Trivia Junction

A Compendium of trivia I find interesting
...for the curious

Why do some birds gather in certain spots?

In areas with few trees, wires and signs are the highest available perches. Being up high protects birds from predators and helps them spot sources of food. It is also easier for them to lift off from a high perch rather than ground level.

Some of the birds may be perched near nests they built on the underside of highway overpasses. The wires and signs also serve as “staging” sites, where birds congregate between feeding areas and the places they roost for the night.

Various possibilities explain why there are gaggles of geese, bevies of quail, bands of jays, colonies of penguins, coveys of pheasants, broods of chickens, charms of finches – that is, why birds of a feather flock together.

In some species, extended families help raise young. Flocking may also protect birds from predators. In support of this possibility, one study found that birds on islands with few predators flocked less than birds of the same species living where predators were abundant. Others have suggested that flocking together helps birds locate sources of food.

Incidentally, birds' affinity for power lines is a concern for utility companies, which can be held legally responsible for electrocuting them. Also, when large birds empty their bowels as they take off, these “streams” can bridge the gap between the transmission structure and the conductor and cause outages.

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