For birds that catch prey on the wing I wonder if this behavior is just for “fun“ or could also be seen as “practice.”
Regards, Shane Blodgett Sent from my iPhone > On Jun 6, 2021, at 10:53 AM, Joseph Wallace <joew...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Thank you all for your replies (here and directly to me) and the references. > I love that feather-play is a "swallow thing." The one I watched varied its > game, swooping in from all angles and approaches. Twice it flew almost > straight upwards until it was perhaps fifty feet off the ground before > releasing the feather. > > I'm intrigued by the fact that one of the earlier reports also specifies a > large *white* feather; my guess is that, like yesterday's, it was a down > feather, which would float in the air much more satisfactorily than a denser > one. > > I write essays on nature for a local Audubon Society. I think my next piece > will focus on bird play! Thanks again-- > Joe > >> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:34 PM Brendan Fogarty <bn...@cornell.edu> wrote: >> Joseph and all, >> >> This behavior seems familiar, but I cannot say if I have seen it before in >> person or in media. It is definitely documented; below is an excerpt from >> Birds of the World online. >> >> "In Britain, 3 juveniles were observed apparently playing with large white >> feather while in flight, repeatedly dropping it and catching it before it >> reached the ground (1). Adults are also known to exhibit this same behavior >> (2)." >> >> 1. Thompson, B. G. (1990). Behaviour of Swallows with feather. British Birds >> 83:239 >> >> 2. Turner, A. K. (2004). Family Hirundinidae (Swallows and Martins). In >> Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 9: Cotingas to Pipits and >> Wagtails (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Cristie, Editors), Lynx >> Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. >> >> Best, >> Brendan Fogarty >> >> >>> On Sat, Jun 5, 2021 at 11:23 PM Ardith Bondi <ard...@earthlink.net> wrote: >>> That is very cool! This is not exactly the same, but I was photographing a >>> Tree Swallow at Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area on Long Island last >>> Tuesday with a 500 mm PF lens (think, short and light for a 500mm) on a >>> Nikon D850 with a very loud shutter. I suddenly realized that the swallow >>> was singing in response to the shutter. The more I pressed it, the more the >>> bird sang. I tried a varied pattern to test it. When I finally stopped, the >>> bird waited a second and then flew off. I had never experienced that >>> before, either. I have watched penguins play in Antarctica. Penguins climb >>> up on things and jump off them just for fun. They’ll even do it with a >>> buddy. >>> >>> Ardith Bondi >>> NYC >>> www.ardithbondi.com >>> >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> >>>>> On Jun 5, 2021, at 10:04 PM, Joseph Wallace <joew...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> >>>> >>> >>>> This is more about bird behavior than rarity, so apologies if it's o/t, >>>> but I watched a swallow engage in extraordinary (to me) behavior at Croton >>>> Point Park in Westchester today. It started when I spotted something white >>>> drifting slowly towards the ground: a large, downy feather. Just as I >>>> focused on it, a Barn Swallow snatched it out of the air with its beak. I >>>> expected the bird to head off to its nest, but instead it dropped the >>>> feather...and then circled and snatched it out of the air again. >>>> >>>> For the next few minutes, I watched the swallow repeatedly release the >>>> feather, do wide loops around it--sometimes feinting in its direction--and >>>> then pluck it out of the air. Twice it let the feather land on the grass, >>>> retrieving it once while on the wing and once by landing beside it. >>>> Finally the swallow did head off, I imagine to line its nest at last. >>>> >>>> I'd never seen swallows engage in play, but I can't see how this was >>>> anything else. Has anyone else here ever witnessed something like this? >>>> Thanks--Joe Wallace >>>> -- >>>> NYSbirds-L List Info: >>>> Welcome and Basics >>>> Rules and Information >>>> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >>>> Archives: >>>> The Mail Archive >>>> Surfbirds >>>> ABA >>>> Please submit your observations to eBird! >>>> -- >>> -- >>> NYSbirds-L List Info: >>> Welcome and Basics >>> Rules and Information >>> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave >>> Archives: >>> The Mail Archive >>> Surfbirds >>> ABA >>> Please submit your observations to eBird! >>> -- > > -- > NYSbirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > ABA > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
