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Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds).
Predatory birds hunting in pairs have been observed using a "bait and switch" technique, whereby one bird will distract the prey while the other swoops in for the kill. Social behavior requires individual identification, and most birds appear to be capable of recognizing mates, siblings, and young.
The strategy of gleaning over surfaces by birds to catch invertebrate prey—chiefly insects and other arthropods—by plucking them from foliage or the ground, from crevices such as of rock faces and under the eaves of houses, or even, as in the case of ticks and lice, from living animals. Gleaning the leaves and branches of trees and shrubs ...
Birds of prey specialise in hunting mammals or other birds, while vultures are specialised scavengers. Birds are also preyed upon by a range of mammals including a few avivorous bats. [ 267 ] A wide range of endo- and ectoparasites depend on birds and some parasites that are transmitted from parent to young have co-evolved and show host ...
Modern-day homing pigeons do have English carrier blood in them because they are in part descendants of the old-style carriers. [citation needed] The domestic pigeon is derived from the wild rock dove (Columba livia sspp.); the rock dove has an innate homing ability, [7] meaning that it will generally return to its nest using magnetoreception. [8]
As Wilson notes, smaller birds will attack and annoy red-tails, representing outside forces trying to hamper our ability to take flight. But the red-tail's signature crimson tail feathers help ...
In broken-wing displays, birds that are at the nest walk away from it with wings quivering so as to appear as an easy target for a predator. [ 13 ] [ 25 ] Such injury-feigning displays are particularly well known in nesting waders and plovers , but also have been documented in other species, including snowy owls, [ 20 ] the alpine accentor ...
At the second level, an animal performs a programmed act of behaviour, as when a prey animal feigns death to avoid being eaten. At the third level, the deceptive behaviour is at least partially learnt, as when a bird puts on a distraction display , feigning injury to lure a predator away from a nest.