Yesterday I was peering into a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron nest across the street, in a large live oak. The view angle on this nests makes it easier to watch than most- because the perspective is from the side not from below. Fortuitously, there is no foliage blocking the view. One nestling remains.
I saw a behavior I had not noticed before. The young bird is now very close to leaving and about as large as an adult. When the adult came, the nestling bowed its head low, stuck its tail up, and spread its wings half way open. It sayed that way for thirty seconds or so, then the the adult jumped to a different spot in the tree and the juvenile resumed its usual upright posture.
If it was begging, it was a strange way to do it- head down. Weird, but fascinating. It reminded me of pics I have seen of owls intimidating predators by adopting such a posture to make themselves look larger.
Good birding,
Peter
for copy of Birding Made Easy-New Orleans, email me at birding.made.easy.new.orleans@gmail.com, or look for it at the Maple Street or Garden District Book Shops.
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