When I was a kid, whenever we were taken to the seaside and my mum would see a cuttlebone she’d pick it up and pocket it, proclaiming knowingly “it’s good for the budgie”. Come to think of it, most of these occasions happened after the budgie had died… but I suppose she gave it to my nan or someone else with a pet bird. Anyway, cuttlebones, as you probably know, are the porous internal shells of cuttlefish, used as a buoyancy aid. They often get washed up on the beach, especially after storms. But what I want to know is, how come if they are so common you never see whole cuttlefish washed up too? What happens to the rest of the body? I mean I suppose they all get eaten but this makes me wonder, do all the fish in the sea get together before a gathering storm and say ‘hey lads, storm’s a gatherin’, its cuttlefish for supper tonight’? Or for that matter, if cuttlebones are so good for budgies then how come these bits don’t get eaten by the fish too? Maybe what’s good for budgies isn’t so good for fish?