Yeah, call it “grown kid still living in their parent’s basement syndrome.” That looks like a baby that’s taking growing up rather hard . . .
Mark Stackhouse westwings@sisna.com from Mexico: 01-323-285-1243 (San Blas, Nayarit) 001-801-518-5618 (cellular – U.S. and Mexico) from U.S. 011-52-323-285-1243 or 1-801-518-5618
It’s been decades since I took animal behavior but I think it might be a substitution behavior for inability to climb on the parent’s back. It looks like it is nuzzling into the feathers between the wing and body.
The first time I noticed it I wondered what was attached the the adult grebe. I’m sure it was just seconds but it seemed like a couple of minutes and then a head popped up.
Does anyone know what this young grebe is doing? I’ve noticed this a few times in the last couple of weeks. It tried to climb on its parent’s back with no success. Then it put it’s head down behind the adult.
I thought at first it was vesper sparrow intro notes… without the jumbling song that usually follows. And I’ve had Bewicks imitate them when I play vesper songs in the field.
I agree with Jay – there are some signature phrases for Bewick’s Wren, in particular the bell-like slow trill, “ding-ding-ding-ding,” that appears several times (at 8 sec, 16 sec, 38 sec). I think that’s what Jay is calling “Song Sparrow-like,” but I find it even more similar to the ending of Black-throated Sparrow. The rest of the song is easily within the varied repertoire of Bewick’s Wren, but in my experience virtually every Bewick’s Wren, in the west at least, throws in that bell-like slow trill at random intervals during its song.
Mark Stackhouse westwings@… from Mexico: 01-323-285-1243 (San Blas, Nayarit) 001-801-518-5618 (cellular – U.S. and Mexico) from U.S. 011-52-323-285-1243 or 1-801-518-5618
