I began my love of birds because of their beautiful feathers and lovely songs, but what keeps me intrigued are all the weird and wonderful things they can do. While touching just the tip of the iceberg, here are a few of my favorites.
Crows, pigeons, magpies and mockingbirds can recognize faces and remember which humans are good to them and which are bad. If you are nice to them, they may bring you trinkets as a gift. If you are not nice, they may hold a grudge and harass you.
Some birds use tools. Crows make hooks at the end of sticks to get at food. Woodpecker finches have short beaks, so they use twigs to dislodge grubs from tree trunks. Green herons drop small items like feathers or insects into the water to attract small fish. Vultures have used rocks as tools to break ostrich eggs.
While birding with a group, we came upon a carcass of a mole or vole or mouse (your guess is as good as mine) hanging on a barbed wire fence. “A butcherbird did this,” someone called out. I imagined a large, mean raptor but when I looked it up, there was a picture of a cute, little bird with a fun, black mask called a loggerhead shrike. How could this little bird have done such damage?
According to Audubon, shrikes use their hooked bill to pinch their prey’s spinal column, rendering them paralyzed. Then, they look for a sharp object like a barbed wire fence or sharp stick. With prey held firmly in their beak, they roll their head creating a whipping motion that generates acceleration of up to six G-forces impaling the prey against the sharp object. They often leave it there for later consumption, called larding. Now I understand the nickname “butcherbird.”
There is much research that shows turkey vultures to be highly intelligent, but my favorite turkey vulture fun fact is that they puke in self-defense. According to the Washington Nature Mapping Program, they can hurl up to 10 feet toward whatever is threatening them. Dare I try this the next time someone cuts in line ahead of me?
Blue jays steal paint off of houses. Why? Because blue jays need calcium to lay eggs and paint contains limestone, which is a good source of calcium. If you suspect a limestone-laced, paint chip stealer at your house, boil or cook eggshells in a 250-degree oven for 20 minutes (for sterilization), then put them out in your yard. You may be rewarded with cute, little blue jay chicks.
Hummingbirds have one of the fastest metabolisms of all animals. When they need to conserve energy (i.e. periods of cold), they are able to reduce their metabolism by up to 95% while they drop their body temperature. This hibernation-like state is called torpor. You may see a hummingbird on a perch hanging upside down looking, well, dead. Now you know to just let it be.
If you see a group of crows or ravens circled around a dead bird of their own species, it may look like a funeral. According to National Geographic, instead of mourning, they are there to investigate if there is a threat to them.
Have you ever witnessed a bird pecking your window with full force because the bird thinks its reflection is another bird busting in on its territory? With training, the domestic pigeon is one of few birds that can recognize themselves in their reflection, suggesting they have advanced cognitive abilities including social and emotional intelligence. They also have long-term memory abilities and can understand abstract concepts. Yes, pigeons are cool.
Many bird species store food for the winter, but the Clark’s nutcracker outdoes them all. They cache as many as 30,000 pine seeds in one summer storing only three or four seeds in a single place. And I can’t remember where I put my phone.
Birds play games to learn survival techniques. According to the American Bird Conservancy, juvenile orange-breasted falcons practice prey-grasping and dropped-prey recovery techniques with sticks and pine cones. One bird will fly over the canopy with the prize in his grasp while his siblings chase him. If he drops the object, they all dive to retrieve the prize before it reaches the forest canopy below. Then they begin the game all over again.
One last tidbit, bassian thrushes use their farts to dislodge worms from piles of leaves. I’ll leave it at that.
I hope the next time you see a bird, you will watch their behaviors, notice their skills and appreciate that there is so much more to these amazing creatures than pretty feathers and lovely songs. Remember, you may forget them, but some of them won’t forget you — so always be kind.
Lisa Jansen is a Wisconsin master naturalist, nature writer and award-winning photographer. She specializes in raising awareness of birds and butterflies of the Midwest.
Birdsongs nice, but their actions create intrigue
