[NatureNS] woodpecker, crow, merlin story -- was A bird

Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:35:26 -0400
From: "Stephen R. Shaw" <srshaw@Dal.Ca>
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Re. Jane's second fun thought, while there's no sound evidence of  
anything resembling 'telepathy' anywhere, despite searches in the  
early 20th century that have since fizzled out, there are quite a few  
well known signals that animals do send and receive that are outside  
the human range of detectability.  For example, ultrasound (in bats,  
leps, some katydids), infrared light (in certain snakes, some  
buprestid beetles), ultraviolet light (many insects, hummingbirds),  
plane polarized light, electric fields in water (sharks, 'electric  
fish', platypus), specific pheromones (many insects), carbon dioxide.  
The ability to detect low strength magnetic fields and even  
infra-sound should probably be added.

Regarding the first thought on cooperativity, perhaps more  
interesting, to have two different species share a natural foraging  
strategy would require that each get more out of it than either could  
gain alone.  Most of the seemingly at-first-sight cases like  
lions-hyenas-jackals-vultures or bears-wolves, are cases where one  
animal takes over a resource obtained by the other, not one of mutual  
extra benefit.  There are real examples from insects, for example ants  
tending aphid herds and presumably affording them protection while  
gaining honeydew in return, or the ant-acacia bush connection (a shrub  
in this case, and not directly about food).  I can't think immediately  
of any vertebrate example apart from the unique case of Old Tom  
(killer whale-human).  He was a particular orca that herded other  
migratng whales (Minke?) into an Australian bay near the town of Eden,  
where the local whalers could more easily kill them.  The benefit to  
Tom was that he was always given the whale's tongue after the kill, so  
it was presumably a learned behaviour for a reward, not innate. It  
ended badly.  Likewise, falconry, or foxhound hunting may exploit  
natural behaviors but involve rewards for learning some task.

There are lots of examples of such behaviours between genetically  
related individuals of the same species, such as sharing food with  
offspring, or colony protection (terns) or 'atruistic' sacrifice by  
one individual that can be offset by benefits to the genes of another  
member (classic case is the honeybee, explained genetically by the  
late W.D. Hamilton).

Christmas quiz: can anyone think of real 'natural' vertebrate example  
that involves species that are different, like the fanciful  
crow-merlin example?  The two species' behaviours presumably would  
have to have co-evolved, rather unlikely.
Steve (Halifax)
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>> ---- Dave&Jane Schlosberg <dschlosb-g@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:
>>> What I’m wondering is, do you think the crow and the merlin were   
>>> in kahoots?  Perhaps they shared the plunder, back at the   
>>> clubhouse....  just like the boys in Oliver Twist.  I’m thinking   
>>> more and more, as I watch the birds at the feeders, that they can   
>>> do telepathy .
>>> Oh well, a fun thought...
>>> Jane

Quoting "James W. Wolford" <jimwolford@EastLink.ca>:

> Manny or most of Nature's creatures, esp. predators and scavengers,   
> are opportunistic, and the crow-mediated damage to the woodpecker   
> plus the escape presented a great opportunity for the merlin.  And   
> I'm sure there are lots of similar but unwitnessed stories like this  
>  all around us all the time.
>
> Regarding Richard's comments below, I don't know of algae that   
> consume bacteria, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that there are  
>  some, given Nature's huge inventory of diverse life-cycles.
>
> Cheers from Jim in Wolfville.
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: duartess@ns.sympatico.ca
>> Date: December 21, 2011 2:45:15 PM AST
>> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>> Cc: Dave&Jane Schlosberg <dschlosb-g@ns.sympatico.ca>
>> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Fwd: A bird affair...
>> Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>>
>> Hi All,
>>
>> Having re-read what I wrote & how it sounded, it was certainly   
>> overly sentimental and guess I might have sounded like one of those  
>>  wacko Animal Rights activist. YIKES!! Must admit, I too wished   
>> someone could have been there to photograph this event too.
>>
>> Anyway, Cheers to all!
>>
>> Gayle MacLean
>> Dartmouth
>>

>>> From: Richard Stern
>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 9:35 PM
>>> To: duartess@ns.sympatico.ca
>>> Cc: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
>>> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Fwd: A bird affair...
>>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> Personally I don't think it's shocking or sad, and I would love to  
>>>  have photographed or video-d it. But I agree, nature doesn't   
>>> follow what people think of as cute or kind. Merlins like to eat   
>>> woodpeckers, woodpeckers like to eat insect larvae, insect larvae   
>>> like to eat algae, algae like to eat bacteria, and if you're a   
>>> bacterium-lover, you'd probably think algae were cruel or   
>>> shocking.  It's all just nature's way of preserving the individual  
>>>  and propagating the species.
>>>
>>> Cheers - Richard
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Dec 20, 2011 at 9:08 PM, <duartess@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:
>>>
>>>  Oh, how shocking and very sad for your friend to have witnessed   
>>> this, but, that's nature, and nature's way. Beautiful, but hard,   
>>> and completely unforgiving.
>>>
>>>  Gayle MacLean
>>>  Dartmouth
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>  ---- Richard Stern <sternrichard@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> A photographer friend sent me this the other day - thought I'd  share it
>>>> with NatureNS.
>>>>
>>>> Richard
>>>>
>>>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hi Richard:
>>>>
>>>> Just had to share this story with you....
>>>>
>>>> Last week I was walking our dog past a neighbour's yard and heard a
>>>> commotion.  I turned and saw a crow (raven?) attacking a small   
>>>> Woodpecker...
>>>>
>>>> The woodpecker managed to escape and flew directly toward me, a  little
>>>> unstable and chirping the whole time.
>>>>
>>>> It then flew right by by me and almost across the road, when a   
>>>> merlin come
>>>> out of nowhere and snatched it up in midair & up out of sight.   No more
>>>> chirping from the wo