Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/3/84; site mhuxt.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!js2j From: js2j@mhuxt.UUCP (sonntag) Newsgroups: net.rec.birds Subject: Bird Wars Message-ID: <486@mhuxt.UUCP> Date: Tue, 8-Jan-85 16:19:09 EST Article-I.D.: mhuxt.486 Posted: Tue Jan 8 16:19:09 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 9-Jan-85 04:54:50 EST Distribution: net Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill Lines: 28 While driving across Pennsylvania this fall (around September), I saw what appeared at first to be a large swarm of bees hovering and flying back and forth, changing directions, etc. I soon realized that this was merely a trick of perspective and that it was actually a flock of small birds about 300 yards away. This behavior seemed so strange to me that I stopped the car on the edge of I-80 to watch. Once I had stopped, I could see that there was one larger bird (~crow or hawk sized, it was too far for me to tell) that seemed to be leading the flock back and forth and up and down. After observing for a short while, I realized that the flock of small birds was CHASING the large bird all over the place. The small birds could fly faster than the large bird, and would almost catch up to it when the large bird would change direction suddenly, gaining a few yards of lead. I was wondering if maybe the bird watchers and naturalists who frequent this newsgroup would be able to explain this behavior. Like: 1.) What could the large bird have done to get so many small birds so pi**ed off at it? 2.) How come the small birds were faster and less manueverable than the large bird? I would have expected the opposite. 3.) What would the small birds have done, had they succeeded in catching the large bird? 4.) Don't they have better things to do? I always thought of small birds as peaceful insect eaters. These seemed almost Hitchcockian. -- Jeff Sonntag ihnp4!mhuxt!js2j "Step right up, get your free TANSTAAFL!"