I've been known as the person to come to for bird questions for many years now. Over those years I've gotten some very interesting questions from friends and family. Usually they involve my identifying a species based on a vague description. I do my best with these and usually if they give me a behavior or general location I can guess at what they may have seen. Of course, I do get those who are certain they've seen a Snowy Owl or something that would truly be a wonder to see in that particular area and have had to gently let them down with the possibility that it was merely a common Barn Owl. Vagrants do occur, but most people don't even notice and can't identify the resident Red-tailed hawks or house finches, so I tend to doubt these wild identifications of the truly spectacular.
Another thing that comes with being the "bird lady" are those random questions that plague you after watching a tv show or in the middle of the night when your mind wanders to unusual places. One of the most recent to be posed to me was "do birds fart?" I had to stop and think about this one, even had to reference a college textbook. While I have not yet done my doctoral thesis on the topic, I have some ideas on this subject. According to Kirk Klasing's book "Conparitive Avian Nutrition" (2000), "most birds use their capacity of flight to harvest foods that are easiest to digest with simple digestive systems." Flatulence tends to come from the breakdown of complex foods such as tough grasses and materials high in cell walls as a result of the gut's fermentation process. There are a few species of birds which feed upon these high-roughage materials, but the requirements for processing these foods create a problem when balancing weight for the demands of flight. (A good argument against cows achieving flight.) Since birds have highly-efficient ways of garnering every bit of nutrition from the foods they consume, it is unlikely that there would be excess gasses. Anecdotally, I have often observed my hawk lifting his tail feathers as if to slice and nothing is produced. My theory with this is that his gut is empty and even though he feels he must slice, there is not enough material in his rectum to produce any mutes. While Dr. Klasing never directly addresses the subject, I believe he would concur with my theory that birds do not fart, though some gasses from the fermentation process of those birds which feed upon roughage may be excreted along with the urine and feces.
Another question I am often asked at events with my hawk is "does it talk?" This question never fails to make the falconers smirk or stifle a giggle. You see, we know what our birds are saying to us, or at least we like to think we do, based on behaviors, body posture and some vocalizations. However, these birds lack the physiological capability to reproduce human sounds. Birds have a syrinx, where humans have a larynx or voice box. The syrinx is more complex in birds which rely on song for mating or call mimicking for survival. Birds such as those in the mimidae family (mockingbirds and mynahs) mimic calls they hear in order to attract mates or confuse their neighbors. Parrots mimic calls so as better to fit into their flock, as each flock has a specific "language". If a lone bird wants to join a neighboring flock, he had better learn to speak their tongue. These birds, when kept in close proximity to humans, also learn our language. They may not always understand what we mean when we say "Polly want a cracker", but they understand that when they say this, they will get a reward and so positive reinforcement is achieved. Hawks, falcons and owls have more limited vocalizations. These birds are generally solitary, only encountering a mate or chick or rival on occasion and so only need a limited number of "words". The exception might be the Harris' Hawks. As social raptors, they need to be able to communicate effectively with their flock in order to coordinate hunts and determine the pecking order. I have observed several vocalizations from my Harris' Hawk including those that seem to mean "I am happy and feel safe", "Warning! There is something large and predatory!", and "get the heck out of my space". So, in this way I suppose TK does talk to me, but I had to learn his language, he would never lower himself to speak Human.
In closing, I am glad that my friends and family come to me with their odd bird questions. It makes me feel like all this random knowledge that I so lovingly and tirelessly collected is being put to some use. And until I find a job which is willing to pay me to be a bird geek, I must satisfy myself with answering the questions put to me by those who know me as "the bird girl". If you have any random bird questions, I would love to see them in the comments. Perhaps I will even write about it in a future blog!
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