Tom on Bird Behaviour

 I'm saddened to report the death of Flaco The Owl, an escapee from the Central Park Zoo last year who became a favorite of New Yorkers of all stripes.  Reports indicate that this marvelous bird met his end when he collided with a building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  Reqiscat in Pachem, Flaco:)  

Here's a video on Flaco

Birds have the capacity to inspire us because they often escape from captivity because they simply want to be free. One of the most famous birds ever to make his home in New York City was a red-tailed hawk named Pale Male, who lived to the ripe old age of 33, (1990-2023).  He outlived at least 8 mates and any number of offspring over the course of his long life.  Pale Male finally died from renal failure, essentially old age.

Here's a link to a story about Pale Male's passing: 

 

Birds seem to enjoy being free to go about their business, whatever that business  might be.  Peregrine Falcons have established their nests on tall office buildings in every corner of the US where such buildings exist, and humans seem to enjoy watching them squabble over who is going to sit on the eggs produced by the lucky couple, (90% of all bird species mate for life but, as anyone who has ever been married knows all too well, spouses often disagree about any number of things).  We know this because where large birds like falcons, hawks and eagles establish themselves in an urban setting, rather than some tall cliff in Alaska or in a similarly remote area, cameras that monitor the goings on in the nests of these avian superstars soon follow.   We like to watch the gestation and birth of these birds and, once hatched, we follow their growth and development as avidly as if they were our own close relatives.  Through the magic of remotely operated cameras, we can watch these creatures being fed pre-chewed and partially pre-digested food by their parents which, while disgusting on its surface, is little different from the way that human infants are fed, except that human parents use rubber nipples and tiny spoons to feed their young.  Birds must deposit food in a form that is easily utilized by their fledgelings, so the deposit is made directly into the throats of their babies. who probably imagine that their food magically appears in their mouths.  We watch them develop and grow.  We exalt when they embark on their first flight, usually with mom or dad flying close support...just in case. Red Tailed hawks are fairly common hereabouts, and I used to see adults escorting kids as they wobbled across the afternoon sky.

When I was working in Boston, there was an incident where a male falcon, (a tiercel), was stepping out on his mate, (known as a falcon), for, presumably a younger and cuter falcon.  All of these birds lived high. up on the facades of tall buildings in Boston's Financial District, so when the two females began fighting over this tiercel who was "...torn between two lovers...", it was quite a spectacle.  The two females went at each other in the skies over Boston for much of the afternoon.  While the details are dim, I think that the interloper was driven off to points west.  The winner was the original mate.  The thing that stuck with me was the fact that the tiercel spent the time while the two falcons were fighting, killing pigeons and feeding the combatants.  Apparently, he didn't seem to care who won, because he fed both combatants equally.  

Some birds adapt well to urban environments.  Parrots and parakeets find each other and establish colonies that thrive nicely.  There was a colony of parrots that established themselves in the vicinity of Telegraph Hill in San Francisco, and a colony of parakeets set up housekeepim\ng in electrical transformers in the general vicinity of Kennedy Airport.  The truth is that many birds are smarter than we once gave them credit for.  Crows, in particular, can fashion rudimentary tools from bits of twigs, work in teams, and think strategically.  The story I use to describe the intelligence of crows involves 2 crows, an otter, and a tasty fish.  

The otter catches the fish and prepares to eat it.  One of the crows lands in front of the otter and motions as if it's going to steal the otter's fish, whereupon the otter drops the fish and prepares to do battle with this greedy and opportunistic crow.  Just as the battle is about to start, the second crow lands just behind the otter and gives the otter a vicious peck to its sleek bum.  When the otter turns to face this new threat, the first crow grabs the fish and the two crows fly off into the great beyond, presumably to enjoy a well-earned fish dinner:)   I know people who aren't able to game plan like that.