Dear John,
Almost by definition there are no nutrients as such in ash. Ash is usually
silicate and some carbon. The burning process is pretty rough and most
nutrients quite susceptible to heat. I suspect that since the ash is
virtually indigestible (there's not much a digestive system can do to food
that a fire hasn't already done) the birds eat it as part of their digestive
process, probably as a physical abrasive. I've heard of dogs doing the same
thing to help calm a sore tummy; the ash just soaks everything up and
virtually stops production.
Ev
On 9/10/06, John Leonard <> wrote:
I observed two Eastern Rosellas in suburban Canberra today picking over a
pile of ash from a small fire in someone's front yard today. The birds
remianed there for at least ten minutes and appeared to be picking up
small
fragments of lightish colored ash and eating them. I expect they were
gaining some nutrient from them.
--
John Leonard
Canberra
Australia
www.jleonard.net
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--
Evan Beaver
Lapstone, Blue Mountains, NSW
lat=-33.77, lon=150.64
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