"Behold...for I Am Mighty"
It's tempting to use anthropomorphism when interpreting animal behavior, but I have seen this display from many different species of birds, and I get the feeling that it's not just wing-drying, or flight preparation.
This male Osprey was entangled in the mass of algae on the right side of the screen. I'm not sure how that happened, but he was having a difficult fight with it. The more he clawed at it, the deeper entangled he became. Meanwhile, the number of onlookers swelled. After several minutes of effort, he was able to rip his sharp talons through the algae, free himself, and then...face the humans who were snapping his picture, and give this display. Maybe he was just preparing to fly...but he maintained this pose for about 30 seconds, finally turning away, and taking off.
Seen at J.N."Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, Florida.
"Behold...for I Am Mighty"
It's tempting to use anthropomorphism when interpreting animal behavior, but I have seen this display from many different species of birds, and I get the feeling that it's not just wing-drying, or flight preparation.
This male Osprey was entangled in the mass of algae on the right side of the screen. I'm not sure how that happened, but he was having a difficult fight with it. The more he clawed at it, the deeper entangled he became. Meanwhile, the number of onlookers swelled. After several minutes of effort, he was able to rip his sharp talons through the algae, free himself, and then...face the humans who were snapping his picture, and give this display. Maybe he was just preparing to fly...but he maintained this pose for about 30 seconds, finally turning away, and taking off.
Seen at J.N."Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, Florida.