Look at what I got the pleasure of awakening to this morning.

[Pika...]

So I am stuck at my mother's couch until I can get another apartment, and last night I left the shutters open (leaving me looking straight outside if I was awake).

This morning I heard a noise as I woke, which I had not heard in about two years. I uncover my head and there they were:


http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/IMG_20111213_102932.jpg



Then they mugged me of my bread. :3


http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/IMG_20111213_103008.jpg

[Maxios]

What type of bird are they?

[Pika...]

Cranes I believe.

Otherwise known as the Crow Loudly Until You Give Them Bread birds. :smallamused:

[Ravens_cry]

Whereabouts do you live? Because they look rather like Whooping Cranes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whooping_Crane)

[Dr.Epic]

I had a feeling this would be really cute or really disguisting.

[H Birchgrove]

I'm sorry for being a bore, but you shouldn't feed birds with bread. It upsets their stomachs and provide no nourishment for them.

[Pika...]

I'm sorry for being a bore, but you shouldn't feed birds with bread. It upsets their stomachs and provide no nourishment for them.

:(

I feel so bad now.

What should/can I give them?

And can someone confirm this? :(

[Eldan]

In the wild, they'd eat fish, snails, small reptiles, crustaceans, various other small animals and aquatic plants.

That said, they can also eat grains and berries.

[H Birchgrove]

:(

I feel so bad now.

What should/can I give them?

And can someone confirm this? :(

Heard it from an ornitologist on TV. Considering that ducks and cranes don't eat wheat in nature/the wild, I find it logical. I haven't been able to find a source on the Internet claiming the same, but better be safe than sorry.

I dunno about "larger" birds like ducks and cranes, but smaller birds should generally get a mix of seed (like sunflower) and fat (suet or tallow). The more fat the better, since they need the energy, AFAIK.

Here are some links I've found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_food

(Always be skeptic toward Wikipedia, and look after the sources if possible.)

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/attracting/feeding/food_pref

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/attractingbirds-otherfoods *

*
Leftovers

Some birds eat bread and other leftovers. Moldy or spoiled food may harm birds, and table scraps are far less likely to provide nourishment for native songbirds than for invasive starlings, pigeons, and House Sparrows, along with rats, mice, and raccoons.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/attractingbirds-seed

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/solve/index.php?sc=migration

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/learn/feeding/index.php

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/learn/feeding/dodont.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crane_%28bird%29 *

*
Feeding

The cranes as a family consume a wide range of food, ranging from animal to plant matter. When feeding on land they consume seeds, leaves, nuts and acorns, berries, fruit, insects, worms, snails, small reptiles, mammals and birds. In wetlands roots, rhizomes, tubers and other parts of emergent plants, other molluscs, small fish and amphibians are also consumed as well. The exact composition of the diet varies by location, season and availability. Within the wide range of items consumed there are some patterns; the shorter-billed species usually feed in drier uplands while the longer-billed species feed in wetlands.[2]

Cranes employ different foraging techniques for different food types. Tubers and rhizomes are dug for and a crane digging for them will remain in place for some time digging and then expanding a hole to find them. In contrast both to this and the stationary wait and watch hunting methods employed by many herons, they forage for insects and animal prey by slowly moving forwards with their heads lowered and probing with their bills.[2]

Where more than one species of crane exists in a locality, each species will adopt separate niches in order to minimise competition and niche overlap. At one important lake in Jiangxi Province in China the Siberian Cranes feed on the mudlfats and in shallow water, the White-naped Cranes on the wetland borders, the Hooded Cranes on sedge meadows and the last two species also feed on the agricultural fields along with the Common Cranes.[2]

[Seerow]

Whereabouts do you live? Because they look rather like Whooping Cranes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whooping_Crane)

Don't know about him, but they look just like the cranes that are all around central Florida, where I live.


Edit: And I doubt it's whooping cranes, because these cranes are darker than those ones. The face also looks different.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I'm sorry for being a bore, but you shouldn't feed birds with bread. It upsets their stomachs and provide no nourishment for them.

Just that? I thought it made them explode! :smalleek:

[H Birchgrove]

Just that? I thought it made them explode! :smalleek:

Please explain. Do you remember from where or whom you heard it? :smallconfused:

[llamamushroom]

Nah, birds explode from eating rice - it's why you can't throw it at weddings anymore.

And that is an awesome sight to wake up to - I am green with envy. :smallbiggrin:

[Kindablue]

Just that? I thought it made them explode! :smalleek:

No, that's firecrackers. It's an easy mistake to make.

[Rising Phoenix]

Hello all,

They are Sandhill Cranes, very nice :). I love the trumpeting cranes make, reminds me of changing seasons :). Did they dance for you?

Whooping Cranes are larger and are white rather then grey (juveniles are rusty orange).

Also feeding birds bread is generally considered 'bad' for them generally because it can give them/aid the transmission botulism (sp?) and other diseases. The other 'bad' thing about bread is that it cannot be found in nature. Apart from this, there's no real bad reason not to feed bread to birds. Just don't overdo it.

Feeding birds in general is also considered 'bad' because it: makes them dependent on humans for food (which by an large is not true, birds will forage for their natural food with hand outs being a supplement), tames them which can lead to idiots harming them, spread disease, makes a mess, causes accidents, encourages rats and other vermin, annoys neighbors (cranes are loud) etc.

All of the above can easily be easily avoided though and here are some tips of the top of my head.

1) Feed birds in a safe area. Songbird feeders should be placed closed to cover, out of the reach of cats
2) Clean your feeding area thoroughly and frequently. If you begin getting ill birds, remove all feeders and cease feeding until they are gone.
3) Try to feed in the afternoon thus forcing the birds to forage for their natural food before they get your handout.
4) limit your handouts
5) A reliable source of water is actually better in the long run for attracting birds to your garden. Just remember to clean it frequently
6) Bird scape your garden! Nest boxes are a lot of fun.
7) Try not to tame birds. Though you have good intentions, not everyone does. That said hand feeding birds is very much a zen experience (for me) (also I live in cities were birds are more or less tame anyhow)
8) Attracting birds to your garden will also attract their predators. Expect frequent visits from your local hawks once the news of a reliable food source is out there.

Edit: As to what you can feed Cranes: Grain will do. But as I've said before they can be VERY loud (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAqcpMEoLa0).

[Asta Kask]

rice does not explode birds. (http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/birds/a/wedding_rice.htm) It's an urban legend.