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immature Yellow-throated Warbler |
Since most of the entire spring passed with very little birding I headed out early this morning. There was fog at the river early but it burned off fairly quickly.
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My attention became focused on one particular adult that hunted with a sense of urgency beyond that of the other adults.
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After several minutes of watching it fly off then come back I realized why. The poor little warbler was trying to feed the insatiable appetite of a bird several times its size.
I really dislike when the Cow Birds show up. I know that some poor bird is going to be suckered into taking care or a large bird that ultimately usually pushes the other chicks out of the nest. Knowing the size difference between the warbler and the Cow Bird, I am sure the warbler chicks were pushed out early. What a shame.
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Regardless of how many insects the warbler brought to the young Cow Bird, every time the warbler flew off, the young bird was still begging for more.
4 comments:
Dislike for cow birds is mutual. I suppose nature has a reason for their behavior but just doesn't seem right.
I agree with you. Just doesn't seem fair for a small little bird to have to feed such a large bird.
Great catching this behavior, Paula. You are so observant.
Thanks Gladys. I felt so sorry for the little warbler. It would have to feed that bird all day long to ever fill it up.
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