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Killer tits.
From https://www.dailylobo.com/article/2018/09/bioblog-murderous-birds
Predatory Songbirds: the case of the murderous tits
By Jenna McCullough ?
Published 09/13/18 6:09am
A Great Tit claims its mammalian victim.
Editor's Note: This piece was originally published online in the UNM BioBlog on September 4th, 2018, written by Jenna McCullough. This is part of our project to help connect the Daily Lobo audience to more members of our community.
When you think of a songbird, like a finch or a sparrow, what kind of food does it eat? For many people, the first thing that comes to mind is bird seed — it fills feeders and the shelves of our local bird-watching stores. But songbirds are more diverse than finches at your neighborhood feeder and they eat more than just idyllic bird seed.
“Songbirds” specifically refers to oscine passerines, which at its core is a perching bird with complex vocal organs. They’re found all over the world and have dynamic diets. Brown Creepers and nuthatches probe tree trunks for insects, Australian honeyeaters use their brush-tipped tongues to eat flower nectar, and Cedar Waxwings will gorge themselves on fermenting berries (sometimes to the point that they are intoxicated).
Shrikes, one of the few groups of predatory songbirds, will impale their prey items (i.e., insects, snakes, small rodents, birds) on thorns or barbed wire for a tasty meal later. Songbirds are the most species-rich group of birds on Earth and take advantage of diverse resources, and we ornithologists are learning more and more about their diets each day.
A few months ago, I saw a photo of a European songbird, the great tit (Parus major), proudly standing over a dead vole, surrounded by snow on twitter. I was astonished to learn that it had killed this vole — I had thought that Great Tits typically eat seeds and small invertebrates. The observer described how the bird had only eaten the vole’s brain and left the rest for other scavengers. Apparently, this type of behavior is not so surprising, or even unusual, for this species.
[...]
By Jenna McCullough ?
Published 09/13/18 6:09am
A Great Tit claims its mammalian victim.
Editor's Note: This piece was originally published online in the UNM BioBlog on September 4th, 2018, written by Jenna McCullough. This is part of our project to help connect the Daily Lobo audience to more members of our community.
When you think of a songbird, like a finch or a sparrow, what kind of food does it eat? For many people, the first thing that comes to mind is bird seed — it fills feeders and the shelves of our local bird-watching stores. But songbirds are more diverse than finches at your neighborhood feeder and they eat more than just idyllic bird seed.
“Songbirds” specifically refers to oscine passerines, which at its core is a perching bird with complex vocal organs. They’re found all over the world and have dynamic diets. Brown Creepers and nuthatches probe tree trunks for insects, Australian honeyeaters use their brush-tipped tongues to eat flower nectar, and Cedar Waxwings will gorge themselves on fermenting berries (sometimes to the point that they are intoxicated).
Shrikes, one of the few groups of predatory songbirds, will impale their prey items (i.e., insects, snakes, small rodents, birds) on thorns or barbed wire for a tasty meal later. Songbirds are the most species-rich group of birds on Earth and take advantage of diverse resources, and we ornithologists are learning more and more about their diets each day.
A few months ago, I saw a photo of a European songbird, the great tit (Parus major), proudly standing over a dead vole, surrounded by snow on twitter. I was astonished to learn that it had killed this vole — I had thought that Great Tits typically eat seeds and small invertebrates. The observer described how the bird had only eaten the vole’s brain and left the rest for other scavengers. Apparently, this type of behavior is not so surprising, or even unusual, for this species.
[...]
More at link.
19 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
I didn't see it that way at first, now I can't see it any other wy.
So, thanks?
but they are deadly and can ruin your life 
If so I like the way you think.
