im not sure where this should go so i will put it here, i cant find much on the web about it so does anyone here know why a bird will kill/abandon their young after they have been touched? i myself have always thaught it was just a myth untill yesturday when i seen it happen. down near the tugboats that i work on i seen a worker at the dock walk up to and pet a baby seagull, then few seconds later all the seagulls at the dock (atleast 300+) started squaking and then 2 that im guesing are the parents came over to it, squaked loudly at it, it started hoping away, then the 2 started pecking at it untill it died! does anyone here hapen to know a reason why they do that?
why do birds kill their babies if touched?
- Thread starter m-134
- Start date
- Location
- Niagara Region, Ontario. For now
My mother in law bands birds, and has a set up to nest and band/record babies as well, and the parents don't kill the babies.
I always believed it was a myth as well.
I always believed it was a myth as well.
thats exactly what i thaught to, but obviosly it does happen. i was talking to the captain on the tug and he said they usualy see it happen 2-3 times a year. maybe its just a seagull thing?? might not of been the parents but either way 2 of them ganged up on it and pecked the babie to death. its lying beside the door, monday if its still there i might take a picture of it.
well then what happened, why would they do that? thats what i want to know.
that does make sense, thank you. ive been waiting for a possible answer.
There are also birds that lay their eggs in another species bird's nest, to have the other mother raise her offspring and thus save her energy and waste the competitors. Can't remember which bird that is though. Could this be part of the instinct to kill the young? It doesn't smell like your own anymore?
There are also birds that lay their eggs in another species bird's nest, to have the other mother raise her offspring and thus save her energy and waste the competitors. QUOTE]
Sounds like some people I know
Could be, heck hamsters for example kill their young if the mother feels threatened in any way, so she wont have to defend herself and her young.
Dimitri
M12shooter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- East St. Paul, mb
Magpies are vicious bast*rds aren't they. Crows have their moments but those magpies love fresh meat.
the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
I copied this excerpt from a person who studies bird behaviors............
In all my time of studying birds, there's one topic that always elicits a reaction—when I say birds can't smell or taste.
I'm not surprised that many people have an opinion on this subject. After watching birds select only certain types of seeds, fruit and suet from backyard feeders, it's difficult to believe birds don't rely on smell or taste to determine what to eat.
Even the experts can't agree, despite more than a century of research and debate. The results of studies in this area are often contradictory or simply inconclusive.
However, one fact is almost certain. Birds depend less on the senses of smell and taste than people do.
Most birds have little use for the sense of smell. The odors of food, prey, enemies or mates quickly disperse in the wind. Birds possess olfactory glands, but they're not well developed in most species, including the songbirds in our backyards.
The same is true for taste, which is related to smell. While humans have 9,000 taste buds, songbirds have fewer than 50.
That means the birds we feed around our homes must locate their food by sight or touch, two senses that are highly developed in birds.
The last sentence probably best explains what you witnessed. The other gulls probably thought that baby gull was given food and if you have seen gulls go after each other for food and I am sure most of us have they can be ruthless until the bird they are after gets away or drops or spits back up what it has. That baby gull obviously could not fend off attacks and the others persisted to get what they perceived the fellow fed him until it died.
