Questions tagged [bird-behaviour]
Questions relating to specific or unusual behaviour shown in birds.
73
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Why does this blue tit bird desperately want to come inside?
There's a strange thing going on since a few days ago in the office. Suddenly we recognized a blue tit flying like crazy up and down on our window. It looks quite average, a beautiful bird, not like ...
9
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What must be causing a decrease in sparrows and an increase in pigeons in my town?
Has your city seen a noticeable decrease in population of common sparrows? And, on the contrary an increased population of common pigeons?
As per my opinion prime suspects appear to be stronger ...
7
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1
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How and why is the red kite bird disturbed by wind turbines?
Recently my region in Germany had great success in bringing back the red kite bird. Unfortunately a few decided to stay near newly built wind turbines. Thus the turbines are turned off from time to ...
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Would a Canada Goose deliberately try to keep a section of water from freezing?
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 open ...
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Why would a Canada Goose sleep on a frozen pond?
I just passed one of the town parks, and there was a flock of Canada geese sleeping on the frozen lake. It seemed like that would be a rather cold place to sleep, is there a reason beyond the ...
10
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Does feeding migratory birds in the fall affect the timing of migration?
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. ...
7
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2
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Does the male or female Emperor penguin incubate their egg, and for how long?
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, ...
21
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Do bees at the hummingbird feeders keep the birds away?
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 ...
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What happens to the eggs after American robins are born?
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 from ...
6
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1
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Is it safe to feed swans in the United Kingdom?
I've heard that a swan can break your arms with a flap of its wings, etc., but am not sure if that's true. There's a nature reserve - local to me - where the swans come up on foot out of the water and ...
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Bald eagle vs. vultures?
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 nearly ...
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What can I provide to help a robin build her nest?
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 American ...
6
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1
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Are the seagulls begging or contentedly sighing?
For any Dr. Doolittles out there, when a seagull makes a "cooing" sound, is it more like the "miaow" of a cat, or the purring of a cat?
Specifically, when the seagulls "talk" to each other, it is ...
8
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1
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How should I position my hummingbird feeders to attract the most birds?
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 drinking ...
8
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How do Plover sentinels give the "move out" signal?
During my usual weekend morning jaunt along Del Monte Beach in Monterey (California), I noticed for the first time the Plovers, who normally seem to forage nonstop, actually taking a communal break. ...
7
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1
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Swans jammed together in a small pond
Due to heavy rain, the water level raised drastically in the last days and arose a few small "ponds" besides our local river. Also the main stream is accordingly extremely wild these days.
Recently ...
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What should I do if I disturb a bird of prey with a kill?
A friend of mine disturbed a bird of prey (I think it was a kestrel or sparrow hawk) that had just killed a pigeon in her back garden. The pigeon was still alive when she found it but died soon after. ...
10
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Lots of birds together at the same time
This year in October I saw a lot of robins, male and female, finches and chickadees, and geese flying south.
Surprisingly I didn't see many juveniles from previous broods. My guess is that juveniles ...
8
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2
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Have attacks on humans by raptors other than owls been documented, excluding cases where they were defending their nests?
The Washington Post recently reported that a juvenile owl was attacking early morning joggers on a trail near Bethesda, MD. Signs have been put up on a section of the trail reminding users that the ...
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4
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Does a bird really abandon the nest? Will similar birds re-use it?
This may appear a bit opinion-based.
Birds take a while and a lot of effort to build a nest. Is it okay to take that pretty nest as a sample or a show-piece to put in a personal balcony or a garden?
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9
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Why do I never see robins in the woods?
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 out ...
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Why do seagulls circle around at high altitudes?
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, ...
11
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Why are two birds obsessed with a chopped-down tree?
Where I work, there was a great pine tree which was recently chopped (actually, sawed) down.
Prior to its demise, this tall pine was visited often by lizards and birds.
After its removal, though, ...