One of the most fascinating things about "Birding" is studying individual birds and their habits of life. While out mowing and blowing (never ending job) this morning, I began to think about the cardinal story I wrote yesterday and a sight that I saw about a year ago.
All the "Books" say that the cardinals mate for life-so when you see a pair there is a good chance they have been together their entire reproductive life. The male has certain duties as does the female. A clear division of duties is established and adhered to and it is rare to see the exception to these patterns.
The male cardinal is a proud and beautiful bird. If you observe them during bathing at your birdbath, you will see him preening and fluffing. He truly seems to be full of himself. In sharp contrast, the less beautiful female blends into her environment. They seem careful and almost shy, especially when the bold male is present.
One of the rituals you observe is the male feeding the female just before mating and before she lays her eggs. It is a sweet sight to behold. The male tending to the female seems almost a natural order in nature.
While watching this sight, I saw something that astonished me and gave me pause to think. The male I was watching had two females he was feeding at the same time. Totally out of the natural order and quite the sight to behold. He seemed torn between which to feed. At times one got most of the attention and then he would drift back to the other-almost like he could not bear to not have them both.
Where did this lead? Who ended up with the "Redbird"? It occurred to me this morning that it was very possible that all three ended up alone. The ambivalence of the male could have possibly led to his lifetime mate as well as the "new female" flying off. "Oh, the tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Mother Nature or Male Greed-you decide.
_________________________________________________________________
It was in the low 50's this AM when running our 5 miles. It is SO NICE to start with a shiver and not be pushing through air so thick and hot that it could qualify for a sauna. It is much easier to get enough air, when the air is cool and seemingly thinner. I took almost 4 minutes off my Monday time-but that is no brag since Monday was "Snail Pace".
3 comments:
Males...they are all the same (haha)!! It did feel good outside the am - a nice surprise! I have been out of my morning exercise routine for TOO long, maybe the cooler air will motivate me!
That is so interesting! Hasn't this weather been wonderful? I had to breakout the longsleeves for Jackson.
Bird watching. You, James, you.
Post a Comment