an owl otherwise wouldn't show well at that size. Lots of things look great, then when reduced to around 20px in height, suddenly no longer look so good.
I think the current concept is more open IMHO, in that it removes the rank structure for those worried about that, because it is the same bird, it just changes colour. The only real ranking is between the first and fourth bird, then you get a different colour, nothing more. I'm not really worried about peoples issues with ranking as competitive, because lets be honest... you're in denial if you think the site isn't already ranked via posting count, likes, credit and so forth. All those systems are ranking type structures... so there is nothing new being implement here in that sense.
Reducing it to a more level approach, I concur with, just as posting and likes are fairly level based on your participation and quality of posts.
