[mou] Bird scratch observations

[Thomas Maiello]

Sitting at a desk all day with feeders and feathered friends for  
company has done much for my ability to identify birds in other ways  
than by physical appearance.  Of late I have noticed how quickly I  
can spot a new visitor or concur the identity of frequent visitors  
simply by a quick glance at their motions when feeding.  None of this  
is probably new to any birders but I thought sharing my realization  
would help anchor it in my understanding of how I ID birds.  So here  
goes.

I have noticed a breakdown if feeding behavior of ground feeding  
birds, most notably a variety of sparrows, juncos, chickadees (when  
they must lower themselves to ground feeding), thrushes, jays,  
cardinals, and others - most of whom I will not discuss here and  
leave it for later study.

But I have noticed that the ground-feeders can be broken down into  
varying degrees of head-scratchers and feet-scratchers.  I first  
noticed this when I was trying to stop House Sparrows from emptying  
my feeders.  House Sparrows, juncos, jays, and cardinals, I have  
found are head-scratchers.  They search for ground food using there  
heads and bills to move litter and debris out of the way and use  
their feet, for the most part, simply to move about.  And there is  
much variety among the head scratching techniques.  House Sparrows  
simply stand in one spot and turn their heads and look at the ground  
and potential food and then snatch it up or use their head and bills  
in wide sweeps to expose it.  (Explains why they are so good at  
emptying the contents of my feeders so quickly onto the ground.)   
Juncos are similar except they hunt and peck with less standing and  
ogling of their food items, choosing instead to move quickly and  
cover much more ground than the HSs.  Plus the juncos use their feet  
in a jumping, sideways motion to help uncover potential food.  They  
use their heads and bills but don't expend as much energy in one spot  
making sure they got every morsel as do the HSs.  Jays, Mourning  
Doves and cardinals also seem to be head-scratchers who use the focus  
of one eye and a turned head to identify food and snatch it up but  
with little uncovering energy - visually hunting and pecking their  
way to a full crop.  They seem to take what they can quickly see and  
use their feet only to more clearly expose the food items they see.   
Also the doves and jays seem to swallow their food for later shelling  
and digestion as compared to cardinals who shell on the spot and  
chickadees who take and run for loftier perch shelling.

Let's get the chickadees out of the way here.  They do whatever it  
takes from head-scratching to foot-scratching to dive-bombing to  
snatch and grab.  They are by for, in my opinion, the most versatile  
and determined to survive of all my feathered friends.  I could go on  
and on about all the adaptations they have and gregarious habits that  
allow them to survive MN winters and propagate themselves as a  
steady, reliable and charming winter and summer companion.

Now let me cover the ground-scratchers, which is what actually  
instigated this extended diatribe.  Ground-scratchers vary in their  
aggressiveness in the act and the use of their feet and legs - which  
are very likely specifically adapted for this action.  I would have  
to compare their feet and legs up-close and with measuring devices to  
confirm this and I am sure someone already has - but that is beyond  
an email.  White-throated Sparrows are charming in their leaping  
forward and backwards scratching technique - continuously similar  
pace and effort - quickly snatching any exposed tidbit - like raking  
leaves.  Fox Sparrows seem to be much more aggressive, like they are  
on a mission to move everything out of their way, to uncover the  
nuggets that could lie just beneath the ground surface as well as  
that which lies atop the ground - which seems to be the limit to the  
junco's and head-scratcher's efforts.  Fox Sparrows must have hoe- 
like toes to be able to scratch and turn the surface soil in their  
knowing search for ground yummies.

What am I really trying to share here?  Simply this noticing - I  
preview ID my birds in a glance of motion and can spot new visitors  
by scratching sound, degree and blur of activity, and other motions  
in addition to sound and physical IDs.

Well it was a new realization to me and its only taken some 30 years  
of birding to realize it and how much I do use it without even  
realizing that I do it.  I hope there was something I shared that is  
of value.  This also has me thinking of what other ways I  
unconsciously ID birds and what else I take for granted in my  
enjoyment of my avian adventures.  When I am turning kids onto  
birding for the first time, what else can I share with them that will  
add to their excitement and ability to appreciate this new world that  
has surrounded them all of their lives?  Now I can add this to my  
teaching.  I guess that is the point of this sharing.

Thomas Maiello
Spring Lake Park