Interesting observation/documentation, Brian. Caching behavior is not surprising, but the particular content seems a bit so, especially given that it's not breeding season. It opens a whole host of speculative questions. Might recent drought and lower insect population make such birds more interested in larger prey? Would cached carcasses in frozen state be a form of food insurance? Do the Red-bellieds present food trophies to prospective partners? If this species is increasing in number, does such behavior represent a learned adaptation that gives them some advantage? It all makes the Red-bellieds even more interesting to watch! Thanks for posting. Linda Whyte
On Fri, Nov 25, 2022, 12:45 PM MOU <m...@moumn.org> wrote: > (Posted by Brian Tennessen <brian.tennes...@gmail.com> via moumn.org) > > This morning at Old Cedar Bridge, actually beyond the bridge, over where > the trail from the bridge T's at the river, I observed a behavior I've not > seen before--A Red-bellied Woodpecker with a small rodent, maybe a vole or > shrew, maybe a mouse for that matter. > > The bird carrried this around for some time, then put it into a tree hole, > seeming to cache it. It then flew off. I would imagine this is an > opportunistic find that this Woodpecker came upon, maybe a cached kill of a > Shrike for example. After caching, the woodpecker still had a small piece > of innards that I presume it then ate, I have a photo of this as well. If > anyone has seen this behavior before or thoughts on this, please comment. > Quite an interesting behavior.. > > I talked with Dale Carlson and Steve Carlson about this after this > occurred, as they were both down at the bridge as well, and showed them the > photos on my camera. Neither of them had observed this behavior before. > > Please comment with any thoughts, similar observations you may have had in > the past etc. > > https://flic.kr/p/2o2jjxc > > https://flic.kr/p/2o2gvbR > > Brian T. > St. Paul MN > > ---- > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
