It seems to me that large bird flocks are moreprone to take flight suddenly as a group simply because the large number makes it more probable that one or more birds moves suddenly, causing the whole group to take fright/flight. Smaller flocks have a smaller probability at any given moment. Birds in a flock are constantly aware of what others are doing, presumably as warning and group safety. Meanwhile, an individual is always twitching to get at the food -- a sudden jump may be all that it takes to set off the whole flock. This looks like what one always sees with Snow Bunting flocks that take off and return to the same spot every few moments. Does someone have a video of such behaviour to demonstrate whether this interpretation is correct? (However, this does not explain why flocks disappear from feeders for hours or days before returning.)
Nari Mistry -- Nari B. Mistry, Ithaca, NY To see my paintings, visit http://www.ArtbyNari.com -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
