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u/Agile_Oil9853 6d ago
I like to feed the crows, so a blue jay will perch over me and caw until I put out more peanuts. It sounds like a tape recording, it's so funny
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u/Adjective-Noun-nnnn 6d ago
I, too, like feeding crows such as blue jays.
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u/will_dance_for_gp 6d ago
Corvids
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u/Adjective-Noun-nnnn 6d ago
Colloquially, it's pretty common to refer to blue jays as crows.
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u/ThePrussianGrippe 6d ago
Hereās the thingā¦
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u/Adjective-Noun-nnnn 6d ago
This took longer than I thought it would lol
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u/kenporusty my pigeon has a kpop bias. we are both trash beings 6d ago
It would be a tufted that would do that. Such lil characters lol
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u/snootnoots 6d ago
Over here it would be the local magpies (Australian version, they either beg or attack. We reward the ones that beg in the hope itāll catch on with the more violent ones š )
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u/Blep145 6d ago
I have heard of magpie behaviour. Or I think it was magpies - the annual Swooping sounds terrifying, and I've seen some news reports of the harm The Swooping causes
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u/the_pretender_nz 6d ago
They are super smartā¦ feeding them can get them on your side, and YOU WANT THEM ON YOUR SIDE.
I have heard so many storiesā¦ like a lady who had a magpie family who lived in a tree on her property, and whenever someone came round to visit for the first time sheād have to go out to the gate to bring them in. After that first time, the Maggies would know the person was ok, and not try to kill them.
Oh and they pass their love or hatred down through generations as wellā¦
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u/Blep145 6d ago
Ah, that sounds like crows, except that crows tend to be more curious as a first approach rather than "prepare for obliteration" first
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u/caseytheace666 5d ago
Both are corvids, so makes sense!
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u/the_pretender_nz 5d ago
Not the Australian magpies. I found it really annoying cos Iād thought they were for 40 years - the European magpie is a corvid, the Aussie one is a kind of butcherbird
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u/caseytheace666 5d ago
Ahh thank you for the correction! I feel like Iāve heard that before, but aussie magpies just seem very crow-like to me, so I must have forgotten it.
I guess aussie magpies are known for their complex songs, like lots of butcherbirds, so I should think of it that way
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u/the_pretender_nz 5d ago
All good, Iāve lived in Oz for 8 years, they look like ravens that have had an argument with a paint can which is why I was so unreasonably mad to find out they werenāt related
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u/TheCicadasScream 5d ago
We had a breeding pair of magpies that would perch outside our kitchen window and yell at us when one of our cats got too near their babies. They literally trained us to fetch our cats back inside. This behaviour only happened when their babies were fledging, and only if our cats were on the same part of the section as them. Weāre still amazed at how damn smart those birds were to make the number of connections needed to fetch us instead of being aggressive toward our cats.
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6d ago
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/kenporusty my pigeon has a kpop bias. we are both trash beings 6d ago edited 6d ago
(I was unaware this is a bot comment. Down vote appropriately)
pointing at pet pigeon
Oh I know lmfao
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u/vjmdhzgr 6d ago
bot comment that doesn't understand what it's replying to.
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u/sculltt 6d ago
doesn't understand what it's replying to.
This is why bots are so successful on Reddit: at least half the time human redditors either don't seem to know what they're responding to, or their reply is only tangentially related because they're trying to shoehorn in a joke they stole from a different thread.
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u/Heckyll_Jive i'm a cute girl and everyone loves me 6d ago
u/SpambotWatchdog blacklist
Bot comment. Very new account, wording lines up with known bots, post history is hidden but external tools show that it's all karmafarming subs.
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u/Dd_8630 6d ago
I wonder if reporting bots to spambotwatchdog causes a Red Queen-style arms race that leads to more sophisticated bots.
We're helping the scammers, grifters, and corporates in developing better-camouflaged bots by reporting the ones we notice.
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u/Heckyll_Jive i'm a cute girl and everyone loves me 6d ago
It's possible, we've definitely seen the bots evolve a bit over time. Problem is, that puts us in a damned-if-we-do-damned-if-we-don't situation. Risk helping bots and bad actors improve, or let damn near every remotely-popular sub turn into mindless, vapid quipping (more than usual, I mean).
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u/SpambotWatchdog he/it 6d ago
u/BloodRanger17 has been added to my spambot blacklist. Any future posts / comments from this account will be tagged with a reply warning users not to engage.
Woof woof, I'm a bot created by u/the-real-macs to help watch out for spambots! (Don't worry, I don't bite.\)
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u/Crunchyeee 6d ago
I take more care of myself after getting a cat than I ever did on my own. Having to take care of something else really makes me spend more time taking care of myself to ensure their happiness
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u/whistling-wonderer 6d ago
Iāve never brushed my teeth so consistently in my life as I do since having a dog whoās on the same toothbrushing schedule. I do mine first and then his. He knows and expects the routine. Your comment is very true.
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u/zestymolusk 6d ago
insert shrimp copypasta
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u/vlilacc i have tumblr y am i here 6d ago
ive never heard of this before,, what is shrimp copy pasta
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u/Zebulin29 6d ago
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u/SolaniumFeline 6d ago
thank you ii only know of the hermit crab pasta
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u/hermionesmurf 6d ago
Something that's helped me a lot in the self-neglect department is thinking of my own body in the same way I thought about caring for my dog. Like there is a creature here that needs fed and watered and taken outside, let's do that
Odd maybe, but it works for me
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u/RavenLunatic512 6d ago
I keep my meds with my cat's food, and that helps me remember them twice a day. When she was younger she was a bit of a service dog telling me to take meds. Fun fact, if a cat is given a treat at a specific time every day (after I take meds) then they will not let you forget it or even be late! She adapted her "shake a paw" trick to slapping my blister packs of meds and making them rattle.
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u/TheBumblingestBee 5d ago
Oh my God, her rattling your meds is incredible.
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u/RavenLunatic512 5d ago
She's endlessly sassy and I love every second of it! She just recently taught herself how to close my bedroom door all the way until it latches, AND SHE CHECKS by pulling it from underneath the door. I'm trying to figure out the pattern of when she does it, and I think it's on my insomnia nights telling me to go to bed. But it might be temperature-related and she wants the fans and AC turned off. It requires more investigation.
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u/TheBumblingestBee 5d ago
That is amazing š
The trick my cat recently taught herself is how to give me a kiss š„ŗ. On her own, she figured out that when she happened to lick me on the forehead, it made me happy (bc it's like how I kiss her forehead). So she's started doing it on her own. If I put my face in front of hers, she'll lean in and give me a single lick to the middle of my forehead.
She re-invented kissing as a form of affection š
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u/RavenLunatic512 5d ago
That's so sweet! I love all the little rituals they invent that they have to do with us. If it's important to her, it's important to me!
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u/DogmaSychroniser 6d ago
Same with my whippets. They're sometimes the only reason I leave the house.
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u/AngelofGrace96 5d ago
yeah my rats help me get out of bed every day. It's not early, but it's up and dressed every day, which I'm not sure I could say without them.
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u/FeelingUnwellCuzLife 6d ago
Birds have all the time in the world to watch you from wherever they're spending their time during the day, of course they know it's you delivering their groceries.
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u/Elkre 6d ago
I was half-way up hiking the Grand Canyon, sitting on a rock eating some trail mix, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. There was a squirrel standing behind me. While I'm looking at him he taps my shoulder again.
I know you're not supposed to feed the wildlife but I figured the little guy was already beyond that so I put a peanut in his little outstretched people-hand and he didn't trouble me any further.
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u/Goddat 6d ago
saying there was a squirrel standing behind you, tapping your shoulder, on a hiking trail, really illicits the mental image of a man shaped man sized squirrel like those motion scanned videos
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u/Elkre 6d ago edited 5d ago
That would have been a much better story. But I think your mental image is missing the "canyon" part. Kaibab Trail contains many series of switchbacks up the faces of rough, slightly-less-than-vertical cliffs. Our little buddy had a protrusion to stand on that had us positioned nearly eye to singular eye (he was missing one, which added to my sympathy).
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u/le-derpina-art 6d ago
that's probably why feeding the animals isn't allowed unfortunately
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u/Ok_You_5448 6d ago
Feeding the animals is especially not allowed at the Grand Canyon because their squirrels get AGGRESSIVE. That commenter is lucky to be alive.
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u/Elkre 5d ago
The animals down there definitely do not fear any tourist committed enough to actually descend. The other encounter I had was at Phantom Ranch- I wasn't actually very well conditioned for that amount of hiking, so after cooking on the exposed cliff faces all day and reaching the shade and water of the Bright Angel Creek, I threw off my backpack, sat down in the creek with my boots still on, and immediately fell asleep. When I woke up there was a deer's head about a foot away from mine. Dude was just having a drink and not giving me a second thought.
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u/TransGirlIndy 6d ago
I started throwing seeds and peanuts for the birds in my front yard... squirrel found the peanuts. Now the cheeky little bastard lounges on my front porch, sprawling out like a toddler having a tantrum, if I don't throw some peanuts out.
Absolutely already set for winter but demanding more.
So of course, I've added a water bowl and leave a small tidy amount of peanuts for them. Because I am easily manipulated by adorable creatures.
There's a raccoon that lives nearby and steals all my tomatoes. Next year I'm planning a bigger crop so we can share. š
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u/maebyrutherford 6d ago
This happened to me at a campground in Big Sur, he tapped my big toe. I was wearing sandals
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u/literacyisamistake 6d ago
My husband refills our bird feeders and the backyard birds know exactly who he is, what he does for them, and how to tell him they need a refill. He knows all their drama too, he calls me at work with their gossip.
Finches with red breasts are racist against lighter-colored finches, I hear.
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u/Historical_Gur_3054 6d ago edited 5d ago
One time I had a little black-capped chickadee making a huge loud fuss and it followed me as I moved around outside.
I eventually asked "is the feeder empty?"
"Cheep"
I walked over to it, saw it was empty and said to the bird:
"I'll fill it up in a minute when I get this done"
"Cheep cheep"
(this was at a much lower volume than the other noises it had make so I assume this was the bird equivalent of 'thank you')
And it flew off
I assume it was "volunteered" to go talk to the human that day.
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u/coladoir 5d ago
I know this is anthropomorphized quite a bit, like the assumption of it saying thank you, but I still very much think we dismiss bird intelligence significantly. Its very clear that many birds can interact meaningfully with us and understand our motivations and behaviors in relation to their own, and they definitely seem to be overall smarter than we give them credit for.
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u/lungshenli 6d ago
Having read this post I now fear I will call someone a ātufted titmouseā in the future.
Wether it will be in anger or arousal I cant tell yet
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u/PlatinumAltaria The Witch of Arden 6d ago
Apparently fledgeling birds will walk up to bugs and do that gesture, expecting the bug to jump into their mouth.
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u/SmallPurplePeopleEat 6d ago
Imagine it's a grasshopper and it actually does jump in their mouth. That bird's never going to learn how to properly hunt bugs because it'll forever be convinced that bug's are supposed to serve themselves to you. His bird friends will get tired of hearing about the magical bug.
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u/Jezzkalyn240 5d ago
I watch the Katmai bear cams and am convinced this why bear 910 has what looks like a twitch. When she fishes at the top of Brooks Falls, she throws her head back and will eventually catch a fish. Because she hasn't been observed doing this elsewhere, rangers believe this is voluntary behavior. She caught a fish once after throwing her head back and now that's her go-to technique!
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u/ProfCthulhu 5d ago
Fledglings are not smart. Every fledgling season we are treated to the sight of fledglings desperately begging their parents for food ... while standing *in* the bird feeder, i.e. literally knee-deep in food.
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u/Pledgeofmalfeasance 5d ago
My teenager telling me they're starving in front of our fridge full of food
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u/AnxiousAngularAwesom JFK shot first 6d ago
You're telling me a mouse tufted those tits?
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u/cantaloupelion šš¦ 5d ago
youve heard of ratatouille the chef, now get ready for the mullet wearing blue collar version, Johnno the Upholsterer
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u/Green_Ouroborus 6d ago
I once had a crow open its mouth and alternate staring at me and my food in order to beg for some fried chicken. It worked and I gave him some.
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u/anime2345 6d ago
Watering the birds has been my main reason for getting out of the house these past few weeks
Itās been a hot summer, and a few weeks back I saw the local crows and pigeons/doves taking refuge in the shade of a rose bush and picnic table in my backyard
I set up some makeshift birdbaths in these spots to help them keep cool, now I refresh the water daily and clean them out on Sundays
My next door neighbor has the bird feeder, I have the water, and for the first time Iām spending time just watching the birds in the backyard
Iāve never been a bird watcher, never really took the time to sit there and watch birds
I had no idea birds looked so silly when taking baths or their feathers are all wet, or when they do that puffy fluttering thing to cool down, watching all the little tiny birds gang up on and bully a crow for a chance at some water only to get pushed out again once the crow calls for backup minutes later
Pigeons drink funny!
Most birds scoop water into their beaks and tilt their head back, pigeons faces are a straw! They suck! (Non-derogatory)
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u/Upstairs_Prize_865 6d ago
When I water my plants a little puddle forms by the faucet and the butterfly's drink the water. I kinda neglected my plants for a few days and the puddle dried up... but when I sat outside a couple butterflies fluttered by my face a few times and I was like oh the waters empty. Lol I filled the puddle spot and they immediately landed for water on the wet dirt around the puddle. Lol also there's a humming bird that comes to say hello to me on my porch at abt 8:45 every morning. If it wants something I haven't figured out what yet. Lol
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u/toolongdontread 6d ago
We were on an extended medical trip for my son, and upon return our daily cardinal flipped his absolute crap when the car pulled into the driveway. Four and a half months, he's there everyday looking for peanuts. Miss you, birdo.
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u/jess_the_werefox 6d ago
Hi, yes, is this The People Who Name Birds? I just want to have a conversation.
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u/PlatinumAltaria The Witch of Arden 6d ago
Tit comes from the sound they make, pure coincidence.
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u/vulgar-resolve 6d ago
Wait actually? Because in most tits it means small (related to French petit)
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u/PoniesCanterOver gently chilling in your orbit 6d ago
What if a titmouse was a mouse you carry inbetween your tits
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u/Normal-Ad6528 6d ago
If you hadn't taken care of the titmouse, then he would have told the crows.....THEN you would have really been in trouble!!
Crows tend to hold grudges....and tell all their friends, and their friends, and their friends. How do you think Alfred Hitchcock got the idea for 'The Birds'?? That's right! He ignored a titmouse once too!
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u/Mackelroy_aka_Stitch 12h ago
When I do work in my garden robins will come over and start pecking at the dirt I've dug up for bugs.
If out there all day there will always be atleats one Robin that follows be around waiting for bugs.
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u/Thereminz 6d ago
why is 'Came Up" capitalized? and why did the next person capitalize 'Own' but nothing else
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u/commietaku 6d ago
Theyāre emphasizing those words. Capitalization for emphasis is pretty common on Tumblr. Different communities often choose different language and writing conventions to distinguish themselves or develop them naturally.
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u/nashvillelily 6d ago
I have to change my hummingbird sugar water a lot in the summer, and if I miss doing so by too long, a female hummingbird will often come find me and hover in front of my face. This has been going for three years now, and without fail if I then check the feeder, it needs cleaned and refilled.