It was very late last night when I posted that I just wanted to get the essential info out and get to bed. I thought some might be interested in what I observed when the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher casted out the pellet. I first noticed the bird lift it's head high up at least at a 90 degree angle to the ground and possibly a little further back. I thought it must have seen an insect it was going to go after so I started photographing (thinking it was preparing to fly after the insect). Instead I got the first photo in the sequence of photos I took of it's casting the pellet as it brought it's head down with it's bill opening. When it's bill was pointed almost in my direction I saw there was something in it's mouth but it is not easy to see detail through the viewfinder of cameras. Then the bird twisted it's head to the side as shown in the third photo as though it was having a difficult time getting this object out of it's mouth. Finally the pellet was ejected from the birds mouth which I did see through the camera's viewfinder. Just as seen in the fourth photo the bird continued to look down presumably watching the pellet fall to the ground.
I suppose shouldn't have been surprised to see this Scissor-tailed Flycatcher ejecting a pellet as from what I have read a number of insectivorous birds regurgitate the exoskeleton and other inedible parts of the insects they consume just as fish eating birds regurgitate the fish bones and other inedible parts of fish. Apparently there has been research on birds other than raptors (which is most of what I found) as noted in Singapore 'Bird Ecology Study Group-Nature Study' blog<http://besgroup.blogspot.com/2006/03/forensic-birding-3-pellets.html>post in 2006: " In fact the International Bird Pellet Study Group listed 18 orders comprising 67 families and 316 species of birds that indulge in pellet casting. And this was as far back as 1979. Birds that cast pellets include crows, cowbirds, grackles, cormorants, grebes, gulls, terns, swallows, sanderlings and rails. I could not locate this or other specific research on non-raptor pellet casting except by Singapore folks. I checked *Birds of North America* online for Western Kingbird and Ash-throated Flycatcher, two larger flycatcher species, but accounts said there was no published observations though they noted Ash-throated "presumably regurgitates pits of larger fruit" as this species swallows fruit whole. I check on Black Phoebes, a species I have spent hundreds of hours watching, often up close or through a spotting scope, and photographing--I was surprised to learn that they do cast pellets though I certainly do not recall ever observing this behavior. That's one of the things I like about bird watching, you learn something new all the time. SeEtta Moss Canon City Personal blog @ http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com<http://birdsandnature.blogspot.com/> Blogging for Birds and Blooms magazine @ Birds and Blooms blog southcentral/<http://birdsandbloomsblog.com/category/southcentral/> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
