Territorial Behavior: Why do birds call and why are birds so colorful? The answer is: they want each other to see and hear them. It has to do with the availability of resources such as food and nesting sites. If the birds were too closely packed in, they would starve and if they were too widely spread out they might never find each other to reproduce. Each bird species has evolved a spacing method based upon visual and auditory cues that assure a proper distribution or density of a particular birds species in a given area or habitat. It's really very efficient and is a thing of beauty. It gets even better: not all the males can fit into an area and the system is so well refined that the weak or puny ones are not able to establish and defend a territory and these poor fellows will not get to breed. What this actually means, however, is the next generation is likely to have fewer weak or puny birds which means that the species in that area will remain strong and healthy. Once you think about it, it's a fabulous system for the birds.

Look at this Red-winged Blackbird on the left. I photographed him in the Spring at the height of breeding season. Notice how large and bright are his red shoulder patches. He had a territory and was successfully defending it by singing and by flaring his shoulders from his tall perching spot. Other Red-wings could not miss him. Less than 20 yards away from his location on the marsh there was a non-territorial male whose shoulders were pale orange and whose call was weak and atonal. Only this strong male would attract a female this Spring; the other one would remain lonely. Remember that the males you see singing in the Spring are probably the best of the best and you ought to appreciate them for who they are. For that matter, you ought to try to find some less successful males of the same species and watch them for a while. You can always root for the underdog.

Regarding Color: The male bird in the photo is pretty spectacular. The female of this same species is grimly drab brown and does not display or defend anything. This is the general rule among bird species: the males get the fabulous clothes and the females look like bag ladies. Ladies, if it's any help you might consider that it's all work related. Males must attract females to good breeding places and must constantly defend these spots from same-species competition and so they are dressed for success. Hey, at least they aren't laying around watching baseball and drinking beer.

Breeding Behavior: Breeding behavior is so closely bound up with territorial behavior that I won't say much more. The male's color and activity serves the dual purpose of defending the territory from other males and advertising it to females. It is unmistakable in the Spring and you do not need me to describe the songs and dances. You may never see the actual moment of sexual union since it is just that - a moment. Last Spring I happened to see a pair of Western Kingbirds engage each other at the top of a (fortunately) tall Sycamore tree. They spiraled down the length of the tree amid a crashing of twigs and leaves until they broke off just a few feet above the ground and flew away . It looked fairly painful and I hope it was worth it.

Foraging Behavior: Birds have to eat just like you do and foraging is an opportunity for you to observe them because they must move about a great deal. You will learn that foraging behavior is so specific that it can help you identify bird species. For example, Sparrows are seed eaters and forage in bushes or on the ground. Flycatchers, on the other hand, "hawk" flying insects by flying off their perches and snatching tasty morsels out of the air. Woodpeckers do exactly what you would expect and you know where to go in the field guide to find them. Now, feeding is, of course, a year-round activity and is not something you will only see in the Spring. However, it is an activity that is most commonly done in the mornings. You will need to get up early to watch that early bird get its worm. This makes even more sense in the hot summer when birds want to spend the afternoon in the shade as much as you do.

Migratory Behavior: Most - not all - birds fly South in the Fall and return in the Spring. It makes good sense; if you live in Massachusetts you know that the seed and insect productivity of your area falls drastically in the Winter. Obviously an acre can support far fewer birds in the Winter than in the Summer so most birds will have to go or die. This involves legendary feats of distance and directionality. However, you won't actually see much migratory behavior; you will just wake up and find them gone. Oh, well, Spring will come.

Bird behavior is fascinating once you look upon it as an evolutionary and ecological manifestation and get past thinking of birds as cute little feathered people. They are a wonderful creation in their own right. The birds in a given area are part of a larger plant and animal community which functions an amazingly complex organism. Birds are the crown jewels of almost any natural ecosystem because they have the greatest appeal to the greatest number of people and are so easy to identify and observe.