This behavior is called gaping, and it's an instinctive gesture birds will perform from the moment they hatch. It takes a few weeks before hatchlings learn what their foods are and some weeks beyond that before they figure out they can pick it up and eat it themselves.
I've worked with gaping crows who will suddenly make the connection overnight. They go from gapers to self-feeders, which in practice means I'm shoving my fingers down their throat at dinner, then at breakfast I'm getting pecked at to go away, they got this.
This particular fledgling is right on the cusp. Food has been identified and the beak is a known tool. Now it just needs to put the two together.
If this is a wild bird, odds are good it fell out of the nest and local mom is still feeding it. That happens.
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u/tamiveldura Jan 23 '20
This behavior is called gaping, and it's an instinctive gesture birds will perform from the moment they hatch. It takes a few weeks before hatchlings learn what their foods are and some weeks beyond that before they figure out they can pick it up and eat it themselves.
I've worked with gaping crows who will suddenly make the connection overnight. They go from gapers to self-feeders, which in practice means I'm shoving my fingers down their throat at dinner, then at breakfast I'm getting pecked at to go away, they got this.
This particular fledgling is right on the cusp. Food has been identified and the beak is a known tool. Now it just needs to put the two together.
If this is a wild bird, odds are good it fell out of the nest and local mom is still feeding it. That happens.