Birds are the source of amazement to an observer with their intricate from, color and behavior. They are so diversified in forms and habits that they are a constant source of pleasure to those who happen to watch them do things.
In many ways birds are like us. Birds rely a great deal on sight and sound just as we do. We communicate our feelings, whether good or bad, through speech. Vision offers another dimension to our perception of the environment.
We may be delighted or horrified by a sight. Thus sight and sound have a tremendous impact on our behavioral patterns. Similarly, sight and sound perceptions of a bird may evoke varied responses to different situations. To watch them react to and act according to different conditions of life may not only be interesting but instructive as well.
Mobbing
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Let us consider a behavioral pattern of birds called mobbing, and observe this in crows. They continuously harass some preying birds such as kites, eagles, buzzards, hawks, owls etc. Sometimes crows gather in groups and harass a prowling cat or crawling snake by their raucous calls and by hovering around it. How can this behavior of crows be interpreted? Man also raises an alarm when he finds that a thief is scaling the wall of the house.
There are other birds besides crow that raise alarm calls upon seeing their enemies. The alarm calls of different species are similar in terms of importance of the message they are supposed to convey. It is interesting to see how different species of birds raise to the occasion to meet a common threat posed by their common enemy. What is more interesting is that while making alarm calls all these different species of birds do not make themselves visible enough to be easily spotted. In this they ensure their protection from the enemy. However, how birds have to invite their mates for courtship and breeding they make themselves visible and noticeable while making a making call.