Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!rpi!sci.ccny.cuny.edu!christ From: christ@sci.ccny.cuny.edu (Chris Thompson) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: Robins attack my windows! Message-ID: <1990Apr7.222125.5375@sci.ccny.cuny.edu> Date: 7 Apr 90 22:21:25 GMT References: <4950003@hpcvca.CV.HP.COM> <1990Apr4.215834.3480@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> <261D04DA.4173@deimos.cis.ksu.edu> Organization: City College of New York - Science Computing Facility Lines: 43 In article <261D04DA.4173@deimos.cis.ksu.edu> hansen@harris.cis.ksu.edu (Steve Hansen) writes: >In article grp@magpie.unify.uucp (Greg Pasquariello) writes: >... >>In article <1990Apr4.215834.3480@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> rcb33483@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Kehaar) writes: >> >> An interesting side note is that Robins seem to be aware of this instinct, >> because they will deliberately avoid facing each other breast-to-breast >> on communal feeding grounds (where many Robins get together to feed together)! >> >> R. Cody Buchmann ^.^ >> >>This is an interesting observation. I never really noticed it before, but now >>that you mention it, it seems somewhat obvious! Next flock of robins I see, >>I'll have to look for this. Thanks. >> >>-Greg > >There may be another explanation for such behavior. They could be facing in >different directions simply because any two robins are more likely to be facing >in different directions than towards each other. Additionally, they may turn >in a different direction to avoid feeding in the same area as another robin. >Have you conducted an experiment or controlled observation to determine the >reason that the robins point in different directions? If not, do you know >of a paper which documents such research? Just curious. > >Happy birding, > >Steve Hansen, Manhattan, Kansas >hansen@harris.cis.ksu.edu Also, there is an increased chance of one bird spotting an approaching predator, if they're facing in different directions. Likely, though, as in many other cases, it is probably a mistake to ascribe only one reason for any trait an animal exhibits, since natural selection works on the entire organism. So it's probably a combination of everything we can think of, plus a few others! Chris -- "Never count a human dead until you've seen the body. And even then you can make a mistake". -Lady Fenring