Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
A
If your junco's tail feathers had been torn out, the bird would have replaced them im-
mediately. However, broken and worn feathers that are intact where they meet the body
aren'treplacedautomatically untilthetimeofyearwhenthebirdwouldnormallyreplace
its feathers. The timing of molting varies among species; your junco should grow in new
tail feathers in late summer.
Courting Red-tailed Hawks put on a display in which they soar in wide circles at a great
height. The male dives steeply, then shoots up again at an angle nearly as steep. After
several of these swoops, he approaches the female from above, extends his legs, and
touches her briefly. Sometimes, the pair grab onto one other, clasp talons, and plummet
in spirals toward the ground before pulling away from each other.
LIKE A ROCK
When I was rehabbing birds,
one of my charges was a baby Blue Jay. When he
was newly fledged, he spent most of his days outside in my yard. One afternoon when
a severe thunderstorm was looming, he was nowhere to be found. When the storm hit, I
had to go inside without him. The moment the rain subsided, I headed out and searched
my neighborhood, calling for him. When he heard me, he started squawking
MAAAA!
MAAAAA!
from a power line just above a busy bus stop about a block away.
When I reached him, he was sopping wet and bedraggled, his crest and feathers
plasteredagainsthisskin,lookingnothinglikeaBlueJay.Thedozenpeoplebelowwait-
ing for a bus stared and laughed as I called, “Come on down, Ludwig!” He flapped his
wings and let go of the wire, but his sopping wet wings and tail provided absolutely no
lift and he dropped like a rock to the sidewalk, then hopped up to me, still squawking
MAAAA! MAAAAA!
The next time he got caught in a storm, he'd figured out that hiding in a sheltered
branch is far wiser than sitting out in the open.
