Actually I suggest it may be unusual for the parents to remove the dead
chick (apart from by eating it or feeding it to the siblings). They
might remove it but it is not necessarily a typical thing for birds to
do. Most birds remove egg shells from the nest and many (maybe only
passerines?) remove droppings, but these are inevitable and the
behaviour exists for this. Having a dead chick is not an inevitable and
the behaviour to remove it is not that strong. I think the suggestion
comes from thinking as a person, rather than thinking like a bird (which
to be honest is not thinking a lot). What do others think (no
circularity intended)?
Philip
-----Original Message-----From: Perkins, Harvey
Sent: Thursday, 27 January 2011 9:43 AM To: Elizabeth Compston; Canberra
Birds Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] dead chick [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]
The White-faced Heron chick has been dead in the nest since at least the
evening of Monday 24 Jan.
Harvey
Harvey Perkins
CRC Selection Rounds Section _______________________________________
Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
-----Original Message-----From: Elizabeth Compston
Sent: Wednesday, 26 January
2011 1:52 PM
To: Canberra Birds Subject: [canberrabirds] dead chick
We saw the dead wfh chick last night. Its head was hanging down
under the nest. The parents will surely have to get rid of it as it
will foul the nest. Will they push it through, or lift it out?
Doubtless there will be scavengers waiting for a feast . We found a
small fish under the nest the other day. Ants were already devouring
it, after a very short time
Elizabeth
*******************************************************************************************************
This is the email announcement and discussion list of the Canberra
Ornithologists Group.
Please ensure that emails posted to the list are less than 100 kb in size.
When subscribing or unsubscribing, please insert the word 'Subscribe' or
'Unsubscribe', as applicable, in the email's subject line.
List-Post: <>
List-Help: <>
List-Unsubscribe: <>
List-Subscribe: <>
List archive: <http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/html/canberrabirds>
List manager: David McDonald, email
<>
|
