BATTLE IN BIRD LAND

Rex Burress

Some form of bird species is found in nearly every space on earth, and generally birds are thought of as beautiful feathered creatures prone to be peaceful.

Conflict, however, seems to occur among all living things. Seldom, though, do those disputes end in bloodshed among wild animals, unless it is a predator killing its prey, but that is more survival than feuding. In nature, fussing and fighting is usually related to territorial defense.

So it was that I walked along Guppy Creek one summer morning, and suddenly in the brown meadow a furious skirmish between two scrub jays was enacted. They tumbled from the trees to engage in battle, flopped over on their backs, feet locked in the face-off, beaks poised like fencers ready to clank swords together. It was mostly furious screaming as if the victor would be the loudest.

I didn't see a single dagger-beak strike, as their mouths were too wide open screaming to deliver a blow. The confrontation attracted an audience of birds, perched in the surrounding tree branches like spectators watching gladiators in an arena. I saw three bluebirds, some sparrows, and several hummingbirds that just suddenly arrived and were sitting there as impartial observers.

Or were they impartial? One of the opponents was evidently a trespasser into the pair of jay's territory. That would mean competing with them for the limited food along the channel, just as it would affect the bluebird food supply, since they also feed on insects in the meadow.

I don't know what stakes the hummingbirds had in the affair, but the hummers are just interested in a good fight it seems. They are among the fussiest and most fighting-inclined birds of all, even attacking eagles flying over their nesting territory...as if the towering eagle would care for one of their bean-sized babes!

So I was a spectator along with the birds, leaning on my walking stick and watching for a couple minutes until there was some kind of mutual agreement to end the bloodless battle. Both birds parted with some screaming and they milled about in the scrub oak pretending to be hunting for food. Then one of the jays flew out of sight as if retreating to wherever it considered its territory.

Pairs of birds seem to be the most aggressive defenders of their homes, although a “murder” of a thousand crows can gang up on a sleeping owl during the day and create havoc. In the same sense, a vast number of starlings is called by the group-name, “murmuration!” Hummingbirds aren't noted for being in large groups except at sweet juice-feeders, then their gathering is called a “charm.” Although the one hummingbird at our feeder spends the hot summer days chasing other hummers away!

Blackbird species also gather together in the fall, and they could very well be called “murder” if they were inclined to attack, but only during nesting are the parents aggressive, then trouncing any intruder including unsuspecting humans.

Doves are widely thought of as “birds of peace,” but watch them around bird feeding stations in the winter and you will see them “bumping” most other birds off the platform.

Among mammals, the ferocity of mother bears is legendary, and who wants to tangle with a mother skunk?

Over in Blue Oak Meadow a colony of wild turkeys roost in a pine grove, but they don't fight or threaten, although there is a lot of male strutting during mating time. In fact, all animals, including mankind, act a little bit silly when sex is in the air!

“Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away and be at rest.”

--Psalms 4:6