Bird Brains?

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

I saw something that astonished me this weekend. Being a softhearted guy with the animals (and also to entertain Max the house tiger while I'm at work), I hang a bird feeder in the back yard to keep them fed through the cold weather. This feeder is pretty small, it can sit about four sparrows at one time.

On Saturday, I saw one bird who is having some trouble getting to the feeder. He might be very young or old or simply sick because of the bitter cold we have been having.

Another sparrow (and I would not believe this if I did not see it) would get up on the feeder, push his beak into the trough and shake his head back and forth to knock seed down to the ground. Then he would drop down and stand guard while the other one ate. (I thought is was my imagination until he attacked another bird who was bothering the sick one). He did this about four times before he would eat something himself.

This level of cooperation from a supposedly "lesser species" should give us all pause.

(I have built the little guy an insulated and heated nest with food and water but that is a different story; I hope he recovers.)

Regards,

- John

 

[JPM]

You are definitely a kind hearted fellow! I can't say I've ever witnessed something like that myself. It is pretty touching when you see "the lesser species" in the animal kingdom taking care of each other.

 

[dpmtherrien]

I guess it goes to show you that there's good and bad in all living things.

 

[A-Man]

I'm another bird feeder myself. It's nice what you are doing, and I loved the story. Only thing you have to watch is the sick one spreading w/e it is he has. Just make sure the feeder/water gets cleaned regularly to prevent that.

 

[Mojo88]

My youngest son has always had severe allergies, so we were never able to have pets. Eight years ago after not having a pet,the kids convinced us to buy a parrot. We gave in and bought an African Gray. She is as much a part of the family as any dog we had growing up.

I am the chosen one that is allowed to handle her, no one else can touch her as she has a habit of biting them. After we got her we found Grays are a one person bird.

She is an exact mimic for everything in the house, phone, microwave, even snoring sounds . She will say in a very soft voice to my wife, " Love you girl" with me it's.. "Hey you"

When my wife was going through a difficult time she would speak in soft tones as if reassuring her. Parrots are not for everyone , but I can't imagine not having her around. Irene Pepperberg wrote a very interesting book about her Gray and the research she did . It gives a new perspective on the so called lesser intelligent animals.

 

[Black Adder]

When I did it, I loved feeding birds in the winter. I lived with my mom at the time, she was retired, and she'd tell me about all the birds she'd seen during the day and what was going on. Sometimes, we'd get species from way up north from Canada. We used to get everything coming in to the yard to feed. When the feeders would empty, If I was a little late filling them, chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers would flit around closely, waiting for me to fill the feeders. I REALLY miss living in the country!

Don

 

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

Well, the little guy (actually, I don't know that for sure, I respect his privacy) climbed out of the nest onto my hand today and chirped up a storm for a minute before he flew off.

I guess he's better

Regards,

- John

 

[davecmu]

There's something in my eye... darn dust in here. :::sniff:::

Great story, thank you for sharing.

 

[luvmysuper]

Are you sure your not just luring them into a false sense of security with that feeder?

 

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

Are you sure your not just luring them into a false sense of security with that feeder?

So much for the poignant moment, Phil

 

[luvmysuper]

So much for the poignant moment, Phil

Life is short, we all must smile for death is soon to follow.

A happy poignant moment sequed into a chuckle is a much nicer thing than an argument about politics, religion or what shaving soap I hate today.

I do thank you for the great story.

 

[MoreSaltThanPepper]

Life is short, we all must smile for death is soon to follow.

A happy poignant moment sequed into a chuckle is a much nicer thing than an argument about politics, religion or what shaving soap I hate today.

I do thank you for the great story.

Thanks right back at you for the snicker

 

[thunderball]

Awesome story! I love stuff like that.

 

[raisindot]

That's a nice story, but you may be anthropomorphizing a bit by positioning it as "cooperation."

As you said, it's likely that the little one was a chick of the protector. Nearly all birds protect their young in some way or another until the chicks fly off on their own (as anyone who has ever walked under a populated blue jay's nest may confirm). This is nothing but the "selfish gene" at work. Dead chicks don't allow genes to pass on to future generations.

It's also doubtful that the parent bird was purposely "tossing down food" for the young 'un. Sparrows in general tend to use their beaks to 'shake' lots of food they don't like out of a feeder in search of certain seeds they do like (this is why most of the cheaper priced bird foods with lots on undesirable filler are a waste of money--most of it ends up on the ground. Sunflowers seeds are the most desirable food among most birds).

The parent bird was feeding itself, not caring where the rest of the food went, but went down to the ground every now and then just to make sure the chick was safe (and to eat a few bits as well).

Birds also chase away other birds that are trying to horn in on their ground food as well. Male cardinals in particular, which are mainly ground feeders, will aggressively chase away any smaller bird that approaches their ground food supply. They become even more aggressive if their mates are nearby. Again, nothing but selfish genes here--a dead mate is one that won't lay them important eggs.

Jeff in Boston

 

[sol92258]

Are you sure your not just luring them into a false sense of security with that feeder?

yeah, I was thinking the same thing
either that, or some kind of bird-government program for lazy birds?
(sarcasm/humor folks)


all in all, great story though. thanks for sharing! it's amazing what we can learn by observing nature, for sure