Dec 1, 2014
The Hidden Virtuoso in the Garden
Many years ago I was walking past a
tall tree in my garden; a mocking bird was in the top of the tree singing. As I
passed the tree, it occurred to me the mockingbird was singing rather odd. I do
most of my birding by ear while I am working in the garden. This bird was repeating phrases only twice
and moving on to the next song. Mockingbirds
will repeat a phrase 3 or more times. I decided
to stop and look back at the bird in the top of the tree. It was no Mockingbird, but a Brown Thrasher,
a close relative. I wondered how many
times I had made this mistake.
In the spring, male Brown Thrashers
will find a high perch to sing. This is always an odd sight to me, for Brown
Thrashers spend most of their time foraging on the ground under bushes. Ornithologists agree that the Brown Thrasher
has one of the largest repertoires of any bird in North America. A single bird knows over 1000 songs which are
clear and loud. They often mimic other birds, but are not as good a mimic as
the Mockingbird. Both male and females
are identical and both will sing. I
assume that it is the male who sings in the spring from a tall perch to find a
mate. Just the other day, I heard 2 Brown
Thrashers singing under a large azalea bush.
They were not singing in harmony or even copying each other. Was it a mated
pair singing together or was it 2 dueling males? Without warning, the 2 birds flew up into a
large camellia tree and chased each other around and around. Was this courtship display or a territorial fight?
Brown Thrashers are not often seen
in suburban yards, but if you manage your
yard as a wildlife habitat you may have a pair. They like to forage under thick
bushes and hedgerows with plenty of leaf litter. In the summer, they eat insects and worms. In
the winter, they will dine on berries like dogwood, pyracantha, rosehips and Virginia creeper. They nest in thick bushes rather close to the
ground. Both parents incubate the eggs
and take care of the young. Young birds
leave the nest less than 2 weeks from hatching.
I have traveled around the country
to observe wildlife; especially looking for birds. I think one of the most
remarkable observations I have ever witnessed was in my own front yard. One spring day a few years ago, I was sitting
on my front porch. With binoculars in hand, I was hoping to see a few warblers
passing through during spring migration. The only bird in view was a Brown Thrasher
under the loquat tree. There is no grass
under the tree and we leave the leaf litter as mulch. I put my binoculars on the bird to see what
it was eating. It was picking up sticks
and tossing them down. I first thought
it was looking for nesting material.
Then it found a stick about 4 inches long with a fork at the end. Next, the bird put the stick down and picked
it up again this time holding the stick near the end opposite the fork. To my
amazement, the Brown Thrasher began sweeping the leaves with the forked
stick. Brown leaves flew off the ground
as the bird swept the ground. Suddenly it dropped the stick and grabbed a bug and
flew off. In 1835, Charles Darwin observed the Woodpecker Finches of the
Galapagos Islands using tools. This was an important scientific discovery. I have seen YouTube videos of crows using
tools, but I had never personally seen a bird use a tool until that day. Since that day, I always take the time to
watch Brown Thrashers, but have never seen one use a tool again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)