Bird Talk
Image 1353411
Feeding Crow painting by Marilynne
They're big, black, smart, and noisy. Most of us recognize the short
and long caw sounds of crows invading our neighborhoods. I've been on
the park blocks in Portland when it was difficult to talk to the person
standing next to me. Trying to understand what birds are saying is like
trying to understand an alien language. But, with study, determination,
and patience it can be done. And, doing so might keep them from going
extinct.
Bird Talk
While hiking on Fairmont Boulevard last week I met a fellow traveler. A
large raven landed seven feet ahead and to the right of where I walked.
As I continued, the bird hopped ahead always keeping the same distance
away from me. After ten minutes the bird changed tactics, flew onto a
nearby branch. He flew from tree to tree slightly ahead, waiting
patiently until I arrived. We continued to travel together for at least
an eighth of a mile until another raven, perhaps his mate, lured him
away.
I'm certain the raven was trying to communicate. His antics made me
wonder if I had passed too close to his nest and he was luring me away.
My partner Ray thinks he wanted food, but I don't agree. He never
called, nor did he seem impatient. I'll never know.
images
This was not the first time I watched a wild bird reach out. One time,
when the bird feeder on our back deck was empty a Towee approached the
sliding glass doors on our deck. Cocking his head he stared through the
window with a pleading look that asked why the feeder was empty. We
responded to his demand immediately and filled it with seeds he
devoured.
The twittering sounds and body language of birds say a lot. Chirps,
cheeps, and melodies send messages that can be understood by humans.
Some sing love poems designed to woo a mate while others use sound to
show strength and warn unwanted birds to back off. Critters in the wild
pay attention to their messages. Squirrels, for instance, respond to
the short low-and high-pitched shrieks of robins indicating a predator
like a coyote is in the area.
The Yao people in Mozambique team up with wild birds to find beehives.
Scientists documenting the hunt for honey say it is a two-way
relationship. The birds, wanting the combs inside the hives, can't
crack them open and risk being stung. So when they spot a hive they
seek out human partners who will smoke out the bees and crack open the
nests. The natives leave the combs for the birds to eat. And, when the
people have a yen for honey, they make a "brr-hm" sound that calls out
for bird assistance.
For the past twenty-five years, I've been entertained by watching birds
at my feeder, though recently I see things that make me feel sad. I
always looked forward to the return of the ring-necked pigeon from
Central America. A few years ago one arrived with a dart in his
shoulder. Birds hit by darts are in pain, subject to infection, and to
becoming entangled or stuck in something. Unfortunately, blowgun
injuries are being reported more often in the United States.
Image 4191839
I consider shooting birds for pleasure to be malicious, yet expensive
pigeon and dove hunting trips to Central and South America have become
increasingly popular. Though prices vary, a hunter will pay $1,725 for
a two-day trip for a high volume (1000 birds) shooting in Montaraz,
Argentina this fall. The cost excludes airfare, hotel room, hunting
license, permits, and insurance).
Pleasure hunters leave pieces of shot embedded in the birds, making the
meat impossible to eat. They destroy an important source of food for
native people living in the area.
It is not surprising that with activities like this there are fewer
species at our feeder each year. Birds have rapidly been losing the
habitat they need to live, find food, rest, and raise their young in
safety. According to an article in USA Today, there are three billion
fewer birds in North America than there were in 1970. They are being
threatened by pesticides, free-roaming cats, wind turbines, insect
decline, and disease. While the nation was concerned with COVID-19,
Pine Siskins were also falling ill and passing their infection on to
other birds. Early spring the Audubon Society asked people to stop
filling their bird feeders. I found two dead Pine Siskins on my deck.
Since then we regularly clean our water tray and feeder.
Birds are also killed by moving vehicles that hit them when they are
seeking food from road kills. It is a common end for Condors newly
introduced into the wild. They land on large animals like deer and are
not fast enough to escape a vehicle driving seventy miles an hour.
Birds are struck by planes more than 40 times a day and they fly into
windows on houses and high-rise buildings. This was a problem at our
house until we put an image of a hawk on our large picture window to
stop birds from hitting it.
All of the problems mentioned are being accelerated by climate change.
Two-thirds of the continent's bird species are at risk of extinction.
In 2015, nearly 1 million common murres died at sea and drifted ashore,
blighting beaches between California and Alaska. It was the largest
mass die-off of seabirds in recorded history. When I was vacationing on
the Oregon coast, my dog licked over a half-dozen murres on the beach
before I could pull him away. The next day my beautiful poodle was dead
and I was in tears.
A warmer planet and expanding population are causing more wilderness
land to be converted into farmable pastures. Breeding and nesting
grounds are becoming agricultural fields and housing developments.
"It's a bird emergency," says David Yarnold, CEO and president of
Audubon. Yes, it is, I agree. And it's like the canary brought into a
coal mine to warn of what will happen to those who don't pay attention.
While out walking, the raven I saw did not vocalize but used body
language to communicate with me. Rather than through words, he had a
more concrete, sensory way to reach me. By doing so, he captured my
attention and invited me to take him seriously. If I want to continue
hearing birds sing for a mate and be warned of predators that might
harm my cat by agitated Robins, I will have to do more than I currently
do to see that they survive.
Image 4191842
A birdie with a yellow bill,
Hopped upon the windowsill
Cocked his shining eye and said:
"Ain't you 'shamed, you sleepy-head!"
Robert Louis Stevenson
from A Child's Garden of Verses.
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Do share your communications with our feathered friends
on my blog site at http://eichingerfineart.com/blog
Art is always for sale. Feeding Crow is a 40" by 30" acrylic
painting available for $599. contact me at
marilynne@eichingerfineart.com
____________________________________________________________
References:
Hammeri, tl (2017) More Pigeons With Blow Gun Dart Injuries Appear In
The Castro, Mission. Hoodline. retrieved from
https://hoodline.com/2017/05/more-pigeons-with-blow-gun-dart-injuries-ap
pear-in-the-castro-mission/
Rice,D.(2019) There are 3 billion fewer birds in North America than
there were in 1970. USA Today. retrieved from
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/09/19/3-billion-fewer-bi
rds-north-america-now-than-1970/2365747001/
Woodward, A. (2020) An avian apocalypse has arrived in North America.
Birdsong could become a rare sound. Business Insider. retrieved from
https://www.businessinsider.com/birds-disappearing-in-north-america-2020
-1
Jones, B. (2018) How to decode the secret language of birds. Popular
Science. retrieved from https://www.popsci.com/learn-bird-language
MacDonald, F. (2016) Scientists Document Wild Birds 'Talking' With
Humans for the First Time. Science Alert. retrieved from
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-document-wild-birds-communicatin
g-with-african-tribespeople-to-help-them-find-honey
Mertins,B. (2021) Do BIrds Have Language? Yes! AndIt's Amazing What
they Say . . .Nature Mentoring. retrieved from
https://nature-mentor.com/birds-language/
(2011) Language and Culture of Crows. Crows.net. Retrieved from
http://www.crows.net/crows.html
Pepperberg, I (2008) Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered
a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence-and Formed Deep Bond in the
Process. ISBN 978-8-06-167398-6. HARPER.
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