Nature Scenes: Birds show intelligence in their interactions with humans

This petite little hummingbird in DeLand must be a cousin of the birds mentioned in this essay!

By Lynn Bowen
Beacon Columnist

posted Mar 3, 2013 - 1:33:30pm

I've got to share with you some bird stories I recently read!

The first tale is about a hummingbird that was having a problem getting his food from a feeder because of wasps swarming there. The woman who put out the food noticed the situation, got out her vacuum cleaner, and sucked up the wasps.

A while later, a hummingbird tapped on her window with his long bill. She saw more wasps and again remedied the problem. The bird promptly and happily got his food. The woman knew exactly what the smart hummingbird had asked for!

Another hummingbird befriended a man with a physical disability, and would fly beside him as he went on daily strolls. One day, this bird got right in the man's face and wouldn't let him walk. The puzzled man looked down and saw a rattlesnake near his feet. The smart, courageous hummingbird probably saved his life!

Crows in Japan wait for traffic lights to change, hop in front of stopped cars, and place on the road walnuts from a nearby tree. The birds fly away when the light is green. The cars run over the nuts and crack them open, which is exactly what the hungry birds wanted to happen!

Mockingbirds can distinguish between different people and attack a person whom they recognize as threatening. They can identify and remember people based on just two encounters lasting less than 30 seconds! In one experiment, a person who had teased mockingbirds while wearing a mask would wear the mask while walking down a sidewalk and would be attacked. The same person without a mask strolled along, and the birds didn't bother him.

Laura Erickson, a bird expert in Minnesota, wrote that the chickadees in her neighborhood know her face and voice when she is outdoors. They will approach her as if asking for food. She carries some mealworms to feed them, and the chickadees perch on her hand. Therefore, she says, she's a human bird feeder. She asks herself if she is their trained pet or if they think she's stupid and easily taken advantage of?

These stories are a little vague and sketchy, but they show how birds and people sometimes interact.

— Bowen lives in DeLand. Send email to her at lynnindeland@gmail.com.

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