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Feathers and Fuzz

one woman's cure for the empty-nester blues

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Nesting Challenges: Sibling Rivalry

February 28, 2018 by MoJo

As in our human kingdom, sibling rivalry is quite apparent inside a birdhouse.  Primarily, rivalry is about food.  Nestlings jostle for position.  Getting closest to the door, and reaching highest with gaping mouth, seems to be the alpha pose.  I truly do not know what cues the parents use to determine whom to feed next, but they obviously have it figured out.  Rivalry, or not, everyone eats.

I remember having a furnace replaced.  I had a small computer screen connected to the bird camera’s recording device in the area where the technician was working.  The tech couldn’t help himself.  He was caught-up in the world of the Chickadee nestlings; remarking on how taken he was with the fact that the parents made sure to feed each and every one.

Occasionally, rivalry takes a different shape — who gets to look out the door and see what’s going on outside.  Every once in a while, pushing and shoving leads to an “oops moment” … an accidental fledge.  Such is the case with the Chickadee siblings in the video.  (FYI — the nestlings were old enough to fledge.  I expect all went well in the world outside.)

https://www.feathersandfuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Fledging-Oops-Video.mp4

Filed Under: Carolina Chickadee, Feathers Tagged With: Accidental Fledge, Chickadee Fledge, Chickadee Nestling

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