Birds
- Thread starter Voyageur
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_http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/19421217Birds hold 'funerals' for dead
Some birds, it seems, hold funerals for their dead.
When western scrub jays encounter a dead bird, they call out to one another and stop foraging.
The jays then often fly down to the dead body and gather around it, scientists have discovered.
The behaviour may have evolved to warn other birds of nearby danger, report researchers in California, who have published the findings in the journal Animal Behaviour.
The revelation comes from a study by Teresa Iglesias and colleagues at the University of California, Davis, US.
They conducted experiments, placing a series of objects into residential back yards and observing how western scrub jays in the area reacted.
The objects included different coloured pieces of wood, dead jays, as well as mounted, stuffed jays and great horned owls, simulating the presence of live jays and predators.
Alarming reaction
The jays reacted indifferently to the wooden objects.
But when they spied a dead bird, they started making alarm calls, warning others long distances away.
The jays then gathered around the dead body, forming large cacophonous aggregations. The calls they made, known as "zeeps", "scolds" and "zeep-scolds", encouraged new jays to attend to the dead.
The jays also stopped foraging for food, a change in behaviour that lasted for over a day.
When the birds were fooled into thinking a predator had arrived, by being exposed to a mounted owl, they also gathered together and made a series of alarm calls.
They also swooped down at the supposed predator, to scare it off. But the jays never swooped at the body of a dead bird.
The birds also occasionally mobbed the stuffed jays; a behaviour they are known to do in the wild when they attack competitors or sick birds.
The fact that the jays didn't react to the wooden objects shows that it is not the novelty of a dead bird appearing that triggers the reaction.
The results show that "without witnessing the struggle and manner of death", the researchers write, the jays see the presence of a dead bird as information to be publicly shared, just as they do the presence of a predator.
Spreading the message that a dead bird is in the area helps safeguard other birds, alerting them to danger, and lowering their risk from whatever killed the original bird in the first place, the researchers say.
Other animals are known to take notice of their dead.
Giraffes and elephants, for example, have been recorded loitering around the body of a recently deceased close relative, raising the idea that animals have a mental concept of death, and may even mourn those that have passed.
Unfortunately humans lost that abilitytreesparrow said:_http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/19421217Birds hold 'funerals' for dead
Some birds, it seems, hold funerals for their dead.
When western scrub jays encounter a dead bird, they call out to one another and stop foraging.
The jays then often fly down to the dead body and gather around it, scientists have discovered.
The behaviour may have evolved to warn other birds of nearby danger, report researchers in California, who have published the findings in the journal Animal Behaviour.
The revelation comes from a study by Teresa Iglesias and colleagues at the University of California, Davis, US.
They conducted experiments, placing a series of objects into residential back yards and observing how western scrub jays in the area reacted.
The objects included different coloured pieces of wood, dead jays, as well as mounted, stuffed jays and great horned owls, simulating the presence of live jays and predators.
Alarming reaction
The jays reacted indifferently to the wooden objects.
But when they spied a dead bird, they started making alarm calls, warning others long distances away.
The jays then gathered around the dead body, forming large cacophonous aggregations. The calls they made, known as "zeeps", "scolds" and "zeep-scolds", encouraged new jays to attend to the dead.
The jays also stopped foraging for food, a change in behaviour that lasted for over a day.
When the birds were fooled into thinking a predator had arrived, by being exposed to a mounted owl, they also gathered together and made a series of alarm calls.
They also swooped down at the supposed predator, to scare it off. But the jays never swooped at the body of a dead bird.
The birds also occasionally mobbed the stuffed jays; a behaviour they are known to do in the wild when they attack competitors or sick birds.
The fact that the jays didn't react to the wooden objects shows that it is not the novelty of a dead bird appearing that triggers the reaction.
The results show that "without witnessing the struggle and manner of death", the researchers write, the jays see the presence of a dead bird as information to be publicly shared, just as they do the presence of a predator.
Spreading the message that a dead bird is in the area helps safeguard other birds, alerting them to danger, and lowering their risk from whatever killed the original bird in the first place, the researchers say.
Other animals are known to take notice of their dead.
Giraffes and elephants, for example, have been recorded loitering around the body of a recently deceased close relative, raising the idea that animals have a mental concept of death, and may even mourn those that have passed.
A traditional festive picture with just that little bit extra :).
_http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/santa-robin.html
Leucistic robin has 'Santa beard'
‘Santa Robin' is timely leucistic bird
December 2012. This remarkable bird has been reported to the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) Abnormal Plumage Survey.
The timely ‘Santa Robin', which was seen by Ian Wilson in Derbyshire, is a leucistic bird. This inherited disorder causes parts of a bird's plumage not to have their normal colour and to appear white, often affecting areas around the face and on the wings.
_http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/santa-robin.html
Very heart-warming thread, thanks everyone for your contributions. I'm also very fond of birds, and love watching them (and listening to their song - thanks also for sharing the birdsongs). Just today while driving in my car - slowly, because it was slippery from the snow - I saw a big, beautiful falcon (I think) at the side of the road. It always elicits a joyful feeling in me, and especially recently I've been encountering falcons a lot.
And voyageur, I can relate to the sadness when the birds leave in late autumn - and yes, the joy when they return! And we've also built a place here for the birds to feed them in the winter.
There's also this saying I really like:
And voyageur, I can relate to the sadness when the birds leave in late autumn - and yes, the joy when they return! And we've also built a place here for the birds to feed them in the winter.
There's also this saying I really like:
Video -
_http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9762709/Parrots-have-personal-musical-tastes-and-even-like-to-sing-a-long-scientists-find.html
supriyanoel
Jedi
I have not been in the position to be around many birds on a one- to-one basis, although many come in my yard and they are fed well. One was hurt by a cat one day and I caught him and put him in a cage for 20min.while I was inside. I came out to find the cat that attacked him came back and put his paw thru the cage(still can't see how) and ripped a good part of the wing off even more. Now it wasn't going to fly, I could tell. Getting a bird rehabber is not easy and was not doable in the timeframe I had. I had to attend to this bird immediately! I searched the web, got my gloves out and went to work. It was touch and go for 2 days. Then I became its mother. Or he or she's.This wonderful bird acted more like a dog, I kid you not. He would put this beak through my 2 first fingers like my cat used to do to rub her face. He wanted to be scratched on the neck and stomach. Now I don't know if this is bird behavior. It seemed odd, but endearing. He also started making all sorts of bird sounds until I came downstairs to pay attention. I knew he wouldn't fly again and was thinking that this attachment, however much I liked it, wasn't good for either of us. Maybe I was wrong, though. I still tear up abut it. I decided he would be happier with other birds and brought him to the parks department in the woods. You are not supposed to have wild birds legally. The women there took to the bird, said she had a rehabber friend in Manhattan, so I didn't protest. And felt like a heel.I didn't like the women much,however she and the bird seemed to bond so I trusted it and let it go. Lo and behold my Godmother passes away and the birds, a dove and parakeet, was left without what I think is proper care.You don't just feed a bird and leave it alone without attention.With nothing but seed and water. But thats only me. So...yes, the proud owner of 2 birds. These birds were very quiet when I first met them. But I talk to them and really interact so they are now very different after 5 days. The dove lets me pick him up and I let him have fly time. On an empty stomach. So you never know, though I wasn't surprised.I did have birds on the mind. This bird has something to teach me and I'm ready to learn!
Birds of Paradise
This link is to Cornell and highlights a short video on the “Birds-of-Paradise Project”
_http://www.cornell.edu/video/?VideoID=2398
Many have likely seen these birds in film at least (they are only in the mountains of New Guinea), and they are really birds of transformation, birds like almost no other on the planet – simply exquisite, very rare indeed.
Hope you enjoy.
This link is to Cornell and highlights a short video on the “Birds-of-Paradise Project”
_http://www.cornell.edu/video/?VideoID=2398
Many have likely seen these birds in film at least (they are only in the mountains of New Guinea), and they are really birds of transformation, birds like almost no other on the planet – simply exquisite, very rare indeed.
Hope you enjoy.
An amazing story of individual bird longevity and millions of miles flown.
rest of article -
_http://www.usgs.gov/blogs/features/usgs_top_story/worlds-oldest-wild-bird-a-new-mom-again/?from=textlink
World’s Oldest Wild Bird a New Mom — Again
A Laysan albatross named Wisdom just hatched a new chick on the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.
Wisdom, who is at least 62, is not only the world’s oldest-known wild bird, but she’s also the oldest-known wild bird mom.
Wisdom has sported and worn out 5 bird bands since she was first banded by noted U.S. Geological Survey scientist Chandler Robbins in 1956 as she incubated an egg. Chandler rediscovered Wisdom in 2001. In 1956, he estimated Wisdom to be at least 5 years old then since this is the earliest age at which these birds breed, though they more typically breed at 8 or 9 after an involved courtship lasting several years. This means, of course, that Wisdom could be even older than 62.
Rewriting the Record Books
Welcome to the World, Chick! The Oldest Bird in the World Raises a Chick
“As Wisdom rewrites the record books, she provides new insights into the remarkable biology of seabirds,” said Bruce Peterjohn, chief of the North American Bird Banding Program at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, MD. “It is beyond words to describe the amazing accomplishments of this wonderful bird and how she demonstrates the value of bird banding to better understand the world around us. If she were human, she would be eligible for Medicare in a couple years yet she is still regularly raising young and annually circumnavigating the Pacific Ocean.”
And since adult albatross mate for life, with both parents raising the young, it makes one wonder if Wisdom has had the same partner all these years or not.
Wisdom is now the oldest wild bird documented in the over 90-year history of the USGS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Canadian bird banding program. “To know that she can still successfully raise young at age 60-plus is astonishing,” Peterjohn said. “While the process of banding a bird has not changed greatly during the past century, the information provided by birds marked with a simple numbered metal band has transformed our knowledge of birds.”
Wisdom has likely raised at least 30 to 35 chicks during her breeding life, though the number may well be higher because experienced parents tend to be better parents than younger breeders. Albatross lay only one egg a year, but it takes much of a year to incubate and raise the chick. After years in which they have successfully raised and fledged a chick – which on Midway is about two-thirds of the time – the parents may take the occasional next year off from parenting.
Frequent Flyer Miles
Almost as amazing as being a parent at 62 is the number of miles this bird has likely logged – about 50,000 miles a year as an adult – which means that Wisdom has flown at least 2 to 3 million miles since she was first banded. Or, to put it another way, that’s 4 to 6 trips from the Earth to the Moon and back again with plenty of miles to spare.
One reason for all these miles is that Laysan albatross spend the first 3 to 5 years after fledging at sea, never touching land. Then they return to breed in the northwestern Hawaiian Island chain but some of their feeding grounds are actually off the coast of western North America, including the Gulf of Alaska. The parents tend to feed closer to the islands where their nests are when the chicks are very young, but they regularly commute to the northern Pacific Ocean and even the Gulf of Alaska when the chicks are older or when the adults are incubating. They convert the fish and squid they eat into a rich, oily liquid, which they regurgitate and feed to their chick.
In the non-breeding part of the year, albatross do not touch land — the birds, scientists believe, often even sleep while flying over the ocean.
rest of article -
_http://www.usgs.gov/blogs/features/usgs_top_story/worlds-oldest-wild-bird-a-new-mom-again/?from=textlink
A friend send me an email this morning with some of these photos showing the highly cryptic patterns and colours owls have to hide themselves during the day,thought I'd share these delightful pics.
OWLS - MASTERS OF CAMOUFLAGE
others available here -
_http://oddstuffmagazine.com/owl-true-masters-of-camouflage-in-nature.html#.URkVE2fjAsw
OWLS - MASTERS OF CAMOUFLAGE
others available here -
_http://oddstuffmagazine.com/owl-true-masters-of-camouflage-in-nature.html#.URkVE2fjAsw