A Hooded Merganser With A Fish And A Thieving Gull
I try to avoid applying human standards to birds but sometimes I can’t help myself. (10 photos)
Tag: kleptoparasitism
Cormorant Food Fight – “The Disturbance”
Thieving Gulls At Bear River MBR
With gulls in the area, goldeneyes and coots stand a very good chance of losing their meals. (12 photos)
Pied-billed Grebes With Crayfish
When other kleptoparasitic birds are around there are easier prey to swallow than crayfish, especially with all their legs and defensive pincers.
Male And Female Hooded Mergansers With Fish…
Several Birds Of Two Species Battling Over A Fish
This fish must have been an epicurean delight because there sure were a lot of birds fighting over it for a long time.
Grebe With A Big Fish And Two First-of-season Bird Species – Yay!
Black-billed Magpie With An Apparent Kill
Black-billed Magpies feed primarily on carrion, ground-dwelling arthropods and seeds. But yesterday morning I photographed a magpie with an apparent kill, a vole.
Another Grebe Biting Off More Than It Can Chew
It isn’t unusual for some bird species to regularly attempt to swallow prey that is too large to go down the hatch. I see American White Pelicans and Great Blue Herons make such attempts fairly often but around here Pied-billed Grebes and Western Grebes seem to be the kings of Gluttony Hill.
Extremes In Fish Size White Pelicans Will Attempt To Eat
American White Pelicans eat fish almost exclusively and the size range of fish they’ll attempt to swallow can be extreme. If they show poor judgment they can get into serious trouble.
A Coot In Pursuit Of A Grebe’s Fish
Although the American Coot is almost exclusively a herbivore it will occasionally make an exception and eat animal matter. They’re also well-known for food thievery (kleptoparasitism) and two days ago this Pied-billed Grebe nearly became one of its victims.
Gadwall Stealing Food From A Coot
Gadwalls are well-known for stealing food (kleptoparasitism) from American Coots . They eat the same kinds of food (submerged aquatic vegetation), Gadwalls are almost a third bigger than coots and the two species often feed together in mixed flocks so being the bullies on the block, Gadwalls can’t resist taking advantage of the situation.
A Couple Of Interesting Pied-billed Grebe Behaviors
I love watching and photographing these small grebes because their pugnacious behaviors produce some fascinating interactions. They just may be the most aggressive bird species I’ve ever photographed.
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Cormorant Food Fight – “The Disturbance”
Thieving Gulls At Bear River MBR
With gulls in the area, goldeneyes and coots stand a very good chance of losing their meals. (12 photos)
Pied-billed Grebes With Crayfish
When other kleptoparasitic birds are around there are easier prey to swallow than crayfish, especially with all their legs and defensive pincers.
Male And Female Hooded Mergansers With Fish…
Several Birds Of Two Species Battling Over A Fish
This fish must have been an epicurean delight because there sure were a lot of birds fighting over it for a long time.
Grebe With A Big Fish And Two First-of-season Bird Species – Yay!
Black-billed Magpie With An Apparent Kill
Black-billed Magpies feed primarily on carrion, ground-dwelling arthropods and seeds. But yesterday morning I photographed a magpie with an apparent kill, a vole.
Another Grebe Biting Off More Than It Can Chew
It isn’t unusual for some bird species to regularly attempt to swallow prey that is too large to go down the hatch. I see American White Pelicans and Great Blue Herons make such attempts fairly often but around here Pied-billed Grebes and Western Grebes seem to be the kings of Gluttony Hill.
Extremes In Fish Size White Pelicans Will Attempt To Eat
American White Pelicans eat fish almost exclusively and the size range of fish they’ll attempt to swallow can be extreme. If they show poor judgment they can get into serious trouble.
A Coot In Pursuit Of A Grebe’s Fish
Although the American Coot is almost exclusively a herbivore it will occasionally make an exception and eat animal matter. They’re also well-known for food thievery (kleptoparasitism) and two days ago this Pied-billed Grebe nearly became one of its victims.
Gadwall Stealing Food From A Coot
Gadwalls are well-known for stealing food (kleptoparasitism) from American Coots . They eat the same kinds of food (submerged aquatic vegetation), Gadwalls are almost a third bigger than coots and the two species often feed together in mixed flocks so being the bullies on the block, Gadwalls can’t resist taking advantage of the situation.
A Couple Of Interesting Pied-billed Grebe Behaviors
I love watching and photographing these small grebes because their pugnacious behaviors produce some fascinating interactions. They just may be the most aggressive bird species I’ve ever photographed.