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Father Birds
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The male hummingbird leaves the female to build the nest and raise the young alone, but other father birds are more involved. A Peregrine Falcon father shares duties almost evenly with the mother. (Stewart, seen here, nested on a Seattle skyscraper for many years.) But the male Emu of Australia tops them all. He remains alone on the nest for nearly two months, never leaving the nest for any reason. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, feathered and otherwise! |
BirdNote®
Father Birds
Written by Ellen Blackstone
This is BirdNote!
It’s Father’s Day, so let’s take a look at avian “fatherhood.”
[Anna’s Hummingbird wing sounds] After his initial involvement, the male hummingbird has nothing more to do with the family. In fact, the female may move away from his territory, because he can be so aggressive [Anna’s Hummingbird wing sounds].
Then, there’s the Peregrine Falcon father, which shares family duties almost equally with the mother [Cakking of a Peregrine]. He helps incubate the eggs. And after the young hatch, he brings food for the entire family for three weeks. When the young Peregrines fledge, Dad is right there with Mom, coaxing them to fly and teaching them to hunt on the wing. [Cakking of a Peregrine]
But the Emu of Australia… that’s the drum-like sound you’re hearing…[Call of an Emu] Now, there’s a father! [Call of an Emu] The male Emu makes the nest. The female lays her eggs, but then abandons the male, to begin again elsewhere. The male remains on the eggs for nearly two months, eating and drinking almost nothing, never leaving the nest for any reason. And the father may stay with the young emus for up to two years [Call of an Emu].
BirdNote wishes a happy day to all the fathers out there, feathered and otherwise. For BirdNote.org, I’m Michael Stein.
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Bird audio provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Anna’s Hummingbird wing hum recorded by A.A. Allen. Peregrine Falcon call recorded by G. Vyn.
Audio of Emu foraging recorded and provided by David Stewart, www.naturesound.com.au. (Emu: Dromaius novaehollandiae)
Producer: John Kessler
Theme music composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson chrisp@birdnote.org 206-724-2714
© 2012 Tune In to Nature.org June 2012 Narrator: Michael Stein
ID#061507fatherKPLU father-01b
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mourning doves
Sat, 2012-06-16 21:08 — Sydney BrooksI have these mourning doves near me, at the north end of Gilham Rd, that have a different coo from the usual one we are all familiar with. Do you know anything about this. It is definitely a cooing, not a call.
Could they be Eurasian Collared-Doves?
Fri, 2012-10-19 11:46 — ellenbSydney, we're wondering if you might be hearing Eurasian Collared-Doves. They've definitely arrived in the Northwest. They have a simple, repetitive call -- some people might even say it's tiresome. Check them out here: http://birdnote.org/show/eurasian-collared-doves-they-have-arrived
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