So this morning I was birding in Croton Landing Park when I spotted another group of wasps rising and falling over a patch of grass. This time I identified the species as the widespread *Scolia dubia, *a handsome parasitic species...and as I watched a Mockingbird that was foraging nearby hopped directly into the center of the wasp aggregation. As with yesterday's Mourning Doves, the bird and wasps both seemed unworried.
I watched the Mockingbird snatch and eat two insects (not wasps) off the ground in about thirty seconds, so it's easy to theorize that the wasps might benefit the bird by startling or distracting its prey. Still hard to see how a flock of Mourning Doves would benefit, though.... --Joe W > -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
