Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
activity of paint peeling. You might try covering the painted area they're damaging with
screening or burlap, or hanging shiny helium balloons to float in that area. When I re-
habbed birds, I learned that most birds, especially Blue Jays, seemed terrified of helium
balloons and their unpredictable movements.
SUSPICIOUS THIEVES
Some Western Scrub-Jays
search out their food items on their own, while others
raid the food caches stored by other scrub-jays and also by Acorn Woodpeckers and
Clark's Nutcrackers. Researchers have found that when “thieving” scrub-jays hide their
food items, they spend a lot of time looking around to check if other jays are watching
them; nonthieving scrub-jays seem unsuspicious and don't look around before hiding
theirownfood.Themoreascrub-jayengagesinstealingfoodfromothers,themoresus-
picious it becomes.
Some animals seem to love it when scrub-jays raid them for food — if that food hap-
penstobeparasites.WesternScrub-Jaysfrequentlystandonthebacksofmuledeerpick-
ing off and eating ticks. The deer seem to appreciate the help, often standing still and
holdinguptheirearstogivethejaysaccess.Ifyou'vereadJackLondonstories,youmay
have noticed that he mentions “moose birds.” These are Gray Jays, which acquired that
nickname because they sometimes pick the parasites off moose.
Q A cardinal keeps flying into my kitchen window. I think he's doing it on purpose,
and it's driving me nuts. How can I make him stop?
A
Manyterritorialbirdsareincensedwhentheydiscoveranotherbirdoftheirspeciesand
sex on their territory. Reflections in windows and auto mirrors can appear to be exactly
this. Cardinals and robins are the species most likely to start attacking their window re-
flections, and the attackers are usually males. Sometimes female cardinals or robins will
do this, and other species occasionally attack their reflections, too.
In nature, when a cardinal discovers another cardinal on his territory, he may first re-
spond by making a warning call or fly to a perch and sing, or he may instantly lower his
crest and make
pee-too
or
chuck
call notes. If the intruder doesn't leave, he'll lower his
body, open his mouth, vibrate his wings, and make various other calls. If the other car-
dinal still doesn't leave, he lunges, but usually the intruder escapes before it comes to
blows. Wild cardinals often countersing with their neighbors, which may give an outlet
forsome territorial disputes without the birds resorting to physical battles. Wild cardinals
have engaged in fighting and continual chases for as long as 30 minutes, but most phys-
ically aggressive encounters last only a few seconds.
