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Magpies and crows are using “anti-bird spikes” to make nests (2023)
- bell-cot 2y agoCould birds be trained to tear down military barbed wire & razor wire defenses? (Or are the birds here AWOL from their training camp?)
- lexicality 2y agoWhile corvids can use tools, I think they'd probably struggle with a pair of wire cutters
- lores 2y agoTo the laboratory!
- sambull 2y agoobviously lasers, corvidae with lasers
- marcosdumay 2y agoAnd that was how everybody on the North hemisphere went blind...
- pjmlp 2y agoTeam work, each one holds one end. :)
- _kst_ 2y agoMounted on a coconut.
- nonrandomstring 2y agoWell we've used pigeons fr missile guidance before [0], and for messaging [1], so birds have a firm place in the military including having their own special units [2] More generally, the history of warfare is all about taking the enemy's resources and using them as weapons against the foe. This will be a defining feature of future cyberwar and AI - everything we build to "protect ourselves" will at some point be repurposed to advantage an enemy. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pigeon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pigeon [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_pigeon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_pigeon [2] https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/warfares-unsung-pigeon/ https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/warfares-unsung-pi...
- codedokode 2y agoSadly Wikipedia doesn't describe a specific mechanism that helps pigeons to navigate. I wonder do pigeons simply fly high enough that they can see hundred miles around?
- nonrandomstring 2y agoThey use magnetism AFAIK
- thenthenthen 2y ago(And) smell apparently (sample size of one..) https://youtu.be/t4cw-Av2Pk4?feature=shared https://youtu.be/t4cw-Av2Pk4?feature=shared (Around 28min mark)
- econ 2y agoEvery day they build a mesh network and relay some message. The message seems to be very similar every day but a few hundred km away it is completely different.
- mr_toad 2y agoGeese have also been employed for security including by military forces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guard_goose https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guard_goose
- webdoodle 2y agoDolphin's were trained to bypass enemy underwater defenses to plant explosives on enemy ships while they were in there home port. They were also used to find mines and other underwater devices to be disarmed. Most birds just aren't big enough to do real damage to barbed wire or razor wire defenses. Now if you could somehow train the birds to harass a herd of cattle into running down the fence, that might work. Sort of like the Hitchcock movie The Birds.
- pelagic_sky 2y agoCockies would gladly do the job for free. https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/rga3pf/cockatoo_ripping_off_antibird_spikes/ https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/rga3pf/cockatoo_...
- dwighttk 2y ago(2023) Seemed familiar…
- nottorp 2y agoIn other news, only small children can easily open the anti child caps on medicine bottles...
- a4isms 2y agoAnd in disturbingly relevant news from 1933... "Why a four-year-old child could understand this report. Run out and find me a four-year-old child. I can't make head or tail out of it." --Groucho Marx as Rufus T. Firefly, "Duck Soup"
- nottorp 2y agoI wasn't quoting entertainment though. When my daughter was 4 or 5 and down in bed with 39 C fever, I was having trouble opening her bottle of ibuprofen syrup. Child proof cap of course, so too hard for a 29 year old. So I heard her - barely speaking because of the fever - "daddy let me help you". I brought the bottle to her bed and of course she opened it the first try.
- Suppafly 2y agoI never understood this, I assumed it was geriatric people complaining because they literally don't have the strength to push down and turn, not that normal abled bodied adults were too dumb to figure out that you have to push down and turn, especially since the instructions are on the lid itself.
- nottorp 2y agoAnd, that shit works for you on the first try every time? Do you practice daily?
- Suppafly 2y ago>And, that shit works for you on the first try every time? Within the first couple of times at least unless it's physically defective or something. It's not really something able bodied people have problems with.
- porphyra 2y agoInteresting but I have a hard time imagining how a nest made of anti-bird spikes could be comfortable. Do they actually find it to be nice? I guess corvids are super smart and wouldn't accidentally get tricked into making an uncomfortable nest due to man made materials...
- mechanicum 2y agoRelative to their traditional construction material, twigs, it’s probably no worse.
- xattt 2y agoIt would be interesting to determine whether the serum cortisol differs between those living in spoke nests versus those without. My assumption is that it is indeed elevated, as the “residents” are constantly mindful of their movements (and therefore more stressed) to avoid being poked.
- pbalau 2y agoSpikes are only uncomfortable if you sit on the spiky end.
- nicoty 2y agoThe article says the birds make different nest configurations, with one incorporating a softer cup layer on top of the spiky layer made with the spikes and another configuration using the spikes as part of a dome on top of the nest.
- SunkBellySamuel 2y agoIt's more about sending a message than the comfort. Up the tweet!
- throwanem 2y agoI saw an osprey pull a three-foot fragment of steel wire out of a wire rope on a tramp steamer one time. Damndest thing you ever saw, he kept circling and grabbing at this cable with his talons and I thought he was attacking or something, but I got my camera up in time to see him fly off with this twist of wire as long as his wingspan, pulled up under him like a fish. They love human detritus as structural material in their nests, which can be six feet across and four deep.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- baerrie 2y agoIt seems likely to me that the birds have suffered by these spikes and repurpose them as much for the message they send to avian predators as their structural merits. It is like humans wearing the head of a wolf or other things to communicate they are a threat to would be interlopers.
- lupusreal 2y agoCrows going for a Mad Max aesthetic for defense and deterrence seems both incredible and simultaneously unsurprisingly.
- mmooss 2y agoIn the OP: But for the magpies, there was an additional layer of intrigue; not only were the birds using the spikes to build nests, but it’s possible they were also employing the devices for their intended purpose—to ward off other birds. “It’s a very natural behavior,” Hiemstra says. “We think these spikes are for nest defense."
- TheSpiceIsLife 2y agoThat’s exactly what they are, it says as much on the box.
- baerrie 2y agoRight, my point is to push a more complex psychological truth, obviously they aren’t too hindered by these “defenses” if they can dismantle them and reuse them, instead their value is more symbolic, and if i dare, cultural
- fullstop 2y agoAnd then there are the doves, birds notorious for making the most lackluster of nests. They will lay eggs right on top of the spikes. When you see the nests, it is amazing that doves / pigeons exist at all. They must survive out of spite and numbers. Check out /r/stupiddovenests on reddit for some good examples.
- borski 2y agoPretty sure pigeons exist entirely thanks to NYC. :)
- dylan604 2y agoOr London
- maeln 2y agoIt is because most pigeons we see in cities are rock pigeon and were usually making their nest in cliff, crevases and rock formation[1]. Not in tree. Therefore, they never needed to make such artfully crafted nest since the rock was already providing enough shelter. This is also why they are very adapted to live in cities, because our concrete jungles are actually closer (in their verticality, materials, and relative lack of trees) to mountainous terrain than to a jungle. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_dove#Distribution_and_habitat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_dove#Distribution_and_hab...
- throwanem 2y agoFortunately, I only use these to protect the wasps from the sparrows, and the robins from themselves.
- internet_points 2y agoreminds me of the BE UNGOVERNABLE dog https://www.reddit.com/r/blursedimages/comments/u8o03f/blursed_sign/#lightbox https://www.reddit.com/r/blursedimages/comments/u8o03f/blurs... Are there other good examples of animals subverting restrictions?
- harimau777 2y agoCheckout the image at the top of this page! (I don't know if the blog itself is any good. I'm just posting it for the image!) https://sayyesmore.com/blog/bethebird https://sayyesmore.com/blog/bethebird
- internet_points 2y agohaha great :-D
- Suppafly 2y agoThat's such a great pic. I wonder what the sign is supposed to be for, it's not like birds respect signs. What is it telling humans to do?
- fragmede 2y agoIt's so the police arrest and cite the bird for breaking the law.
- marcosdumay 2y agoOh, if the sign is real, it's certainly a joke. People do create those a lot more than one would expect.
- kleiba 2y agoExcellent, stick it to the man!
- BSOhealth 2y agoResearchers are doing all kinds of cognitive studies on how birds (and other animals) use tools. Has anyone looked into the potential impacts (good and bad) for wide scale introduction of proven tools for use by other animals? Off the top of my head, if a tool is made of plastic for example, we’d be littering our environments with questionable trash. But conceptually, what’s the downside to leave a huge pile of defensive materials like bird spikes in the forest to help promote nest health? Stopping short of given them weapons of course. (Shout out to the other comment about training animals to dismantle barbed wire.)
- gtirloni 2y agoUnless there's an imbalance caused by human activity, I'd say we are better off leaving the birds and their ecosystems alone.
- __MatrixMan__ 2y agoI agree, but I would be curious about cases where nature could reclaim habitat faster if we give it some tools for the job. I can't really think of what those tools might be off hand though--apart from some kind of weapon/disease that better keeps humans away at marginal detriment to the user/host.
- mulmen 2y agoDon’t we already do this with artificial reefs?
- Suppafly 2y ago>I agree, but I would be curious about cases where nature could reclaim habitat faster if we give it some tools for the job. I can't really think of what those tools might be off hand though--apart from some kind of weapon/disease that better keeps humans away at marginal detriment to the user/host. That's an interesting line of thought. The only thing that comes to mind is something like giving them fancy hats or paintjobs to encourage more reproductive success in declining species.
- a3w 2y agoLife, uh, finds a way.
- FredPret 2y agoI'm impressed by this crow's beak-work: all the spikes are oriented inward and covered in leaves, making that nest very strong and not spiky at all.
- jeffrallen 2y ago"...the street finds its own uses for things"
- MrMcCall 2y agoAnd we will never run out of uses for WG quotes. Or +1s :-)
- dukeofdoom 2y agoSo the author makes a thesis statement then contradicts in the body. So great. Love birds, but hate emotional manipulation. If you feel bad, your online time is better spent on working to buy land outside of cities and letting it go wild. Cities are for primarily for people to live in. And many bird species have adapted to live with people already. So the claim is dubious. Infact Birds are very adaptable, so adaptable people have to put spikes up...to which the birds have adapted to. Actual parqueets live in England for example thanks to people feeding them. But don't feed the rats...
- wizardforhire 2y agoSo the corvids have developed punk?
- vittore 2y agoI find it unfair that there is no Audubon location in Audubon, NJ :p Saved the link for more bird news.
- btown 2y agoBoth were independently named for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_James_Audubon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_James_Audubon !
- Tesas 2y agoThey work like springs in the mattress and they add the fluff to the top. Additional benefits are that the spikes don't get chewed by rodents and remain there for the following year
- _kst_ 2y agoReminds me of the rats we used to have in our garage, that had built nests from our dryer lint. Our dryer lint was largely cat hair.
- econ 2y agoMy gf has a small very sterile scarcely decorated living room. A mouse chose to live under the fake fireplace. The funny part is that she has 7 cats. When they aren't looking he steals their cat food and drinks their water. I also see a cat hunt tiny mice on a tiny strip of grass in the middle of a busy intersection. Apparently this is a great spot for a nest, in the middle of large roaring vehicles that kill everything on their way.
- pelagic_sky 2y agoCockatoos just rip them out for fun. https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/rga3pf/cockatoo_ripping_off_antibird_spikes/ https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/rga3pf/cockatoo_...
- econ 2y agoI wonder how much of that is their sense of humor. It is quite obviously hilarious and he appears to be removing all of them.
- CTDOCodebases 2y ago“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” ― Marcus Aurelius
- milleramp 2y agoPerhaps the spikes are good for keeping predator birds away from the nest?
- anon115 2y agothey're mocking us....