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Come back to this page each day to read another entry from Frederick R. Gehlbach's almanac of suburban natural and unnatural history, "Messages from the Wild," which chronicles the world of a forested ravine in central Texas.
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Eastern screech owls are roosting in tree cavities and my nest boxes for the first time since last spring. They like to be out in nice weather too, hiding by day in evergreen foliage, but when rain turns into sleet or snow or enemies threaten, inside they go, sometimes together as a snugly nestled pair. Early this morning two crows fly hard on the tail of an owl heading toward a tree with a nest box on the opposite side. The owl does a 180-degree turn around the trunk, directly into the entrance hole that it couldn't see upon approach. It depended on memory (learned behavior) as humans do, causing me to muse about the term "bird brain." |
Frederick R. Gehlbach is Professor Emeritus of Biology and Environmental Studies at Baylor University. His ecological studies have taken him from New Zealand to Slovakia and, in the Americas, from Alaska and Newfoundland to Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. His research interests include the life-history strategies of small owls, small burrowing snakes and urban wildlife ecology.
From MESSAGES FROM THE WILD: AN ALMANAC OF SUBURBAN NATURAL AND UNNATURAL HISTORY by Frederick R. Gehlbach, Copyright © 2002. Courtesy of the University of Texas Press.
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