Bird Behaviour in Action
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the horbills are quite large birds used to feed on fruit and mainly insects,arachnids and small vertebrates.
but they are not used to kill aduld birds.
in this case an African Grey Hornbill (tockus nasutus) has cought and killed a social weaver.
"a strange behaviour"
Etosha National Park ,Namibia
original 3K file here:
Great Crested Grebe - Podiceps Cristatus
The great crested grebe has an elaborate mating display. Like all grebes, it nests on the water's edge, since its legs are set relatively far back and it is thus unable to walk very well. Usually two eggs are laid, and the fluffy, striped young grebes are often carried on the adult's back. In a clutch of two or more hatchlings, male and female grebes will each identify their 'favourites', which they alone will care for and teach
Unusually, young grebes are capable of swimming and diving almost at hatching. The adults teach these skills to their young by carrying them on their back and diving, leaving the chicks to float on the surface; they then re-emerge a few feet away so that the chicks may swim back onto them.
The great crested grebe feeds mainly on fish, but also small crustaceans, insects small frogs and newts.
This species was hunted almost to extinction in the United Kingdom in the 19th century for its head plumes, which were used to decorate hats and ladies' undergarments. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was set up to help protect this species, which is again a common sight.
The great crested grebe and its behaviour was the subject of one of the landmark publications in avian ethology: Julian Huxley's 1914 paper on The Courtship‐habits of the Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus).
Population:
UK breeding:
4,600 pairs
UK wintering:
19,000 individuals
A black Swan attacking a Muscovy duck.
Hope you will enjoy this shot.
Many thanks to everyone who chooses to leave a comment or add this image to their favorites, it is much appreciated.
©Elsie van der Walt, all rights reserved. Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. If you are interested in using one of my images, please send me an E-mail (elsie.vdwalt@gmail.com).
Mute Swan taking flight on the frozen lake of Saint-Point, Jura, France.
Swan, largest waterfowl species of the subfamily Anserinae, is generally classified in the genus Cygnus. There are around 7 different species of swan found around the world. The size, colour and behaviour a swan individual is largely dependent on it's species and the area in which it lives.
Today swans are a threatened species of animal mainly due to hunting and habitat loss. Pollution (mainly water pollution) is also a major reason as why the swan populations are declining.
I was observing a group of sea gulls next to the Yarra River when I took this shot.
I am sure you would have seen these postures and calls before.
I was also curious about these postures and their meanings.
Here you can see two common postures.
The gull in the front is showing the Forward Posture.
As the name implies, this posture is all about displaying a forward motion by holding the body roughly horizontal or slightly diagonally with the neck kinked characteristically.
The tail can sometimes be spread; the bill is either slightly opened or closed.
The Forward posture is used in the following situations:
1) hostile encounters
2) pair formation sequences
3) as a response to a bird approaching in flight
When used in hostile encounters on land, it often includes running towards an opponent, whereas in a pair formation sequence both gulls move parallel to each other
The Gull behind is doing the Mew Call
The Mew call is accompanied by a characteristic Arch-posture in which the head is held down and the wings are held slightly away from the body.
It is usually performed while walking but can be performed while standing, flying, or swimming as well.
The Mew call is used in both aggressive and non-aggressive situations:
Aggressive
1) In defense of food or territory, aimed at an opponent
2 )To attract a mate for support in territory defense
Non-aggressive
1) To attract a partner (also for courtship)
2) To call chicks that have wandered too far from the nest
3) To gather chicks for feeding or after they have been hiding after a disturbance
4) As a nest-relief invitation
5) As a call performed upon landing.
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Peaceful Sunday
This very small nutria was walking silently in the shadow, that's why I had to use high ISO. Zoom in for more details.
As you can see his fur has a lot of different shades of brown.
And as you can see he was very young : big head and small body
(_DSC0025_DxO-2048N)
A beautiful woodpecker that is found in a small part of the country - a large part of South India and the Himalayan forest. It has a rich yellow and green mixed color which I found to be spectacular. The bird is tad bigger than many of the other woodpeckers I have seen. This is my second sighting and from what I could see, the behaviours are similar to the othr woodpeckers. The birds do come down to the middle canopy and that is where we shot them.
There is another Greater Yellownape as well but which is much bigger than this bird. I was fortunate enough to sight both of them.
Thanks so much in advance for your views, faves and feedback.
It is not just the boys that enjoy singing in the springtime.
However, the tune and the volume is a little softer.
Another shot of the Starlings at Leven. There is a snack van on the esplanade and people stop there and throw rubbish out of their cars (charming!) However, the starlings think this is great behaviour. This one is looking for something under a car
Rothschild's swordtail (left) and other butterfly eating minerals on river bank in Manu National Park.
Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behaviour most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck up the fluid. Where the conditions are suitable, conspicuous insects such as butterflies commonly form aggregations on wet soil, dung or carrion. From the fluids they obtain salts and amino acids that play various roles in their physiology, ethology and ecology.
Protesilaus earis, the Rothschild's swordtail, is a species of butterfly found in the Neotropical realm.
Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, Manú National Park
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Taken a few months back in the Kent coastal town of Whitstable. In general seagulls in the British coastal resorts have a bad reputation for their aggressive behaviour, well deserved I should add. Should you just be tucking into your lovely bag of chips (fries) you'd better beware that if you take your attention away for even a second then chances are one of these guys will be swooping in for a free meal. It can scare the bejesus out of you! And if they don't steal your food they just might leave you with something else in the form of an embarrassing white streak down your back, or heaven forbid, on your head!
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I'm going to be leaving this message on my next few posted images. This is to let the photographers that I follow know that due to the immense amount of time it takes me to go through all the photos that appear in my Flickr stream each day I am setting my stream to show only one image per day per person. It's either that or get Flickr burn-out. Apologies in advance if your photos don't get as much of my attention as they used to. Hopefully people will understand my reasons for doing so. Thanks.
RKO_9069.
Copyright: Robert Kok. All rights reserved! Watermark protected.
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It was interesting and entertaining to watch the feeding behaviours of both the 'i'iwi and the 'amakihi (endemic Hawaiian honeycreepers). Very flexible necks and often hanging off a branch. They pry flowers (like this māmane) open with their beak, then use their tongue to lap up the sweet liquid at the flower's base.
This pair of twin calf North American Moose (Alces alces) were observed in a behaviour not expected this early in their life cycle in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.
25 October, 2012.
Slide # GWB_20121025_5388.CR2
Use of this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission is not permitted.
© Gerard W. Beyersbergen - All Rights Reserved Worldwide In Perpetuity - No Unauthorized Use.
The second side of Timmy is the tender cuddler who likes to lie in my arm in bed and lay his head in my hand.
Happy Caturday 2.10.2021 "Signature behaviour"
Courtship behaviour of the great crested grebe.
great crested grebe
Haubentaucher
[Podiceps cristatus]
We just couldn't believe this!
Many of you would have seen adult Grebe's doing the Weed Dance., an elaborate and beautiful 'Courtship' ritual
But what we have here are two Grebe chicks from the same family spontaneously performing (with all the same complex moves) the very same dance
They are young and immature., so this cannot be 'learnt behaviour' but instead somehow engrained into their DNA
We were taken by surprise and It was wonderful to watch!
Thanks for looking, comments and faves. Much appreciated!
The somewhat austere winter monochrome is a neat backdrop for most birds, but a winter Cardinal lights it up. These are regular feeder and backyard birds in Ottawa, but it is nice to see them in the woods, away from a domestic setup.
This was one of several males that were seeking to impress three females in an otherwise quiet forest.
The rock pipit is a large stocky pipit, larger than a meadow pipit and smaller than a starling. It is streaky olive-brown above and dirty white underneath with dark streaking. It breeds around the coast where there are rocky beaches and most of the birds which breed in the UK are residents, with only the young birds dispersing once they become independent.
This Eurasian rock pipit is territorial at least in the breeding season, and year-round where it is resident. Males will sometimes enter an adjacent territory to assist the resident in repelling an intruder, behaviour only otherwise known from the African fiddler crab.
Click on image for larger view
The name kestrel is given to several members of the falcon genus, Falco. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover at a height of around 10–20 metres over open country and swoop down on prey, usually small mammals, lizards or large insects. Other falcons are more adapted to active hunting in flight. Kestrels are notable for usually having mostly brown in their plumage.
Halcyon senegalensis
L'offrande de nourriture du mâle à la femelle est un comportement très fréquent... avant les choses plus sérieuses...
Parc national Kruger, Afrique du Sud
The offering of food by the male to the female is a very frequent behaviour... before more serious things happen...
Kruger National Park, South Africa
Endemic to Madagascar. It's closely similar to the African stonechat in both plumage and behaviour, but distinguished from it by the more extensive black on the throat and minimal orange-red on the upper breast of the males.
Vallombre Natiora Hotel, Mantasoa, Madagascar
Stag frantically digging up mud at the edge of a lake to cover its antlers before dressing them in vegetation. Not sure if this is to impress the ladies or threaten other males in the rut.
First is a Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar, next a Soldier Beetle, then a Ladybird and a Hoverfly. Please try viewing large. Thank you....
Eurasian Jays have very particular and interesting behaviours, and some of them make them excellent forest gardeners.
Examples include the use of gifts provided by males for females in mating rituals. This behaviour is performed by a few species. In most cases, it means that the species understands the desires of other individuals, which is quite complicated.
Their most important and interesting behaviour is their ability to store seeds, especially acorns or nuts. They do this to prepare themselves for the cold season and the harsh months that await them.
Experts suspect that this behaviour may be much more complicated than it seems. They proved, through different experiments, that the Eurasian Jay’s habit of keeping food is due to its ability to plan for the future, something experts thought that only humans could do.
This behaviour is what makes it a very important animal for our forests. In many cases, these birds don’t consume all their stores, or they just forget about them.
Thus, the seeds germinate and the forests expand as they move these heavy nuts and seeds, which can hardly be spread otherwise.
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) flight_w_2278
Not sure what,s going on here.At first i thought the ants were moving their larvae to another location,but the first larvae is clearly a plant hopper nymph! So moving plant hopper larvae for security,or food?
Thanks for your comments and faves,they are truly appreciated.
Sparrowhawk - (M) Accipiter Nisus
Double click to view
Though it is a predator which specialises in catching woodland birds, the Eurasian sparrowhawk can be found in any habitat and often hunts garden birds in towns and cities. Males tend to take smaller birds, including tits, finches, and sparrows; females catch primarily thrushes and starlings, but are capable of killing birds weighing 500 g (18 oz) or more.
The Eurasian sparrowhawk is found throughout the temperate and subtropical parts of the Old World; while birds from the northern parts of the range migrate south for winter, their southern counterparts remain resident or make dispersive movements. Eurasian sparrowhawks breed in suitable woodland of any type, with the nest, measuring up to 60 cm (2.0 ft) across, built using twigs in a tree. Four or five pale blue, brown-spotted eggs are laid; the success of the breeding attempt is dependent on the female maintaining a high weight while the male brings her food. The chicks hatch after 33 days and fledge after 24 to 28 days.
The probability of a juvenile surviving its first year is 34%, with 69% of adults surviving from one year to the next. Mortality in young males is greater than that of young females and the typical lifespan is four years. This species is now one of the most common birds of prey in Europe, although the population crashed after the Second World War. Organochlorine insecticides used to treat seeds before sowing built up in the bird population, and the concentrations in Eurasian sparrowhawks were enough to kill some outright and incapacitate others; affected birds laid eggs with fragile shells which broke during incubation. However, its population recovered after the chemicals were banned, and it is now relatively common, classified as being of Least Concern by BirdLife International.
The Eurasian sparrowhawk's hunting behaviour has brought it into conflict with humans for hundreds of years, particularly racing pigeon owners and people rearing poultry and gamebirds. It has also been blamed for decreases in passerine populations. The increase in population of the Eurasian Sparrowhawk coincides with the decline in House Sparrows in Britain. Studies of racing pigeon deaths found that Eurasian sparrowhawks were responsible for less than 1%. Falconers have utilised the Eurasian sparrowhawk since at least the 16th century; although the species has a reputation for being difficult to train, it is also praised for its courage. The species features in Teutonic mythology and is mentioned in works by writers including William Shakespeare, Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Ted Hughes.
Male Eurasian sparrowhawks regularly kill birds weighing up to 40 g (1.4 oz) and sometimes up to 120 g (4.2 oz); females can tackle prey up to 500 g (18 oz) or more. The weight of food consumed by adult birds daily is estimated to be 40–50 g (1.4–1.8 oz) for males and 50–70 g (1.8–2.5 oz) for females. During one year, a pair of Eurasian sparrowhawks could take 2,200 house sparrows, 600 common blackbirds or 110 wood pigeons. Species that feed in the open, far from cover, or are conspicuous by their behaviour or coloration, are taken more often by Eurasian sparrowhawks. For example, great tits and house sparrows are vulnerable to attack. Eurasian sparrowhawks may account for more than 50% of deaths in certain species, but the extent varies from area to area.
Males tend to take tits, finches, sparrows and buntings; females often take thrushes and starlings. Larger quarry (such as doves and magpies) may not die immediately but succumb during feather plucking and eating. More than 120 bird species have been recorded as prey and individual Eurasian sparrowhawks may specialise in certain prey. The birds taken are usually adults or fledglings, though chicks in the nest and carrion are sometimes eaten. Small mammals, including bats, are sometimes caught but insects are eaten only very rarely.
Male and Female Peregrines passing live prey, first time I've seen this kind of behaviour, not the best shots due to poor weather but I managed to get 3 live shots
Stonechats are so photogenic. I love to photograph them at any opportunity. They can often pose for the camera very well and will tolerate a close approach if you are patient and careful. I photographed this one last week while she was very active, trying to avoid the attentions of a male bird, which was chasing her around. I wonder if it was preliminary behaviour prior to attempting a second brood ?
Thank you for having a look at my photos. Comments or faves are very welcome and much appreciated.