Birds can play tricks on people too!

IF you come across an apparently injured bird with a damaged wing and struggling to fly, and you approach the bird to see if you can help, as you get closer to the bird it flies away a short distance, lands again and repeats the performance. Why is the bird doing this?

Simple: to distract you from its nest and chicks! Several species of birds use this technique to distract predators from their nest and eggs/chicks. The predator is lured further and further away from the bird’s nest by the apparently injured bird.

The North American plover, the killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) but other species of waders also do this.

Other birds (especially some ducks) might use a slightly different tactic and pretend to play dead until the predator gets too close.

World’s smallest bird

THE bee hummingbird is the world’s smallest bird. It weighs about 1.8 grams and grows to be about 5 centimetres long, approximating the size of a large bee. It’s known to take small amounts of bark and lichen to build small nests to lay eggs that are smaller than a coffee bean. Many have compared it to a tiny jewel due to its bluish green iridescent colours found on its feathers.

Worm dance

HERRING gulls (Larus argentatus) and other closely related species have been observed rapidly stamping their feet for several seconds then looking around and frequently finding and eating a worm.

It is not known why the worms come closer to the surface, but the most likely reason may be that the gull’s dance simulates the sound of raindrops, making the worms come near the surface.

Other birds have also been seen adopting similar tactics, especially those in the crow family.