Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Q A female cardinal nesting in our yard died by flying into a window. What will
happen to the eggs? Will her mate take care of them?
A
Male cardinals can incubate eggs, although the female typically incubates much more.
This male may take over entirely and raise the young on his own. Some cardinals in this
situation, however, will abandon the nest and move on to find a new mate with which to
start over. This approach can actually allow a bird to raise more young that summer. If
themaletriestohatchoutandraisetheoriginalnestofeggs,he'salmostcertaintoloseat
least some of the babies in the nest because it's hard for a single bird to find enough food
for four or five nestlings. If the cardinal does abandon the nest, a chipmunk, jay, crow,
or squirrel may come in and eat the eggs. It's heartbreaking, but somehow birds muddle
through.
KEEPING AN EYE ON THINGS
If birds are nesting near you in an accessible spot,
it's hard to resist checking on
the eggs and the chicks. It's okay to watch discreetly, but too much attention could cause
the parents to abandon the nest. It's best to peek in on nests in midafternoon (when par-
ents are feeding young the least often), for a very brief time, and not every single day.
If you enjoy finding and watching bird nests, consider joining the NestWatch citizen-
science project, coordinated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Smithsonian Migrat-
ory Bird Center. Visit
www.nestwatch.org
to find out how to watch nesting birds safely
and to record your observations. The information you gather is valuable to scientists
studying nesting birds and the factors that lead to their failures or successes.
Q Why don't I ever see baby pigeons?
A
Pigeons make their loosely constructed cup nests in crevices and on ledges. They lay
two eggs, which hatch after 18 days, and the babies, called squabs, tend to sit tight for
more than two weeks. By day 18 after hatching, they can walk and may wander a bit
along their ledge, but they don't open their wings and fly down from it until they're com-
pletely feathered and able to fly, sometime between day 25 and 32. By this time, they are
as large as adults, but they're still dependent on their parents for protection and food.
Q Last summer after a storm we found a tiny baby robin that had fallen from its
nest. I put it back in the nest, but my neighbor told me the parents would reject it
if it smelled like human hands. I'm not sure, but it looked like the parents were still
feeding it after I put it back. Can birds really smell our hands?
A
Probably not, and they don't reject young birds after people touch them. Most birds
have a sense of smell that is as poor as ours, or poorer, and they identify their babies the
