BirdNoir - The Hair Bandit

In this episode of BirdNoir, the P.I. gets a call from someone desperate over a bird stealing a tuft of her precious Pomeranian’s fur. The detective is able to ID the thief, a bird with so light a touch that it can take fur from a snoozing dog without waking it. The motive: nice, warm lining for the bird’s nest.

BirdNote^®

The Hair Bandit

Written by Conor Gearin and Mark Bramhill

This is BirdNoir. I’m Michael Stein, Private Eye.

[Music: Perry Mason theme]

Some birds are simple, hard-boiled predators – hawks, owls, falcons. But other birds come up with some surprisingly crafty mischief. Take this call I got the other day:

Caller: Hello, I’d like you to investigate a theft.

A heist! Anything valuable?

Caller: I’d say so – my precious Pomeranian’s fur! [over the phone: Pomeranian growls and barks]

A Pomeranian, huh! Those dogs do have nice long hair.

Caller: She was napping on the patio when a bird snatched some loose fur right off her back! What could a bird want with dog fur?

First off, what did this hair bandit look like?

Caller: It had a little crest on the head, like a tiny cardinal, but gray.

Of course! A Tufted Titmouse. They’ve been caught on camera all over the country stealing hair from dogs, raccoons, foxes — even people! This fits their M.O. perfectly.

Caller: But why? Are they just out to bother poor unsuspecting dogs?

Not at all — they line their nests with hair to keep their eggs warm. And they have such a light touch that snoozing dogs don’t even flinch.

[Tufted Titmouse song, ML 431862121, 0:21-0:24]

Caller: When you put it that way, I guess my Pomeranian could spare a couple hairs for a baby bird.

[Music]

The Tufted Titmouse – a natural thief. Learn more about the bird world’s con artists on our website, BirdNote DOT org. I’m Private Eye Michael Stein.

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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Content Director: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Tufted Titmouse ML 431862121 recorded by W. Hershberger.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2022 BirdNote September 2022
Narrator: Michael Stein
Caller: Ellie K. Black

ID# noir-08-2022-09-16 noir-08

References
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/birds-steal-animal-hair-fur-nest-ne…
https://www.facebook.com/AudubonFlorida/videos/tufted-titmouse-steals-d…