Comments on: Mockingbird to Annoying Human: “Hey, I Know You”

By: YouRang

YouRang — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:17:32 +0000

The fraternal twin’s comment suggests that the original study should have used siblings also to determine if the birds are picking up on appearance or some other thing like scent.
It occurs to me too that the actions of the pseudo-predatory students was (at least in the description) rather ritualistic and out of the norm. IOW “…hundreds who PASSED BY…” (emphasis mine). So they should have had controls who would also mimic the actions of the pseudo-predator after the birds had been taught that certain actions meant an “attack” was coming.
Oh and by the way, yes many humans can recognize individual animals including mockingbirds. For animals with relatively undistinguished markings, we recognize behaviors.

By: Terry

Terry — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:53:15 +0000

Yep, It’s true about these Mocking Birds, we have a nest down low in a tree, and my son goes out all the time to see them, (he’s grown) and the birds see him coming and dive bomb him in the head, it’s sooooo funny, there are 5 little baby birds in the nest. My husky was within 10 feet today and it got him in the back, he jumped, turned around, and almost had the bird in his mouth-then I would have had to rescue him, if possible, one chomp he/she would have been gone. What’s funny though, is that my dog cannot reach the nest. Oh well, nature. Thanks for the info. God takes care of the little birds, and so shall I……..

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:38:49 +0000

We have a mocking bird and it’s nest in our front yard and noneof us have even approached the nest but as soon as we step outside or get out of our car she’s diving at us it’s very onnoying!!

By: MRL

MRL — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:32:40 +0000

@Jen Hawse

I disagree Jen, it wasn’t a separation from nature that built up this idea in the minds of people, it was the religious zealots who were specifically spreading the message (reference the Bible) that Man by right had dominion over the “lesser animals.” I do agree that studies like this promote a more holistic, saner viewpoint.

By: LI_Mom

LI_Mom — Sun, 24 May 2009 19:51:04 +0000

A few years ago, my cat used to sit (stalk? lol) under a Mockingbird’s nest & obviously this bird had it out for the cat.

The poor kitty couldn’t go outside without being attacked & finally I went out to try to stand guard for him. The next thing I knew…. I was the new target. If I went out the front door, the bird was swooping after me. If I went out the back door, the bird was waiting to get me. I finally had to use a broom to fend off the dive bombs & after a few weeks the bird became less aggressive. Why not? She/he sure taught us who was boss. lol

By: planettom

planettom — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:38:16 +0000

“Now Scout, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” said Atticus.
Suddenly, there was a flash of gray and something struck the back of Atticus’s head, causing his hat to fly off.
“Son of a – !”
“Jim, get my gun.” Atticus said grimly, retrieving his hat from the ground and dusting it off before placing it back on his head. “It’s time to start sinning!”

By: Sandra

Sandra — Sun, 24 May 2009 07:37:14 +0000

People who live close to the nature – which our ancestors definitely did – knew this before. It is another well forgotten human knowledge: yes, birds do recognise humans as do animals and, maybe, even plants do.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 22 May 2009 22:02:56 +0000

I am currently experiencing this problem in my yard with a Mockingbird. It does know me and will not bother other people passing my house, but the moment I exit the front door the “alarm” goes off and the bird goes for me! I was trying to water plants in the front and noticed the Mocking bird getting closer each day until one day it had enough and starting dive bombing! I squirted a jet stream of water at it and it backed off and went for another angle of attack. I do not want to harm the bird as it probably has young depending upon it, but enough is enough already! How long will this thing stay in attack mode and when will it be safe to enter the front yard again? I went for a walk a few days ago and it tried attacking me all the way down to the corner of the street. I had a walking stick that I carried with me just in case and ended-up swinging at it until I got to the corner…had to have a friend come out and “cover” me when I came back from geting the mail!!!

By: Doug Levey

Doug Levey — Fri, 22 May 2009 21:11:33 +0000

Hi All:
I’m the author of the study. Thanks for the lively discussion. I’d like to respond to Phil’s initial comment — as suspected by many of you, the study was designed by students, done by students, and cost literally nothing except for time. If anything, I think it’ s a good example of how good science can be done without fancy equipment or complex experiments.

For a video of our birds in action, please check out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtoM-jiXT-Y
I promise it’ll make you smile and shake your head. Please let others know about it, as I think it’s a good way to open eyes about nature and about the nature of science. Thanks.

By: p

Thu, 21 May 2009 20:03:11 +0000

I once taught a three-toed sloth to write calligraphy. So, please, don’t sell the animals short. They are quite capable of exhibiting human behavioral traits, and are wonderful cooks.

By: Elegiac View

Elegiac View — Thu, 21 May 2009 19:44:49 +0000

I certainly disagree with the idea that mockingbirds may not be able to recognize individual humans. That is a preposterous statement. Why, may I ask, would someone actually think that? If humans and animals are able to distinguish between other humans, animals, etc, why would it be supposed that a bird could not do the same? It is obvious that the birds in this story were capable of doing so. Now, their very act of discerning between individual persons may be different than how human beings perceive other humans, but yet, researchers should not make such absurd proposals as the one stated in this article. I have always known that animals are more intelligent than we give them credit for, and a story such as this only enhances that thought.

By: p

Thu, 21 May 2009 15:30:50 +0000

I’ve met some pretty smart birds, but they all suck at poker.

By: Jen Hawse

Jen Hawse — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:39:35 +0000

Quick theory: A 100 years back or so we would have perhaps been better at recognizing individual mockingbirds ourselves. Even if they have similar markings the location and behavior of each bird would stand out. Not to apply this universally, but more so than now.

Loosing the intimate relationship we once had with nature lead to us adapting a “we’re the smartest of them all!” attitude that doesn’t serve us well. Studies like these work to reverse that attitude and change our own conception of the natural world to a more holistic one.

By: wayne

wayne — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:34:25 +0000

I agree with Erasmussimo, Jo, Troy, Rarbit, and Nick..

‘Song-birds’ have been found to have highly developed avian equivalents of sophisticated hippocampal temporal lobes in the brain [centres for memory (all forms: auditory, visual, spatial, etc) . [ This could account for some of the fine discriminatory and memory findings of the experirment.] Although the spectrum of audio frequencies (frequency range) that birds can hear is reduced compared with humans, the *acuity* (acoustic discrimination) of birds’ hearing range is far greater (higher-res) than for humans. In addition, birds are able to process ‘audio-syllables’ far faster (up to 10 times faster) than can humans. Birds also have sensory cells that can pick up low-frequency vibrations. Perhaps a combination of these: visual memory plus acoustic and vibrational memory, might help the birds create a ‘memory network-grid’ for an individual based on things like ‘gait pattern’, etc.

Troy, you asked about dolphins .. i haven’t heard whether they have a vocalization that means “human”(!) but if they did (or something like it) it wouldn’t surprise me: Of all the mammals, the dolphin is one of those that’s closest to humans in terms of comparative genomics (genetics).

By: p

Wed, 20 May 2009 19:36:43 +0000

I had a bird give me an expired coupon one time, man, was that a fiasco!