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Home > Blogs > Birds and Butterflies > Archives > 2009 > November > 18
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
More Flocking Behaviors to Look For
Blog By: Katy Malcolm
Last week, I mentioned behaviors you could easily pick out while watching mixed flocks feed. A number of studies have looked at vocalizations that are produced while feeding behaviors are occurring. So, the next step to observing feeding behaviors is to open your ears as well as your eyes! Different sounds birds make while feeding can mean many different things. I mentioned that one advantage to a mixed species flock may be the ability to better avoid predators. This can only be accomplished if there is a warning system in place for these predators. Any noise made by a bird to warn others of a predator is known as an alarm call. If you take the time to fully observe feeding birds, you may notice different types of alarm calls. If a predator such as a hawk is flying over, an alarm call is used to tell the other birds to freeze or take cover. If a flightless predator approaches, a different call may tell the members of the flock to take flight. Different alarm calls may also indicate the threat level posed by an intruder. Many say that the ‘chick-a-dee-dee-dee’ call of the Carolina Chickadee is used this way. The more ‘dees’ present at the end of the phrase, the higher the threat level of the intruder. So, when approaching a group of chickadees, try to assess you own threat level!
