Date: 7/30/26 10:29 am From: Jared Del Rosso <jared.delrosso...> Subject: [cobirds] Bushtit behavior - Arapahoe
On Sunday (July 26), I was giving a little water to a few recently
transplanted perennials. The sound of water attracted a flock of about a
dozen or so Bushtits, who began sipping from drops of water on leaves and
from small puddles around the base of plants.
After drinking, something fun and funny (to my eyes) began. The Bushtits
began preening and, as they did, a few began interacting with each other. I
didn't have binoculars or my camera, and my smartphone videos are
hopelessly zoomed in through the foliage of chokecherries. (I'll try to
post these later on my personal website.) But what I saw was a few Bushtits
huddling close to each other, "jumping" on top of each other, and seeming
to make beak-to-beak contact and/or pass something from beak-to-beak. I
wish I had clearer and better views.
*Birds of the World* documents antagonistic behaviors between Bushtits that
looks something like what I witnessed --
*"Occasionally 2 individuals will grapple with feet, fall to ground, and
peck at each other while still connected. Pecking directed toward head and
base of skull. When this occurs, the birds are insensitive to their
surroundings and are easy to approach. Fighting individuals vocalize using
calls that resemble loud, harsh begging calls."*
I don't believe I heard loud, harsh, begging calls -- and most of the other
Bushtits around the interacting ones largely remained relaxed and preening.
It seemed playful, but that's a hard assessment to make as a human watching
birds. And there's no info in *Birds of the World* on play.
A few days prior to this, I had another notable Bushtit encounter -- though
this time with a nest that had been dislodged from Piñon Pines at a local
shopping center. (These pines are the most reliable place for me to
encounter Bushtit. They're also struggling this year. At least two look
fully dead.)
Photographing a Bushtit nest, even up close, seems a hopeless endeavor.
They are marvels of engineering, but function seems to fully override form.
To my eyes, they're unattractive masses of thready and gunky material. This
one seemed to have a decent amount of human-made threads and fibers in them.
There have been other compelling moments, with other species, in my
backyard: juvenile robins bathing in dog water dishes, magpies drinking
from other dog dishes, Blue Jays coming onto my patio to dig through my
tray of buffalograss sprouts, etc. The young birds are especially goofy,
and the drought seems to be pushing birds to take water wherever they can
find it.
- Jared Del Rosso
Centennial, CO
--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To post to this group, send email to <cobirds...>
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate.
* Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/membership/ ---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+<unsubscribe...>
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/<a111be88-19a2-439c-b0f1-b06931afe1b8n...>
