Two days ago I spent 75 minutes near a small, isolated tree in a remote area of northern Utah trying to photograph male Lazuli Buntings at war with each other.
I’ve been perplexed and curious about something I watched this pelican do for over six years now. But the purpose I tentatively propose for the behavior I documented in these photos seems more than a little far fetched so I’ve never brought it up. Until now.
After twelve years of photographing birds and paying particular attention to their behaviors it isn’t every day that I witness a ritualized aggressive behavior that’s new to me. But it happened yesterday at Bear River MBR with a couple of Great Blue Herons, seemingly on steroids.
Western Kingbirds are noted for their persistent belligerent behavior. This is one of nine different aggressive displays bird behaviorists have identified in the species.
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