Do Birds Grieve For Their Dead

[canonloader]

I think the injured female Oriole I posted here has died (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=700177). I have not seen her or any of the other Orioles since a day after making that post. I do expect to see them slowly come back in a few days, but so far, none have come for the Jelly.

I have seen the same thing happen when a Female Cardinal was taken by a hawk last summer, and when a little Chipping Sparrow died from an injury I think he got from a car strike. No Cardinals for several days, no Chippers for several days. Have you ever noticed anything similar?

All I can think of is some bird funerals and wakes being held deep in the woods where nobody can see. :(

I am still hoping the injured female comes back with that leg stump healing over. The last time I saw it though, it was almost all turned black.

[In2Photos]

I think they do Mitch.

The other day I was taking my daughter to my mom's before work. I saw a duck head peeking out from the grass across the road and I told my daughter to look. It was a male and you could see him quacking. What I didn't see was the female in the road, hit by a car some time earlier. Yesterday on my way home I passed by that same spot and noticed the male, back on the side of the road as if he were just making sure she wasn't looking for him. :cry: I have no doubts that they grieve.

[canonloader]

I don't know what else to call it. Watching Discovery and the Animal Planet and seeing everything from elephants to small birds and animals who appear to be grieving over dead mates or young, it's just too obvious really. There is less of a difference between us all than anybody realizes.

[Shar824]

I agree Mitch....birds/animals grieve. The female cardinal that died a while back, her mate sat on the top of a limb, just about all day long for days and days calling for her. He'd call and then wait for her to answer and she never did....he eventually stopped but it took a week or so.

[canonloader]

Ahh, that reminds me of the male Cardinal down at the park whose mate was taken by a sharppie. He disappeared for days, then only came back to stay far in the background and occasionally come in close enough for some seeds. I put some out for him further than I usually go and he did get some of those. Last I saw him, he had a new mate. But there is no doubt in my mind that they do grieve, and I think some of them have rather elaborate ways of doing it. Fully as meaningful as anything we humans do.

[CyberDyneSystems]

I was unfortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time too assist the local constabulary in apprehending some punks that stoned a young cygnet to death.. :(

Yes, they mourn there dead, the Father and mother circled and the sound they made ( Mute Swans mind you ) was haunting and disturbing.. I will never forget that sound..
He was quite protective and was not going to let me near the Cygnet when I thought there still might be a chance to save it from drowning.. I was wrong though, it's skull was crushed..

My photos secured the offenders conviction.

... sorry I'm all teared up again thinking about it...

[canonloader]

... sorry I'm all teared up again thinking about it...
Birding and getting close to these innocents is the hardest thing I have ever done. Just reading your story does the same thing for me. Seeing my injured Oriole makes me loose sleep.

[Flo]

For sure they do.When I had the 7 goslings( Canada Geese) here for a year, they were incredibly . My son's dog happened upon a female, and he started on her back, tearing her tendons her wing badly.( The next day a fence was up, he shares our property. The geese were raised with dogs. so no fear)I took "Splash" top the vet, and her tried to do what he could for her. I put her in a closed pen, chain link, so she could still see all the others, but be safe. Not one goose strayed from that cage for two days.The little area around the cage was so dug up from them eating grass to the earth, and I filled a pool up with water for them.They were in constant "touch" with their sounds.
She died, and they were ever vigilant about that space for quite a few days.:(
Why she was named Splash
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/emmaloudawg/emoticons/spl.jpg
the Woundedhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/emmaloudawg/emoticons/IMG_0001.jpg

[canonloader]

All these stories are very moving, and I'm glad I asked. I was afraid I was one of a few who was aware of it. It's good to know that many more than I thought see it too. Means I'm not crazy. :)

[Kevin]

A few weeks back when leaving my driveway I noticed a very flat Mockingbird in the middle of the road in front of the driveway. I thought it odd for a Mockingbird to get run over, they always seem to be fast and aware of what goes on around them. Anyway, I had to suddenly stop because the mate flew down to the road and stood next to it's flattened mate. I left and upon returning home the mate was back in the road standing in the same spot. I know it was grieving.

[C4Miles]

I am most certainly aware of birds grieving - have seen it numerous times. Won't go into the specifics, but this story with photos I found illustrates the behavior better than I could. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2257338/posts

Hope the Oriole returns Mitch, but I think you already know the outcome my friend!

[canonloader]

Kevin, I have seen the same thing with pigeons and robins, although only for a minute at a time as I was passing by. Miles, someone posted a link to a series of pictures from those same two birds in the bird forum awhile back. The most graphic example I have seen. And none of my Orioles have returned yet. I had noticed all the Rose Breasted Grosbeaks were gone too, then finally saw one here yesterday. I hope something else isn't going on.

[canonloader]

An Update. I heard the chittering of an Oriole out in the yard this morning. A female looking for grape jelly. I had to go out and set up the feeder log cause the damn coon had knocked it down again this morning. Not the injured female though. :(

[snowyowl13]

I believe that there is a sense of loss. This year one of our A. Kestels, the female, got killed. The half eaten remains lay within sight of the nest box. The male hung around for a week, calling periodically. I have not doubt that he was confused and feeling a loss. Finally another female showed up and the two of them left.
I don't know if they grieve in the way people do but something definitely goes on and whatever it is, It makes me sad.

[canonloader]

I have heard it said that we can't see an expression on another species face and understand what it means. Not sure who thinks that but I have no trouble seeing the sadness and loss on a birds face and body language. I think for those who can't, they are missing something.

[Nighthound]

I agree and I think it is most noticeably displayed between lifetime mating species.

The more I observe wild animals, the more I realize how similar we all are and how foolish I was to have ever thought different.

[sparker1]

I think most animals grieve for their dead, some more than others. Those who mate for life definitely mourn when the mate is dead. Animals become attached to other animals and to humans, and they feel a loss when the object of their affection goes away for any reason.

[canonloader]

the more I realize how similar we all are and how foolish I was to have ever thought different
At my age, when I was a kid, animals, especially birds, were just dumb animals, they felt nothing. The more I think about those times, the more I realize the dumb animals walked on two legs. I mean, at one point, not to long ago in our development, we were all closer to nature. I have to wonder how we ever got so far from it to think we are above them. Maybe it's time to re-educate ourselves. Appreciation of nature should be a required class in grades K-12, shouldn't it?

[Here and There]

At my age, when I was a kid, animals, especially birds, were just dumb animals, they felt nothing. The more I think about those times, the more I realize the dumb animals walked on two legs. I mean, at one point, not to long ago in our development, we were all closer to nature. I have to wonder how we ever got so far from it to think we are above them. Maybe it's time to re-educate ourselves. Appreciation of nature should be a required class in grades K-12, shouldn't it?

Great post!

I had experiences in my childhood with baby birds we rescued that had fallen out of their nests. The interaction with these birds taught me a lot about the birds themselves and about respecting nature. There is such a disconnect from nature nowadays...it's really sad.

[canonloader]

I think having a Gerbil or Hampster cage in a classroom would also tell a lot about the makeup of kids. An early warning system to detect the little sociopaths coming up among us. I read somewhere that virtually all psychos were also cruel to animals. This might be the early warning system for detecting them. The better side of that coin is, it will give those with a lot of empathy a chance to express themselves too.

This is a whole other way of learning and teaching that has been sadly overlooked and should be explored. :)

[DaveMcBride]

Sorry to hear of this poor bird Mitch, hopefully she is still around. I hate to see injured creatures, especially in my garden as it does make you feel helpless. I tried to save several doves from that dreadful disease this year but only managed to catch one....which was too far gone to respond to treatment, and a baby song thrush I rescued from a cat died in my hand after a few minutes.

There is a lot of truth in what you have just said in the post above.

[canonloader]

Thanks Dave. I have thought an awful lot about the problems of our society and how the police simply clean up after the crime has been done and can't or don't do anything about preventing it. It's way past time they tried something else.

As for this female, I have seen no sign of her since posting this thread, and only saw two other Orioles since. One just a few minutes ago came to the jelly log and one yesterday, but only one time for the day. Something weird is going on, and I am hoping it is fledging the kids. I had 10-12 orioles here last summer after they fledged the new ones. They were all here all day. Can't make any sense of what's going on now.

[Nighthound]

I have to wonder how we ever got so far from it to think we are above them.

I think it's taken many years to get to this point and it will take quite an effort to change this mind set. I couldn't agree more that starting with kids very early is crucial to planting the seeds of respect and understanding. I'm sure many of us have great memories of nature and wild animals form our childhood. For those of us it's played a big part in the direction our lives would take and contributed greatly to the compassionate people we have become. That speaks volumes of the importance and great value of our natural surroundings and all that thrives there.

We are beings of "superior intellect", yet progress so often supersedes our duties as stewards of this planet. As we spread out our population and gobble up natural habitat in the process, compassion for the plants and animals that reside there has many times fallen far down the priority list. I don't want to come off as a fanatic tree hugger here and it's certainly not all gloom and doom. I've seen some wonderful efforts being made here at home and most notably on my recent trip to Florida. I knew that many wild animals were very sensitive to change but seeing the work being done to save the Florida Scrub Jays really underscored just how fragile many species can be. The days of thinking that "they'll find new homes" as we knock down habitat has to end. Education is the ground work to begin to change bad habits and foster a better/smarter generation of stewards.

We are not above them, we are one of them.

[canonloader]

We are one of them, great point. So far, the only good thing I have seen that progress and overcrowding has brought to us is you can't get away with much anymore, someone is sure to be watching and our modern forensics can find you if your one of the bad ones. What we as humans need is a new mindset about procreation. We need a foolproof and simple birth control and the brains to use it. Instead of supersizing, we need a couple centuries of serious downsizing, before Mother does it for us. ;)

[Jeff Dyck]

I came upon this series a couple years ago and was quite touched by it - http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=393354 - I had bookmarked it at the time and it is still there. (A warning to bird lovers - while the images linked aren't at all graphic in the visceral sense, they do include a dead bird).

[canonloader]

I've seen that before. Kind of answers the question.

[jack lumber]

Once while driving down a prairie backroad I saw 3 different species of hawk circling overhead uttering some very distressed calls. I went to the area they were circling and found the remains of a hawk that was had obviously been dead for some time.
From this observation I would say not only do birds grieve, but they grieve for other species.

[canonloader]

After thinking back, I can't recall ever seeing any of the hawks or eagles eating each other. There may be something to that.

[JuliusUpNorth]

I must agree. I have observed this many times with different animal species, including birds. Hardest hit seem to be those that are usually mated for life or that lose young ones. It is not something I enjoy watching...

Julius

[canonloader]

The reason I started thinking on this subject was the disappearance of a female Oriole with a shattered leg. She has not appeared, although one other female and at least two males show up here now and then for the grape jelly. Nothing like before though, when it was a steady parade.