Posts tagged bird-behaviour
This weekend I was sitting next to a pond and multiple times there was a crow who had something white in his mouth flying down from a tree to within several feet of the pond's surface, drop the whi...
I've been hanging these fat balls for a good while and they're intact. Previously I was hanging a feeder filled with seeds (for birds) in front of the window and that was also intact for a while; s...
I feed the local birds quite a lot, and am wondering about the possibility of contracting any avian-related illnessess. How often is it for us to come across a disease-ridden bird anywhere, as well...
There are a couple of crows that come around regularly, they come as a pair. One is larger than the other. Perhaps a couple? or parent and youth? or adult and older parent? When providing nuts/see...
Like many people, we have bird feeders, and a bird-bath. We also have a feeding station (replenished in the mornings only) that attracts squirrels and chipmunks and some of the larger birds. Duri...
We had a few white browed bulbuls visit us recently. One of them seemed to have a peculiar interest in the chillies that grew in one of our pots (I believe these are bird's eye chillies [no pun i...
The ducklings are getting much bigger very quickly, to the point that it's almost hard to tell the mother duck from the ducklings, (mother duck in back of procession) How much bigger are these d...
I live in an area with a lot of lakes/ponds, with many paths around them. Many humans and dogs enjoy walking on these paths. However, the Canada geese have recently set up shop on the lakes. They d...
On the morning of September 11, 2001, two airplanes flew into the "Twin Towers," part of the hub of the World Trade Center in New York City, United States. The towers, which at one time had been th...
I know that there might be robins in the woods that I just never see. But why don't I see any robins. I see lots of birds including chickadees, cardinals, and blue jays. There are Hawthorn trees ou...
I've read that there are up to 200 species of owls, encompassing many sizes, shapes and colors. Ornithologists and scientists continue finding new species and sub-species. They also re-name previo...
Can a cormorant really manage to digest a huge, living eel, bones and all? Does the poor eel (it was quite a bright/pretty green color) stand any slim chance of escaping (that thrashing, biting, e...
It has become a bit of a fad in the last few days at my current workplace to open a browser tab to either http://www.lbwl.com/falcon.htm or http://www.lbwl.com/falcon2.htm , take a quick look now a...
Location: UK East Midlands, suburban garden. Bird: possible marsh tits, something in that size range with a black cap. Time: late July. Two similar-looking birds were observed making high-pitched,...
When birds gather into groups, they fly in a variety of different formations and patterns. Some birds fly in a formation that looks like the letter "V". Several species of geese, pelicans, and ib...
Although not greater in number, our hummingbirds this summer seem to be larger than in the past. I think it may be because my husband started making our own nectar, so it's fresher, and might taste...
I live in Northeastern United States, where it's spring at the moment. We keep bird-feeders throughout the year, so those that over-winter always have something to eat. As is usual at this time ...
Around my work I walk in local parks for a couple of hours a day, and I've noticed we have Green Woodpeckers, and I've seen them quite a few times and can now recognise them rather easily. Recentl...
Related to this question where the difference in size might possibly be due to one of the 3 peregrine falcon chicks being male, how do they tell whether a peregrine chick is male or female? Eventu...
We have bird feeders of all shapes, sizes, and types of material. Some we've had for years. We dump out leftover bird seed and shells when we refill them. If there are obvious dangers, like algae, ...
We went away for five days and came home to find a robin building a nest in the crook of the downspout of our gutter. I live in Massachusetts, in Northeast United States, so she's probably an Ameri...
My wife and I have been watching these magpie Jays for a while and I was just wondering what if all would be the purpose of the plume on their heads. It's strange in it's a single strand with a few...
I saw a bird (the mother) swallow the birdring of another bird it was eating on live camera (while feeding its chicks) link (the site is in Polish) and I am wondering whether: Can it actually cau...
I witnessed a bizarre scene on the James River in Richmond, VA, USA (1000 yards west of Mayo Bridge if you want to examine Google Maps). It was on a large rock in the middle of the river, where nea...
While there are a number of recognized sub-species of Canada geese, this question pertains to the main species, Branta canadensis. This answer to a question asking how many hours a day Canada Gee...
Have the good fortune of having sparrows around my house. I feed basmati rice + big bowl of water to sparrows. I sprinkle basmati rice and other grains in the balcony. The sparrows flock once in...
I put up a bird feeder in my backyard over the summer and have been enjoying taking care of the birds. Unfortunately, sometime in the fall a hawk decided to start hanging around my yard. I shoo him...
This is a one minute video of a Common Kingfisher bird standing on a tiny reed swaying in the wind. It's from the BBC Network in England. For much of the video, especially the beginning, the bi...
I was looking up some things for some of our recent questions when I saw this line in the safety guide for Everglades National Park, Vultures are attracted to the rubber on vehicles and have be...
There is a recent story of how one mother duck kept adopting more ducklings that weren't hers and eventually ended up with 76 ducklings. This is called "brood amalgamation", how common is it among...
I've been told that the only place Emperor penguins live is Antarctica. They live in colonies which can be anywhere from 500-20,000 birds. Unlike some other birds, including other penguin species, ...
One of the older fairy tales is The Ugly Duckling where the one oddball of the bunch is considered ugly by the other ducks but turns out to be a swan at the end of the story. From what I have read...
We live in Massachusetts, Northeastern United States. It's late July, and our temperatures this month have ranged between 70°F (21°C) and 90°F (32°C). Mourning doves, Zenaida macroura, live here ...
After seeing this question which had this animation: I was left wondering whether this behavior was "normal" or at least healthy. I know sometimes when an animal exhibits odd behavior there's so...
I was recently at a music festival in a field here in the UK. It was a nice hot day and I was staring up into the lovely blue sky. I noticed there were high numbers of seagulls circling above, seem...
At any given time in our yard, we have at least 20 birds, up to the same number of squirrels, 15 or so chipmunks, and a few rabbits. Our many feeders and birdbaths are mostly under big trees and ne...
I bet the first thing that came to your mind, was... because humans are evil and hurt animals because we're bigger than birds because we are louder than birds because of all of the above ...rig...
A friend said she heard there's a species of bird that hibernates during the winter. I was surprised because I've only heard of birds that either migrate to warm weather as it gets cold; or stay ac...
The common House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, is one of the few birds not protected under federal law in North America, because it's considered a non-native species. However, it currently lives in v...
A baby black bird fell in my baby's pool and I think he was there about 30 min. I took him from the pool and put him under the sun for 3-4 min to dry and then left him under the tree where there is...
Right now the irrigation ditches and ponds have lots and lots of mallard ducklings, sometimes multiple families to a single pond. The way to tell is that there will be too many ducklings for one fa...
I was out hunting last weekend (end of October) near Yellow Pine, Idaho. While walking up a hill during the late morning with moderate timber coverage (thin enough to ski comfortably but thick enou...
A buzzard seen nearby has been continuously attacking people for over a year now. As far as I know this isn't normal behaviour, especially not outside breeding season. Please correct me if I'm wron...
Last night, I had to climb a tower at work. When I reached the top platform (about 40 feet up), and turned my back to close the swinging gate behind me, I was whacked on the back of the head. Fort...
I just passed the pond where the geese in this question are, and it turns out that while some of the geese are sleeping ontop of the ice, there is a section right there, about 20ft by 80 that is op...
On the east coast of the United States where I live, various species of birds migrate South (sometimes West) for the winter. Some stop briefly on their long trek, others have been here for months. ...
I'm trying to increase the hummingbird population in my yard in Northeastern United States. I grow certain types of flowers specifically designed to keep them happy, and have often found them drink...
It's spring here in the Northeastern United States, and we're getting a large influx of the wonderful birds who will spend the summer and fall with us. Although we feed and water birds, and any oth...
When American robin chicks fledge, meaning leave the nest, it is pretty much empty. It's also fairly clean, as the parents have been removing the waste from the babies after each feeding. Aside f...
6 weeks ago a pair of Torresian Crows ("also called Australian crow or Papuan crow") began roosting in close proximity to my residence. Their chicks have left the nest and they do not seem to be mo...
