Bird Behavior: A Discussion

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alice44
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Re: Bird Behavior: A Discussion

Post by alice44 »

I'll have to think about it. I found it interesting that they are not mobbing the dead bird (presumably lying dead on the ground) in the same way that they mobbed the stuffed jays and owls (also dead but not looking like a normal naturally dead bird).
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Post by macko50 »

Good morning Everybody! :)

Have you ever heard about Great Tits kill another birds?

Here is a video,

http://www.iltasanomat.fi/videot/kotima ... 85461.html

and here is an article about this strange behavior:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tet ... predators/
"One can measure the greatness and the moral progress of a nation by looking at how it treats its animals." - Mahatma Gandhi
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Post by Manu »

Ohhh, I've never seen or heard about this strange behaviour of Great tits before :shock: . Video is really scary.
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Post by macdoum »

Manu wrote:Ohhh, I've never seen or heard about this strange behaviour of Great tits before :shock: . Video is really scary.
Me neither..never heard of this behaviour except in a documentary on Isle de Päques. :slap: Its horrifying. :shock:
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alice44
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Post by alice44 »

I am not sure I am up to the video, but I read the story (and saw the pictures).
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macdoum
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Post by macdoum »

alice44 wrote:I am not sure I am up to the video, but I read the story (and saw the pictures).
Alice,I watched the video but I am sorry I did. Its awful. :banghead:
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macdoum
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Post by macdoum »

How a very ingenious how this Thrush protected the chicks.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildli ... hicks.html

Wonderful story. :thumbs:
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macdoum
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Post by macdoum »

FROM L'Alsace our newspaper;
Consequence of the long cold spell: many species of birds currently stationed in Alsace, waiting for better days to earn their usual nesting.
Beautiful winter for bird lovers: they never stop to observe rare species and concentrations in Alsace unpublished. In the gardens, robins and familiar black redstarts are more numerous than usual: "Those who have hibernated at home are not yet parties to nest farther north. They were joined by those who hibernated in the south and have arrived to nest here, "says one to the LPO Alsace (League for the Protection of Birds).
Rare
As persistent northerly winds, migration is blocked. Finch north, waxwings and others have not yet made their way to Scandinavia or Siberia, where the soil is still frozen.
Alsace is also haven for numerous waterfowl that overwinter on the Rhine and in wetlands. The harsh winter has brought here more than usual.
And, surprisingly, species such as the golden plover, which nests in the far north and is step on the west coast of France, they have deviated eastward. "This is a rare phenomenon: it will have no effect on bird populations that adapt to these climatic changes. '
Fill feeders
The phenomenon is not limited to Alsace: "Evidence like come from several other regions of France and Europe," says the LPO which invites further feeding the sparrows in the garden until the soil is frozen: "As the vegetation is late, the birds are not insects and worms to eat. '
Careful observers are invited to register their data on the public website of participatory science http://www.faune-alsace.org overseen by the Museum of Natural History. "This will help to give a precise idea of ​​this exceptional phenomenon," said the LPO.
No panic for beginners: the data is checked by experts before being validated. The results are available to the public.
Full article is here;
http://translate.google.fr/translate?sl ... -en-alsace
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Post by Haukka »

At a first look, it seems likely that all animal behaviours, such as cainism, are developed by evolution and thus paving the way for healthy individuals in the population, capable of surviving threats of different kinds. In case of food shortage, cainism among two siblings is appropriate in the sense that one well-grown survivor is preferable to none. But was there really a lack of food in the LSE nest? The first-hatched, bigger eaglet was seemingly not starving and could not know about future food supply. Yet it killed the smaller one, by instinct from the genes, as for avoiding possible problems.

The tendency of cainism is self-enforcing, because chickens with genes for this behavior must be to a greater extent successfully grown up with the ability to bring these genes further, isn´t it? In species where cainism is thus established as a regular consequence of the number of hatched chickens exceeding one – will the ultimate result of evolution be that fewer eggs are laid? To begin feeding a chicken destined not to grow up is a waste of energy and time that doesn´t support reproduction.

Are these ideas reasonable? Perhaps somebody can elaborate on this interesting topic.
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Post by Inready »

Haukka- I think cainism is not about survival stronger...Bigger one had luck..and Little one had bad luck..
not to be cainism .. certainly they were both strong eagles... food is enough
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Post by ame »

cainism in LSEs is not a result of lack of food or a reaction to it. that has been the conclusion in the many reseach reports.

i think the reason for the development of this behaviour has to be that it has resulted in better breeding success in some stage of evolution of the LSE, like Haukka wrote. that is the way evolution works. the difference in success rates resulting in different behaviour patterns does not need to be big, only a slight difference may be sufficient. on the long run the characteristic leading to better success rate will inevitably become dominant.

after seeing how this process of elimination of the younger LSE-chick by the elder takes place at the LSE-nest it is very difficult for me to see what could be the mechanism which could compete with this behaviour characteristic, not to mention what could make it unfavourable. one thing that comes to my mind are that there should be a change in the time separation of laying the eggs. this would make the age difference of chicks smaller and thus make the struggle more even. in this case the chicks might fight harder and longer and that might weaken them both. - i would like to see or know what has happened in the few nests where both eaglets have survived! what has made the difference there?

another thing might be a change in the female's behaviour so that it would actively protect the smaller.... now it seemed that the female's behaviour actually strengthened the older chick's violent reaction towards the sibling: she very often offered a piece of food to the bigger as reward of beating the smaller.
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Post by alice44 »

What I think I have noticed is that LSE females are sort of gentle about feeding. They often seem to hold the food almost out of reach, like they are afraid of stepping on the chick, so that the chick has to really reach out and grab for it. (I noticed this especially the first year.) This seems true compared to the WTE. It seems to me that the LSE chicks have to reach out and snap at movement -- their mom's beak (or the little chick) or they would not get food.

The cost of laying two eggs is not very high -- except to the second chick, while the cost of laying one egg would be very high in cases where it was infertile or got stepped on or...
Katinka

Post by Katinka »

Northern Germany End of August, 2013
A short info to the latest pictures of a LSE family, posted in the Carsten Rohde blog http://www.blackstorknotes.blogspot.de

Not only known as "the" BS ringing expert, Carsten has built up a special relation to the LSE (amongst other birds of prey in his home region). The bird occurs in Mecklenburg-Pomerania with breeding pairs more or less in a stable situation. Less stable is the number of successful raised-up young LSE. See the graphic in midst of the picture row.
But as there is a separate LSE topic here in the forum, I sum up the message of the mail to me yesterday.
It took Carsten some days to gain the confidence especially of the male adult. He seems to be accepted (and that's what the pictures easily proof). Although he uses a car to get to the meadows, Herkules doesn't feel disturbed to take his position in a tree. He lets himself observe while foraging mice – without stress. In reading Carsten's lines I understand his complete happiness. To me it appears as if he's got unique skills to come in contact.
At the same time he tells about his controversial thoughts with the responsibility for tagged birds – as they might loose the instrument or have to get used to a displaced one, possibly being hindered from foraging.

Carsten writes that he puts his focus to developing an instinct for a bird. So it seems clear to me that he can say that the LSE's are going to leave for migration in the next days.
In the future he will deal more intensely with both the LSE and the BS.
But I guess everything will be in German.
To conclude: Israel this autumn has to be without his observations.
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Post by Lussi05 »

Katinka, thank you so much for the information from Carsten Rohde.
I have a link to the blog (thanks to Felis a couple of years ago:) and I have seen the pictures of Hercules, Peggy and Frederic, their offspring, they are really amazing! The LSE's are very fascinating.
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Post by macdoum »

Snowy Owls make a mysterious migration
http://news.yahoo.com/snowy-owls-myster ... 11896.html
LiveScience.com
By By Wynne Parry, LiveScience Contributor
December 6, 2013 4:06 PM
Snowy Owls Make Mysterious Migration
.
View gallery

Hedwig's cousin? A snowy owl glides over a northern landscape. Unlike many owls, snowy owls are active …
The visitors from the Arctic have shown up as far south as North Carolina, on the island of Bermuda and in unusually large numbers in the Northeast and around the Great Lakes. Yesterday (Dec. 5), 15 were counted at Logan Airport in Boston
For reasons no one understands, snowy owl sightings are spiking in eastern North America this winter.

"Maybe this is starting to shape up to be an irruption year," said Denver Holt, founder of the Owl Research Institute in Montana. 'Irruption' refers to the unpredictable migrations the birds make.

This wouldn't be the first snowy owl irruption in recent memory; it would be the third.
Two years ago, the birds showed up in unusually high numbers from east to west across the continent. One was even spotted in Hawaii for the first time. The following year’s snowy owl irruption was less widespread and more directional, with birds showing up in the northern Great Plains, northern Rockies and the Pacific Northwest, according to the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count. This year, owls appear to be drawn to another part of the continent.

In the central plains of North America, some owls, particularly young ones, appear to show up regularly. Likewise, most of the birds that arrive during an unpredictable irruption are young ones that hatched over the summer, Holt said.

Historically, people have thought the owls flew south because they weren't able to find food up north, but this does not appear to be the case, said Norman Smith, who catches and relocates snowy owls attracted to the tundralike expanse of Logan Airport in Boston. The arriving birds seem to be in good condition, and transmitters attached to them have revealed they are capable of returning to the Arctic. One flew back to the airport the following year for a round trip of more than 7,000 miles (11,265 kilometers), Smith said.

And, not surprisingly, it’s unclear what’s driving the owls' attention-grabbing appearances in recent years. "That's one of those things that is a good question," said Smith, who works for the Massachusetts Audubon Society. "Is it something that is happening in the Arctic habitat?"

Since beginning to study the birds at Logan in 1981, Smith has seen seasons with as few as one bird and as many as 43.

Male snowy owls can be almost completely white, while females have more brown flecks on their feathers and young birds have even more brown and can blend into the dead grass of a marsh, a location they are likely to turn up, said Geoff LeBaron, the Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count director.

"It often looks like a Clorox bottle on a fence post, and when it turns its head and looks at you, there are these glowing yellow eyes, and of course, they can turn their heads most of the way around," LeBaron said.

Snowy owls are included in the Christmas Bird Count, an annual survey that begins on Dec. 14. Anyone can submit a snowy owl or other bird sighting anytime at eBird.org.
Another mystery to unravel. :puzzled:
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Post by Katinka »

Just went through Olga's "Winter in Finland" thread...Great! Kiitos...for she had some YT squirrel pieces in, and so I came across another YT sequence:
Crow at an immense tricky task to solve
:slap: and nothing new that this was a BBC production ("Inside the animal mind").

I admit having tried to study a special-calling crow here on my roof some time ago - but it didn't return another time. Anybody in the forum who has thought of studying a crow?
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Post by macdoum »

From San Diego's Zoo bird keeper;
A TRICK UP HER “SLEEVES”
By Mike Grue – March 3, 2014
Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Animals site sub feature, Birds
0Pin it
What tricks did this bird have up her "sleeves"?
A male blue-crowned hanging parrot has a red “bib” whereas the female does not.
I never stop learning at the San Diego Zoo. It is one of the best things about working here! I am constantly challenged to learn more about the birds I work with, the exhibits I work in, and how I can take better care of both. Sometimes I learn technical skills like how to install a mister system that can be utilized to give the birds a bath. Or I can read up on tips to successfully breed red-billed leiothrix Leiothrix lutea. Many times I learn from simply observing the birds go about their daily routines.
A few days ago, I was doing an end-of-the-day check on the blue-crowned hanging parrots Loriculus galgulus just up the hill from the tiger exhibit. As I was getting a head count, one of the birds caught my eye. It looked like one of the adorable little females had done something to her primary feathers. It seemed as if she had lost some of the barbules at the tips of her long, green feathers; it made her back look spiky. She was perched on a palm frond, chewing on a leaflet, and didn’t seem to be concerned with her odd feathers. After a few moments, she quickly flicked her head back to preen the spiky feathers and then returned to her chewing. A few more moments, another quick flick and preen, and back to the frond.
It’s easy to see how the blue-crowned hanging parrot got its name!
It was after the third or fourth flick that I started to suspect what the tiny parrot was doing. My first reaction was that I must be imagining it—she surely wasn’t doing what I thought she was doing, was she? I had never heard of such a behavior, and I couldn’t believe she was being so smart…so efficient.

I crouched down in front of the exhibit to get the best vantage possible. I stopped watching her quick flicks, chewing, and preening, and instead focused on her spiky back. With a quick movement, the female turned her head, preened, and went back to her work. But there was a new spiky green “feather” in her back!

She wasn’t preening broken feathers after all! She was snipping little bits off the palm frond, sticking the cuttings onto her back, and using her feathers to hold them in place! I knew these little parrots lined their nests with strips of plant material, but I had never envisioned them using their back feathers as a type of backpack. With only one trip from her nest, this female was able to bring back over half a dozen strips to her nest instead of the paltry one strip she could’ve brought back if she had carried it in her beak.

This behavior has been documented before, but it is not something seen on a regular basis. Indeed, after eight years working with birds, I had never even heard of it. It makes me excited to find out what other tricks these birds have up their sleeves…er, feathers.

Mike Grue is a senior bird keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read his previous post, Sing, Song.
That is just amazing. :nod:
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Post by macdoum »

Why Backyard Birds are getting drunk on Fermented Berries;

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... l-warming/

From Nat geographic. :slap:
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Post by macdoum »

Facing into the wind:
The Layson Albatross
;

http://blog.allaboutbirds.org/2014/09/2 ... albatross/
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Post by macdoum »

Evolution in Birds: Sprouting Feathers and Lost Teeth.

Scientists map the evolution of birds;

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014 ... vian-genes

Really worth reading. :2thumbsup:
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