More than ruffled feathers: Mockingbirds show heightened aggression after lead exposure

Date:  January 23, 2019

Source:  Morris Animal Foundation

Mockingbirds exposed to sub-lethal levels of lead in urban areas display significantly heightened aggression, said Morris Animal Foundation-funded researchers at Tulane University. The team said their findings highlight the possibility that sub-lethal lead exposure may be common among other wildlife living in urban areas and more work is needed to better understand its full effects. Their study was published in Science of the Total Environment.

"There's considerable lead contamination in soils around the world and that means literally billions of animals, both urban wildlife and pets, are likely exposed at sub-lethal levels," said Dr. Jordan Karubian, Associate Professor at Tulane University's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. "The levels aren't killing them, but they may affect their behavior or physiology. Heightened aggression among mockingbirds may just be the tip of the iceberg."

For the study, the team used simulated territorial intrusion on dozens of northern mockingbirds in urban New Orleans neighborhoods with either low or high levels of lead in the soil. Researchers placed a taxidermized mockingbird on a tripod, 25 feet away from nests that pairs of mockingbirds were constructing, a situation in which the birds act most territorial. The researchers also played recorded songs of singing males to alert the mockingbirds and make the intrusions more realistic.

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Angry birds chase tourists at National Trust attraction

Visitors are being warned to give the Canada geese a wide berth as they have a 'territorial outlook'

Zara Whelan

20:23, 1 MAY 2018

A pair of “confrontational” Canada geese at Erddig have prompted a safety warning after the birds were spotted chasing visitors.

The aggressive North American birds have chosen to nest in the 1,200-acre gardens on the Wrexham estate,

Bosses at the National Trust owned property are urging people to stay away from the nesting pair, which are displaying a “territorial outlook”.

A sign has been erected in the gardens warning visitors to “take care” due to “confrontational geese”, with a Facebook post on the official Erddig page asking that “people give them some space for their safety- and also yours.”

With it’s leafy forest, manicured lawns and impressive water features it seems like the perfect spot for the geese to build a nest.

But with the historical estate attracting around 25,000 visitors a year, it’s far from ideal.

Read on  

Roosters are nicer to their relatives than to other males

Date: March 29, 2017

Source: Linköping Universitet

Male domestic fowl are less aggressive towards related males than to unrelated males when competing for copulations, according to a new study from Linköping University in Sweden. This finding, which has been published in the scientific journal Behavioral Ecology, suggests that domestic fowl can recognise their kin among individuals in a group, and that their behaviour is different towards kin and non-kin.

Domestic fowl in groups form a strict hierarchy, with one rooster being dominant over the others. The roosters compete for access to hens to mate with, and in this way produce offspring and transmit their genes to the next generation. If a rooster that is lower in the ranking attempts to mate with a hen, the dominant male will often interrupt and abort the mating attempt.

The researchers who conducted the study investigated if roosters not only attempt to produce offspring themselves but also to help relatives to do so. From an evolutionary perspective, this would be a way of ensuring that at least some of the male's genes are transmitted to the next generation. Particularly older males, with reduced reproductive capacity, may be more accepting towards younger relatives mating attempts. Thus, the researchers wanted to determine whether dominant roosters are more permissive towards the attempted matings of subordinate relatives than to those of unrelated lower-ranked males. They divided the chickens into groups with one dominant male and two roosters of lower rank; one of which was brother or son of the dominant male, and one that was unrelated to him. The three roosters were released together with four hens, and the researchers observed their mating behaviour.

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Can the Queen stop world's worst swan? Angry bird sinks squadron of model boats

Eight hand-built boats, with a combined worth of £15,000, have been destroyed by the swan so far.

By Staff Reporter

July 21, 2016 15:59 BST

A destructive swan's relentless targeting of model boats has prompted one enthusiast to beg the British Queen for help in dealing with the dangerous bird. The mute swan is known to patrol Needham Lake, Suffolk, attacking ducks and geese thought to be on its stretch and smashing up eight model boats so far – some of which are worth up to £15,000 ($20,000).

In a throwback to medieval times – technically, the British Crown owns all unmarked mute swans – one boat owner, who had had two of his models attacked, went so far as to write to Queen Elizabeth II urging her to take action.

He told the East Anglian Daily News "I wrote to the Queen telling her the swan is a menace and I would like him to be moved on if possible... I would like to be able to boat in peace."

Treasurer of the Gripping Valley Model Boat Club, Cliff Galsworthy told the paper that the swan is a "menace": "He attacked my boat nearly straight after I put it in. I have spent about 10 full days trying to repair it. It took about six months to build and he just smashed it to pieces."

Read on … 

Bird-X Examines What’s Making Seagulls Angry

SUPPLIER NEWS

Whether it's hype or not, the public will likely be more fearful of these common birds due to recent publicity, Bird-X reports.

| March 26, 2014

Laridaphobia (the intense fear of seagulls) may become a common term soon enough, as the number of seagull attacks reported in the news rises worldwide. But has anything really changed? Bird-X, Inc. investigates. 

In mid-March 2014, a woman in the UK reports a seagull attack that occurred during her lunch break. After falling down as the result of being spooked by a large aggressive seagull (source), she’s turned to suing her company’s landlord for not controlling the building’s bird population. In Mrs. Kelly’s case, the birds were nesting on the roof of her office building – a situation that could have been prevented with proper bird control.

Also in March 2014, a beach in Orange County, California announced its plans to use a live hawk to chase away seagulls and pigeons, and in February 2014, a beach on the Coast of East Devon, UK made the same announcement – citing that a trained falconer will simultaneously entertain tourists (source). 

In January 2014, the Pope famously released peace doves at the Vatican – we will spare the gritty images, but a seagull immediately attacked one of the helpless doves once it was released (source). This seagull was only acting on natural instinct, but it certainly didn’t do its species any good in the eyes of the public worldwide.

Read more

Bird Notes | With longer days comes different, sometimes aggressive, bird behavior Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2014/03/11/4087171/bird-notes-with-longer-days-comes.html#storylink=cpy

BY GARY PHILLIPS — For The Sun News

With the onset of spring-like weather and the lengthening of daylight hours, seasonal changes are becoming evident all around us.

Native red maples (Acer rubrum) have been in bloom for a few weeks now, and native Carolina laurel-cherry (Prunus caroliniana) are also flowering. Many deciduous plants are sprouting new growth, and some insect species are emerging.

Spring is a time of change, and in addition to changes of plants and insects in evidence, many other animals are exhibiting their own seasonal awakenings, and those of the birds are perhaps the most easily observed.

Invariably, there are some bird behavioral changes, usually most notable in mockingbirds, bluebirds and cardinals that become a cause for distress in some folks.

Bird behavior is under hormonal control. When to migrate north or south; when to start the breeding season; when to fatten up for migratory treks or to survive winter are all influenced by the amount of light in a day, known as photoperiod.

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Birds might bluff about intent to attack

Some animals, like some people, are more aggressive than others: it is just the way they are. But research suggests that for birds at least, it is not always easy to tell which is which. Some birds are inclined to give out exaggerated signs of their aggressiveness, others to underplay it.

It is rather like the menacing biker who turns out to be a pussycat, or the geek who will break a bottle over your head. But the analogy with humans goes only so far, because many birds announce their aggression about mating and territory not by appearance but through song and gesture.

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RSPB says seagull complaints are at highest for a decade

AGGRESSIVE seagull attacks are on the rise all over the duchy and people are taking extreme approaches to deal with them.

Seagull attacks are at their highest in a decade, according to the RSPB, the charity which helps provide a healthy environment for birds.

From tales of shocking horror as seagulls are lured to their deaths under the wheels of passing cars, to fed up postmen abandoning their delivery rounds for fear of being dive-bombed, it seems seagulls are causing quite a stir across Cornwall.

The RSPB could not say why there are more complaints coming out of Cornwall this year than previously. But it says seagulls generally become more aggressive when nesting.

Read more: http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/RSPB-says-seagull-complaints-highest-decade/story-19626361-detail/story.html#ixzz2bU91jCsp

Angry Birds? "Shy" Sparrows Show Aggression With Wings

Mel White

for National Geographic News

Published February 4, 2013

In the hugely popular video game Angry Birds, frustrated victims of egg theft vent their wrath by turning themselves into living bombs and blowing up their piggie tormentors. Of course, the successively more difficult levels of the game make things a little more complicated than that, as the millions who've been hooked know all too well.

Real-life birds don't have quite that kind of firepower, but, as I discovered as I researched my National Geographic book Angry Birds: 50 True Stories of the Fed Up, Feathered, and Furious, they've evolved an amazing array of ways to display their ire. Mockingbirds dive-bombing intruders, bellbirds ringing their nests with paralyzed poisonous caterpillars, eagles attacking hang gliders, frigate birds pirating food from weaker birds—the variations of avian aggression seem endless.

And you probably don't even want to hear about baby fulmars, who projectile-vomit oily gunk to defend themselves against predators. (What's that bird? See National Geographic's Backyard Birding guide.)

Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow's Wing

Birds don't have to be big and powerful to show anger. Even sparrows—small, shy, brownish birds that tend to skulk in the underbrush—turn into mini-Hulks when breeding season comes around.

Continued:  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130204-angry-birds-sparrows-wave-wings/