41–50 of 86 posts
Two days ago I heard a loud, "SQUEE! Bock bock bock bock." from our back yard. Two (Flicker) woodpeckers were fighting in the branches of a maple, our chickens standing around foot of the tree seemingly captivated by the spectacle. I assume the cause of the commotion was the tussle finding its way to the ground, startling the chickens. When I realized what was going on my daughter and I crept outside to watch. The wo…
I find these animal behavioural studies fascinating. There is always the risk of personification clouding our understanding, when we observe similarities to human behaviour. But another angle is de-personification of our own behaviour. That seems insightful in all sorts of way. Certain behaviours, like "war," almost certainly predate cognitive modernity... modern human consciousness. Gwynne Dyer, a historian of war,…
while you make an interesting point at the end, that framing seems to be jumping the gun (something you rightfully warned against in relation to deterministic vs random, downthread). political conflict is much more complex and has many more gradations than just peace or war. on the "elephant queen" documentary, the narrator noted that the bulls rarely ever fight, but rather, upon meeting have a quick "discussion" whe…
Two days ago I heard a loud, "SQUEE! Bock bock bock bock." from our back yard. Two (Flicker) woodpeckers were fighting in the branches of a maple, our chickens standing around foot of the tree seemingly captivated by the spectacle. I assume the cause of the commotion was the tussle finding its way to the ground, startling the chickens. When I realized what was going on my daughter and I crept outside to watch. The wo…
After a few years of that he got fed up and shot the bird with a bb gun. He didn't find a corpse but didn't see it again. And that shot apparently solved the problem. It must've been just that one bird.
He may have broken state or federal law though.
From what I can tell, this is intraspecies competition. In Southern Africa, we have a situation whereby not all woodpecker species can peck the holes from start to end. The ones who start the holes look similar to the ones in the article, but they are black, white and yellow with red flecks [1]. Then there is a smaller orange, white and black one that either steals the former's nest or uses an old hole, after which i…
I’ve always love seeing both of those birds in my garden. The barbet, with his squat sturdy frame and bright colours, especially. I’ve never read about their interaction though, and neither of links that you’ve provided appear to explicitly connect the two species. All I know, and can find, is that they both like to nest in holes in trees. Do you have any info to backup this story? Also neither of those birds are woo…
Still looking for more information on what kind of holes the Hoopoe uses or makes; perhaps I was rather thinking of the Bennet's.
Around twenty years ago my dearly departed father had a multi-year war with an acorn woodpecker. The little pecker liked to hide its nuts under my dad's roof shingles. Those birds are outstandingly persistent and after a while and enough nuts they would pry up the shingles. Maybe a quarter of the shingles on one side were affected at most. About once a year my dad would go out on the steep roof and repair it. After a…
Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, yes
It was probably federally illegal
Around twenty years ago my dearly departed father had a multi-year war with an acorn woodpecker. The little pecker liked to hide its nuts under my dad's roof shingles. Those birds are outstandingly persistent and after a while and enough nuts they would pry up the shingles. Maybe a quarter of the shingles on one side were affected at most. About once a year my dad would go out on the steep roof and repair it. After a…
Somewhere, a stash of acorns rests upon on a grave.
Around twenty years ago my dearly departed father had a multi-year war with an acorn woodpecker. The little pecker liked to hide its nuts under my dad's roof shingles. Those birds are outstandingly persistent and after a while and enough nuts they would pry up the shingles. Maybe a quarter of the shingles on one side were affected at most. About once a year my dad would go out on the steep roof and repair it. After a…
> He may have broken state or federal law though. Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, yes It was probably federally illegal
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What makes you decide you want to surprise the desire to eat the donut? Is that free will or was that impulse also determined from other stimulus such as body shaming, underlying health problems or financial hardship preventing one from impulse buying? I do think if you unravel how every decision is made and the origins behind those opinions then you ultimately end up with every reaction being a result of either biol…
Emotions, typically. Most decisions are made with emotional compute, influenced by biology, past experience, and present psychological state. At the same time, being mindful and observing those emotions (predicted pleasure from the flavor, predicted guilt...) does interrupt that emotional processing and allow a "decision" to be reached in a completely different way. Free will may only exist subjectively, but mindfuln…
The positive spin on this is if we are going to apply a software development mindset to free will then you can also argue that the value of software isn’t its sentience but it’s usefulness. For example computer games don’t need sophisticated AI to be enjoyable. So however we argue the definition of free will, that shouldn’t take anything away from the experience of life.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’ve always love seeing both of those birds in my garden. The barbet, with his squat sturdy frame and bright colours, especially. I’ve never read about their interaction though, and neither of links that you’ve provided appear to explicitly connect the two species. All I know, and can find, is that they both like to nest in holes in trees. Do you have any info to backup this story? Also neither of those birds are woo…
I could find that the Bennet's Woodpecker does have the behaviour of re-using or stealing holes. On Wikipedia it's only very briefly mentioned, but the large Robertson's book may have something on it. [1] Still looking for more information on what kind of holes the Hoopoe uses or makes; perhaps I was rather thinking of the Bennet's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bennett%27s_woodpecker