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<\/p>\nIt wasn’t much of an assist but just the fact that the magpie could\/would do it for so little gain\u00a0amazed me. These three photos are only of mediocre quality but I was happy to get them as\u00a0documentation of\u00a0an unexpected and impressive\u00a0behavior.<\/p>\n
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1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,\u00a0Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n This Antelope Island Black-billed Magpie had been perched on the far left side of the greasewood bush when it took off to my right. There was a flimsy vertical twig directly in front of\u00a0the bird that I didn’t give\u00a0a second thought but the magpie perceived it as\u00a0either a potential obstacle or a tool to aid in quickly gaining elevation and momentum. Or perhaps both.<\/p>\n The\u00a0magpie leaped forward at a steep angle and reached upwards with its foot\u00a0as far as was physically possible to somehow deal with the tip of the twig. It appears that the bird might be about to push the twig out of the way but I don’t believe that’s what happened. Notice that the magpie isn’t even looking at the twig which is below and\u00a0probably past its field of view so at this point it has to rely on memory, quick reflexes and athleticism to deal with the twig with its right foot.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,\u00a0Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n It didn’t push the flimsy\u00a0twig out of the way, instead it appeared to use it as a tool to gain elevation and momentum\u00a0by placing a single toe on its tip and pushing upward and forward. Notice that the twig is slightly bent and pushed backward\u00a0by the weight of the bird. The athleticism, dexterity and spatial\u00a0awareness required to perform that little trick in the wink of an eye without even being able to see it at the moment of contact really impressed me.<\/p>\n The amount of vertical and forward\u00a0momentum gained from such a flimsy twig\u00a0must have been minimal and the athleticism and precision required to\u00a0hit the twig with the tip of\u00a0its narrow toe at the incredible speed of\u00a0takeoff made me do a double-take when I viewed these photos on my screen. Of course in the field I had no idea it had even happened because takeoffs are just too fast to notice such things.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,\u00a0Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II US, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n A split-second later the magpie was on its way and the twig had sprung back to its original shape.<\/p>\n I’m beginning to think that human observers are completely unaware of many impressive displays of athleticism and coordination that occur right before our eyes – and not just from birds. I once photographed a mule deer jumping a barbed wire fence that performed a\u00a0stunt very similar to this one – here’s a link<\/a> of you’re interested.<\/p>\n If you haven’t seen it before I think it’s worth the trip.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n PS – Some viewers might think I’m making a mountain out of a mole-hill by featuring this maneuver on my blog and that’s OK. But little things like this often grab my attention and I find them fascinating. The more we know about our subjects the better, IMO.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It wasn’t much of an assist but just the fact that the magpie could\/would do it for so little gain amazed me. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/black-billed-magpie-0592-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"black-billed-magpie-0592-ron-dudley\\"")
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