bird brains
Nov. 5th, 2020 04:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eorThe bird feeders we have outside the kitchen window are the sort which accommodate small birds. Finches stand on the the little perch sticking out and stick their beak in the hole above it. Pretty straightforward. These aren't so accommodating to bigger birds. Generally anything cardinal size or larger can't use them because they can't scrunch down enough to reach in the hole. I've seen some birds try to hang on sideways and flap with one wing, but most give up after a while because it is just tiring.
But this year we have some smart bluejays. One of them learned to grip the end (not the center) of the little perch, face the feeder, tuck the tail against the lower part of the feeder under the perch, and reach in to the hole. Most bluejays faced with sunflower seeds will take one, fly off to a branch, put the seed between their feet, and get the kernel out by drilling with their beak (this is chickadee style). This clever bluejay has decided that a little roughage is fine. He'll grab a seed, stick his head straight up and gulp. Seed gone, no wasted effort of flying or pecking. He'll do five or six seeds in a row very quickly then fly off, I suppose to digest. Some of the other jays have caught on to how to get a seed, but I don't think they've all learned to swallow them whole. The jays can't do that trick on the lower perch on the feeder, so the small birds do still get some of the food.
I saw a bunch of blackbirds taking turns with a good trick to get around the same problem. They couldn't reach the hole for the seeds, but one would grab the perch, lean over, and flap like hell for a while then stop. This had the effect of propelling them and the bird feeder around in a circle violently. As soon as they stopped flapping they'd go just as violently backward around the circle. The violently part was the key. All the friends on the ground would get sprayed with mana from heaven. After a while the bird that was spinning would get tired and hop off to the ground and another would take the place of the first. They emptied that bird feeder faster than squirrels do.
But this year we have some smart bluejays. One of them learned to grip the end (not the center) of the little perch, face the feeder, tuck the tail against the lower part of the feeder under the perch, and reach in to the hole. Most bluejays faced with sunflower seeds will take one, fly off to a branch, put the seed between their feet, and get the kernel out by drilling with their beak (this is chickadee style). This clever bluejay has decided that a little roughage is fine. He'll grab a seed, stick his head straight up and gulp. Seed gone, no wasted effort of flying or pecking. He'll do five or six seeds in a row very quickly then fly off, I suppose to digest. Some of the other jays have caught on to how to get a seed, but I don't think they've all learned to swallow them whole. The jays can't do that trick on the lower perch on the feeder, so the small birds do still get some of the food.
I saw a bunch of blackbirds taking turns with a good trick to get around the same problem. They couldn't reach the hole for the seeds, but one would grab the perch, lean over, and flap like hell for a while then stop. This had the effect of propelling them and the bird feeder around in a circle violently. As soon as they stopped flapping they'd go just as violently backward around the circle. The violently part was the key. All the friends on the ground would get sprayed with mana from heaven. After a while the bird that was spinning would get tired and hop off to the ground and another would take the place of the first. They emptied that bird feeder faster than squirrels do.
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Date: 2020-11-06 01:55 am (UTC)LTA
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Date: 2020-11-08 08:54 pm (UTC)