More Copycatting

Last month I reported a singular epidemic of behavioral copycatting at my southeast side hummingbird nectar dish. One by one various species have learned a trick originally devised by a Carolina Chickadee to cling to the support pole of the feeder, tip upside down, and drink from the ant moat. This week it appears that the American Goldfinches have joined the party. In fact recent BirdCam photography suggests that the hummingbirds are not the dominant users of the feeder! This all serves to demonstrate that songbirds are very observant of other species' behavior and are perfectly capable of learning new tricks. It makes for some entertaining viewing!