Super Eco

Photo credit: *hb19, flickr

From the Department of Obvious Things Just Now Occurring to People, this just in: mockingbirds know who we are. They can distinguish you from me, especially if I've acted in a way they interpret as threatening to them and their nest, whereas you've clearly been minding your own business with nothing but Good Mockingbird Intentions on your mind.

It all started when a University of Florida graduate student doing research on nesting habits noticed she was getting attacked a lot by the mockingbirds she was studying while the birds ignored nearby people doing non nest-touching activities like gardening. They then devised a study that involved ringing mockingbird's doorbells and then running away, using several people different in appearance and body structure, who would dress differently on different days. They got dive-bombed by the birds on repeat visits, without exception. Students who never touched the nests were left alone entirely.

Anyone who has ever paid much attention to noticing birds (and other animals who live near and among us, like squirrels and deer and rabbits) already knows all this, that birds recognize us. Why wouldn't they?

Maybe this is just one more piece of what we need as a society to validate the idea that all life is connected somehow. Remembering that birds—and other creatures, let's face it—know who we are might help people tailor their activities accordingly, giving space to all life around us and thinking differently about wildlife conservation.