ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
Because I've fed the birds in my garden for years, and because there's loads of birds (60+ Pigeons - 30-50+ Sparrows - 20-70+ Starlings - and others), I've often seen dead birds. Sometimes the bird is half-eaten by a Sparrowhawk that was spooked (they visit often), other times the bird died from illness or injury. And there's also times when I've no idea how the bird died. However, I don't know that the apparently-lifless bird is dead until I go and check it. Is it warm? - is it stiff? - has it got a heartbeat? - does it flinch if I prod it? are the eyes lifeless? etc. And even then, I'll probably wait a while before I bury it (if it died from injury or Sparrowhawk I'd leave it until dark), just to be sure.
Birds, OTOH, know instantly when another bird is dead. If a sick Pigeon dies while the males are squashing it (males try to mate with very sick birds, but that's another story), they stop and walk away. They never return and try again, even though the urge to mate was apparently impossible to resist. Once a bird of any species is dead, other birds have no more interest in it than they do a rock; they either walk around it or over it. I've seen this with dead Starlings, Pigeons, Sparrows, and Collared Doves, and I've seen the same reaction (or lack of any reaction) to the dead bird from every species in my garden. I'm including the Corvids too, as if they don't eat it, they ignore it.
So, bearing in mind that Humans seem to need time and effort to determine whether a bird (or animal) is dead, how do birds know?
I've a few ideas myself, but I'm curious as to what others think.
Birds, OTOH, know instantly when another bird is dead. If a sick Pigeon dies while the males are squashing it (males try to mate with very sick birds, but that's another story), they stop and walk away. They never return and try again, even though the urge to mate was apparently impossible to resist. Once a bird of any species is dead, other birds have no more interest in it than they do a rock; they either walk around it or over it. I've seen this with dead Starlings, Pigeons, Sparrows, and Collared Doves, and I've seen the same reaction (or lack of any reaction) to the dead bird from every species in my garden. I'm including the Corvids too, as if they don't eat it, they ignore it.
So, bearing in mind that Humans seem to need time and effort to determine whether a bird (or animal) is dead, how do birds know?
I've a few ideas myself, but I'm curious as to what others think.