Hello, tweets.

For years we have put out peanuts for Steller's Jays on the window
ledge outside the "office" where I spend so much time. This morning I
put out a few when a jay came and pecked on the window (they are
somewhere between well-loved companions and downright pests), and the
jay immediately came back and got one. A few seconds later a movement
caught my eye, and I looked up to find a Spotted Towhee on the ledge
with a peanut in its bill. It was as surprised as I was and jumped
off the ledge, the peanut with it. This bird had presumably watched
the jays enough to home in on this food source. I reported last year
that at least one towhee in the yard was routinely cracking peanuts
that we threw out on the ground and eating them. Perhaps this was the
same bird, although I hadn't seen that behavior for months.

I suppose this is no different from any sort of observational
learning, commonplace in birds, but it impressed me!

I should add that yesterday, the first time I have ever seen this in
my yard, a female House Sparrow came repeatedly to one of our suet
feeders and took away a bite of suet. Just about all bird species
seem to have individuals willing to try something new.
-----
Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
206-528-1382
dennispaulson at comcast.net

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