birding-aus

Question on birdbaths from a grazier

To: Penn Gwynne <>
Subject: Question on birdbaths from a grazier
From: "Hilary Richrod" <>
Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 18:21:49 -0800
When I've had drowning deaths here with birds, it's not because they 
can't grip the edge, but because they misjudge the depth of the water. 
That's where the stick comes in, when they realize their feet aren't 
touching bottom, they normally have enough flight to get to a stick 
across a pool. Young/juvenile birds are particularly prone to drowning, 
since they have little experience with water & pools. Most of "natural" 
experience suggests either a very shallow depression filled with water, 
or a pool with an edge that can be manuvered into bit by bit, unlike a 
tub with abrupt sides.
  Crows here actually stick their beaks or feet in the water, to try to 
judge how deep it is before edging themselves in. If the pool has a 
dark underlay, the reflection looking into it seems to make it 
particularly hard to judge. In many cases (though not with crows here) 
the eyes are not arranged for depth perspective, like two forward - 
looking eyes. ~~ Hilary




<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU