1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in <\/em><\/p>\nYesterday morning on Antelope Island\u00a0I found this Black-billed Magpie hunting “bugs” on a bison’s back. Bison\u00a0fur tends\u00a0to be infested with a variety of insects and magpies often include them as part of their omnivorous\u00a0diet.\u00a0Magpies\u00a0are known for their symbiotic relationship with wild and domestic ungulates and often glean ectoparasites from their fur.\u00a0Ticks are one of their favorite delicacies but they’re definitely not fussy.<\/p>\n
Occasionally I see this magpie behavior with the bison on the island but I’ve seldom been able to photograph it. Sadly the shots I got of this\u00a0bird as it actually\u00a0pursued insects buzzing around\u00a0didn’t include a catch light so I haven’t included them\u00a0(and I’m not particularly fond of\u00a0this\u00a0catch light either\u00a0because it’s\u00a0so close to the front corner of the eye) but I still enjoy seeing magpies on a\u00a0living, furry perch.<\/p>\n
I’ve deliberately cropped this image to include more of the bison which places the\u00a0bird fairly high in the frame.<\/p>\n
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But a different crop of the same image shows what the magpie was after – small flying insects of some unknown (to me) species that heavily\u00a0infested the bison’s fur. This bird definitely has its eye on them.\u00a0I was just a little surprised that the magpie would go after such small prey but….. food is food.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/bison-6681-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"bison-6681-ron-dudley\\"")
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And here’s a look at the entire furry perch. As is typical of these situations the big bull\u00a0completely ignored the magpie on its back.<\/p>\n
Ornithologists suspect that magpies deliberately swallow hair when they land on the backs of cattle and wild ungulates as an aid to pellet formation so perhaps this\u00a0one had a fur ball or two for dessert.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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I tend to like unusual perches even when they’re of the furry kind.<\/p>\n
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