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Flighty birds

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  • 14-06-2007 5:09pm
    #1
    MooseJam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,111 ✭✭✭


    Why are sparrows and robins and tits etc scared of people, did we used to hunt them or is it kids chasing them or what


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    #2
    myjugsarehuge
    Closed Accounts Posts: 234 ✭✭myjugsarehuge


    Its their survival instinct to be wary of large "predators" presumably in their collective memory we hunted them long ago. Robins are usually a bit braver, one picks the worms out when we do the weeding

    On the Scilly Isles in the UK thrushes and sparrows etc hop around without fear. Presumably neither mankind or any other pretador has hunted them there.

    We just had coal tits breed in a nest box on our patio, they were quite unafraid, just kept making high pitched annoyed calls if we were outside when they wanted to fly in the box.

    click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X86TcPAKcxs to see them just about the fledge, taken from inside the kitchen window.


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    #3
    Nala
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,959 ✭✭✭Nala


    MooseJam wrote:
    Why are sparrows and robins and tits etc scared of people, did we used to hunt them or is it kids chasing them or what

    Imagine, you're going about your business and next thing this thing about 100 times your size that could eat you comes near you. How would you react?

    That is what birds see.


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    #4
    MooseJam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,111 ✭✭✭MooseJam


    it can't be anything to do with size, cows don't scare them


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    #5
    myjugsarehuge
    Closed Accounts Posts: 234 ✭✭myjugsarehuge


    Its because they know cows are not predators, they would be scared of a dog, cat, fox etc as they are carnivores. Birds instinctively know that cows/horses & sheep won't eat them.


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