Mystic silver gull

["Philip Veerman" <>]

And why should the gulls think or care that people would help? Unless of course these gulls have suffered a similar entanglement before and have learned that people can help. This is quite possible. Surely we are more obviously a threat than a help (even though people do feed gulls). The behaviour of the other gulls is an alarm reaction. The entangled gull was probably stressed and exhausted so didn't struggle. Experienced banders would be able to tell you more about that and that some birds are much easier to handle than others. Why does the Magpie-lark's behaviour seem unlikely to have been a coincidence? Why should it know or care? It has enough issues of its own to worry about. Maybe the neighbour hand feeds it, wearing similar coloured clothes.

 

Of course your ideas (if indeed you are suggesting it) are just as odd or maybe more even odder as those that think that these things happen NOT by virtue of the bird's own motives and wisdom, but to postulate that the bird doesn't think that way at all. It is usually suggested in such cases that some sort of higher power, that does have that motive, also has the power to cause the birds to behave in a particular way, as though it is in their thoughts. As in when a person makes a plea (usually to their god or gods) to be shown a sign (of something, it is never specified). As far as I see, they are not asking the birds but maybe use something done by a bird (or the clouds, or a cow, or a burning bush or a waving piece of grass, etc) to be the sign. Religions and fantasy stories have used that ploy for centuries. Some people believe that. I don't believe either suggestion.

 

Sure birds may have perceptive abilities that we don't. They probably hear much faster than we do, although in a similar range, and maybe can see things and process visual signals faster than us.

 

Interspecies communication happens all the time. It is well known in mixed species social groups and in predator alarm calls and responses, eg antelopes & monkeys understanding each others alarm calls for "leopard".  I agree with Geoffrey's advice about the hook.

 

Philip