Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution => Topic started by: Treece on 06/05/2010 13:30:02
-
Treece asked the Naked Scientists:
Hello naked scientist:
My question is that I have had a bird sitting on my deck ledge and he keeps flying off the ledge and right into my kitchen window over and over and over again.
He has been doing this non-stop for 2 days now. What is wrong with this bird?
Is he crazy because he is driving me a little crazy. I am a person that animals seem drawn to but this is ridiculous.
Please help,
Treece, Eagan Minnesota
What do you think?
-
I recall there being a number of reasons why this might happen and it seems to depend on species to an extent.
It's possible that the bird is seeing it's own reflection, perceiving it as a threat to it's territory, and attacking it. It may be worth putting some kind of gauze in front of the window to break up the reflection, and seeing if that helps.
Anyone else got any ideas?
-
If the bird is one of the territorial species then I suspect that BenV is correct: that would seem to be the best explanation for the repeated 'attacks'.
-
I recall there being a number of reasons why this might happen and it seems to depend on species to an extent.
It's possible that the bird is seeing it's own reflection, perceiving it as a threat to it's territory, and attacking it. It may be worth putting some kind of gauze in front of the window to break up the reflection, and seeing if that helps.
Anyone else got any ideas?
I also think BenV is probably correct. The house I grew up in has 9 6'x6' windows in the front, with 9 3'x6' windows above them. Needless to say, birds flying into them was a significant issue, but most seemed to only do it once, as if they simply thought there was no glass then learned different. This case would seem to probably be the reflection though, due to the repeated "attacks". We hung outdoor drapes on the windows and my mom no longer has an issue with birds flying into them.
-
I have a similar problem at the moment with a bird continually battering itself against a window.
Pretty sure it can see its reflection and thinks it's a competitor. I have solved the problem for now by hanging a sheet over the particular window.
I've also had problems with birds attacking the mirrors and chrome on my truck!
-
Go to the podcast page. (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/show/2010.05.09/)
or [chapter podcast=2579 track=10.05.09/Naked_Scientists_Show_10.05.09_6229.mp3](https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenakedscientists.com%2FHTML%2Ftypo3conf%2Fext%2Fnaksci_podcast%2Fgnome-settings-sound.gif&hash=f2b0d108dc173aeaa367f8db2e2171bd) Listen to the Answer Now[/chapter] or [download as MP3] (http://nakeddiscovery.com/downloads/split_individual/10.05.09/Naked_Scientists_Show_10.05.09_6229.mp3)