Yeah, sure, but every bird that scratches in the air scratches directly, or else they'd crash. ;^) Seriously. I think I've seen crows scratch in flight, and it was direct.
When I was studying Florida Scrub-Jay fledglings I watched a very young one try several times to put its wing down and scratch over the wing, but it kept losing its balance. Finally it scratched directly. After that age they all scratched indirectly. Some of you may not be surprised, but Jay and I used to have a "scratching" photo list. I don't know what he's added lately, but I've got over 90 species documented. I don't believe that there is a master list of scratching methods, although the EthoSource web site is trying to get that kind of stuff online. I do remember a paper on wood-warbler (Parulidae) scratching by Jed Burtt. Oddly the family was mixed. Most other families are pretty constant. Quickly, here are some generalizations from my observations. Direct scratching Waterfowl Chickens (small sample size) Pelicans and cormorants Herons Ibis Hawks Falcons Rails (at least moorhen) Sandpipers Gulls Terns Doves Owls Woodpeckers Indirect scratching Plovers Stilts Flycatchers Cotingas (White-browed Purpletuft, at least) Corvids Swallows Thrushes Pipits Waxwings Most(?) warblers (all I've seen so far) Bunting/sparrows Cardinalids (including North American 'tanagers') Blackbirds Fringillid finches House Sparrow What have you seen? Kevin From: bounce-5570967-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-5570967-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Laura Erickson Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 6:08 PM To: Cayuga Birds Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] New Brown Creeper behavior information! Interestingly, I just read on the BNA last week that Tree Swallows scratch with the "indirect" route when perched, but when in flight they have been observed scratching their heads in the "direct route." I've never seen them scratch their heads in flight, so thought this observation was doubly interesting. Best, Laura Erickson On Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 5:21 PM, Anne Marie Johnson <annemariejohn...@frontiernet.net<mailto:annemariejohn...@frontiernet.net>> wrote: Very cool! I wonder if birds that cling vertically (woodpeckers, nuthatches, creepers) are more inclined to use the "indirect" route than other birds. It seems like it could be related to trying to maintain that position. Is there a list somewhere of which birds scratch which way? Have there been any theories as to why a particular method is chosen? Anne Marie Johnson At 04:21 PM 4/12/2010, you wrote: >I'm kind of jazzed today because this morning I documented a bit of >Brown Creeper behavior that has never been published: > >When they scratch their head they reach their foot over the back of >their wing to do it! > >Ok, I know that this is not earth-shattering news. But when I saw >it I realized that I had never seen it before, and the BNA accounts >states that it has never been published. > >So, the only reason this is interesting is that birds have two >different methods of scratching their head - 1) the "direct" method >where the foot goes straight to the itchy spot on the head, and 2) >the "indirect" method were the wing is slightly extended and the >foot passes over the back of it to reach the head. > >Two methods, but all the birds in one species do it the same way all >the time. They don't switch back and forth. > >And until now, how Brown Creepers do it was unrecorded! > >I have a photo at >http://picasaweb.google.com/KevinJ.McGowan/BasinBirds2010#5459283115505453858. > > >It probably helps to understand the photo to know that the bird is >looking directly into the camera, the left wing is down, the body is >leaning slightly to the right, and the blurry thing above the tan >flank and rump is the moving foot. You can see the black mark of >separated feathers on the bird's left cheek, where the itch was. > >Kevin > >-- > >Cayugabirds-L List Info: >http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME >http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES > >ARCHIVES: >1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html >2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html >3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds > >Please submit your observations to eBird: >http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ > >-- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- -- -- Laura Erickson Science Editor Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 607-254-1114 If you've found this information useful, I hope you'll consider supporting our work on behalf of birds and other wildlife. In addition to knowing that you'll be making a difference for conservation, you'll receive our award-winning Living Bird magazine and informative BirdScope newsletter four times a year. We invite you to join our "force for nature." To sign up or watch our video about membership, visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/NetCommunity/membership or call us at 1-800-843-2473. For the love, understanding, and protection of birds There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
