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Games Sparrows Play
Jul. 1st, 2019 12:12 amFrom early this afternoon:
Two of the Sparrow cocks are having a dominance battle below the tube feeder, with a third, much younger one occasionally joining in. Nothing serious, and no-one will be hurt. They're doing that thing where they stare at one another, then hop at one another and bump their chests together, trying to knock their opponent off-balance like tiny Sumo wrestlers. The two main contestants are about equally dominant. They bump a few times, then the winner chases the loser around the yard, then they start over. I think it's play, since neither one is making a serious effort to chase the other away. The youngster tries to take part - he watches for a bit, bouncing and chirping, then jumps into the middle of the battle, gets knocked over and chased for a few seconds by one or both, then goes back to watching and chirping excitedly.
This is one of the advantages of providing food, is that you get to see these play behaviours that hungry birds looking for dinner don't have time for.
Two of the Sparrow cocks are having a dominance battle below the tube feeder, with a third, much younger one occasionally joining in. Nothing serious, and no-one will be hurt. They're doing that thing where they stare at one another, then hop at one another and bump their chests together, trying to knock their opponent off-balance like tiny Sumo wrestlers. The two main contestants are about equally dominant. They bump a few times, then the winner chases the loser around the yard, then they start over. I think it's play, since neither one is making a serious effort to chase the other away. The youngster tries to take part - he watches for a bit, bouncing and chirping, then jumps into the middle of the battle, gets knocked over and chased for a few seconds by one or both, then goes back to watching and chirping excitedly.
This is one of the advantages of providing food, is that you get to see these play behaviours that hungry birds looking for dinner don't have time for.
