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Project Noah Nature School
Parus aplonotus
Garden of Sans souci bungalow, Coonoor, Nilgiri Hills, Karnataka, India. It kept flying to and from a Bottle brush tree (Callistemon sp.) as it attacked its own reflection.
It flew into a rage at its reflection in the car's mirror and attacked it ferociously and repeatedly pecking at it and beatings its wings...finally we folded the mirror back against the car hiding its reflective surface and there was peace. The bird was not hurt. I have seen similar behaviour in the Red vented bulbul Pycnonotus cafer.
Spotted on May 13, 2014
Submitted on May 15, 2014
12 Comments
Thanks Desmond E S O.
Haha. he just wanted to look at himself.
It was a joy ChiefRedEarth...Thank YOU.
WOW! Wonderful observations! Thanks Sukanya for this 'brain-storming' observation. :))
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/319...
Please see this link for the reaction of a Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)
I also have the same idea as Peggy that the males think they are seeing a competitor and try to chase him away from his territory :-)
During breeding season, at least here in Ohio, some male birds that see their reflection in a mirror or window attack their own reflection viciously. I have always assumed it was because they believed they were seeing a rival for their ladies' affections, as birds can be territorial.
Most animals do not "get" mirrors. They think they are seeing another animal. Proof of an animal's understanding of a mirror is when they spend long stretches of time comparing their body parts in real life to those int he mirror and then start looking in places they cannot normally see.... inside mouth for example
Could be trying to free the bird stuck inside the mirror! I have seen White Wagtails and Black Redstarts doing it on my car mirrors in the garden. Usually they just sit on top of the mirror and lean over to look in it, then move and try from another angle. Perhaps in some cases it is just curiosity.
Often when trying to photograph butterflies (usually with a telephoto lens from several feet away) they will fly up and hover in front of the lens briefly before flying away.
Hi Sukanya, thats an interesting observation, and I never thought about it. I have seen Babblers and Turkey (Gobblers) attack their own mirror images. :))
Marta RubioTexeira...You know, if only we spoke Avian...we would have known why she was getting so agitated....LOL! Thanks for sharing...my dog used to lick his reflection in friendly gesture but the cat used to hiss at his own reflection and we had to cover the mirror with a cloth.
I have seen this happening to other species of birds too!
And for example my parrot, she does not react to her mirror image but she gets really mad at videos from the internet showing other birds vocalizing..this really ticks her off..haha!