nartreb
Speak softly and carry a long lens
This question isn't strictly about taxonomy or nomenclature, but this forum seems the best place to attract the attention of folks with relevant expertise.
Bear with me for a couple paragraphs of introduction.
A minute ago I responded to one of the perennial "I found a baby bird out of the nest, what do I feed it?" threads.
Before replying (including the standard admonitions about parental care and legal repercussions) I checked the usual layman's resources (e.g. Cornell website) to confirm my impressions of what the adults of this species eat, and then I tried to find a bit more information abut how nestlings and fledglings are fed.
When Googling "crop milk" I was very surprised to find only three clades mentioned: pigeons, flamingos, and penguins.
I was surprised because of this:
http://www.davidalbeck.com/photos/2013/robins/i012.jpg
http://www.davidalbeck.com/photos/2013/robins/i013.jpg
The photos aren't as compelling as a motion picture would have been, but what I clearly observed was a thick foamy liquid produced within the parent's throat and fed to the chick. I may have a couple more photos somewhere. At the time I assumed this was well-known behavior.
So, add American Robin to the list of crop milkers? Did ornithologists somehow fail to notice this behavior in one of the most abundant bird species in North America?
What about other Turdus thrushes? Other birds generally? Any chance that crop milk is an ancestral trait rather than independently evolving at least four times?
Bear with me for a couple paragraphs of introduction.
A minute ago I responded to one of the perennial "I found a baby bird out of the nest, what do I feed it?" threads.
Before replying (including the standard admonitions about parental care and legal repercussions) I checked the usual layman's resources (e.g. Cornell website) to confirm my impressions of what the adults of this species eat, and then I tried to find a bit more information abut how nestlings and fledglings are fed.
When Googling "crop milk" I was very surprised to find only three clades mentioned: pigeons, flamingos, and penguins.
I was surprised because of this:
http://www.davidalbeck.com/photos/2013/robins/i012.jpg
http://www.davidalbeck.com/photos/2013/robins/i013.jpg
The photos aren't as compelling as a motion picture would have been, but what I clearly observed was a thick foamy liquid produced within the parent's throat and fed to the chick. I may have a couple more photos somewhere. At the time I assumed this was well-known behavior.
So, add American Robin to the list of crop milkers? Did ornithologists somehow fail to notice this behavior in one of the most abundant bird species in North America?
What about other Turdus thrushes? Other birds generally? Any chance that crop milk is an ancestral trait rather than independently evolving at least four times?
