Subject: [Tweeters] mystery birds, avian necrophilia,
Date: Nov 1 13:14:00 2008
From: Devorah Bennu - birdologist at yahoo.com


Hello tweeties,

due to my internet access problems, i am not identifying the latest mystery bird yet, so those of you who get the list on "digest mode" will also be able to participate in the fun of identifying these birds. however, tomorrow, there will be two species identified for you to refer to, so be ready!

here's today's mystery bird for you to identify, thanks to the very talented and generous photographer, Joseph Kennedy;

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2008/11/todays_mystery_bird_for_you_to_57.php

yesterday, i posted a photoessay that had been emailed to me about a pair of swallows, where one was dying. this is more fascinating than i originally thought since, this photoessay documents human behavior as much as bird behavior. but according to some field biologists, the healthy adult bird is not caring for a dying companion, instead, the adult bird was apparently taking advantage of a weakened and dying individual to indulge in a little necrophilia;

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2008/10/one_of_lifes_tiny_dramas.php

this behavior is not uncommon in certain bird species, especially amongst swallows, but to look at the series of images, one sees that this behavior is very subtle. perhaps the more incriminating pictures were removed from the photostream before it was emailed?

last but not lhis is a fascinating video of a blue color variant of a ringnecked parakeet, Psittacula krameri. this individual is a talented talker, so i thought you might be interested to watch the video;

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2008/11/talking_blue_indian_ringneck_p.php

cheers,

GrrlScientist
Devorah
http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/
Roosting high up a tree somewhere in Central Park, NYC