Birth Order Explains A Lot
I learned about birth order from watching birds. A lighthearted look at birth order through bird observation.
So as a gift, my wife and I received a birdhouse with a webcam inside of it and a solar cell on top. You mount it outside, and if birds move in, you can watch them lay eggs, hatch, and grow into birds. So cool.
So, I set it up, and after a year, no birds. I moved it to another location closer to our house, and a tiny Wren started to build a nest.
We read online about Wrens. Male Wrens build multiple nests to attract a mate. She then decides which nest she will make home. It is like an HGTV show! She picked the one outside our back door!
We watched one egg appear, then two, then three and finally four. Each day she had one egg. She sat on them at times throughout the day and all night long for about two weeks.
Then they started to hatch. First the one, then the second, the third, and finally the last one. These tiny little, floppy, ugly, closed eye, scrawny things flopped around on top of each other and mother sat on them all to keep them warm (or shut them up) I presume.
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Mother got bugs and started to feed them. When she entered the house with a bug, they would go crazy. We wondered, how does she pick who gets fed? Does she rotate feeding them, so it is fair? Nope. Turns out it is whoever screams the loudest. Gotta love survival of the fittest.
Well, about two to three more weeks went by, and already it was clear to me there was an order. The first-born became the largest first. It sat literally on top of the others. Then the second one got bigger than the third. We could not even see the last-born, they all sat on him. When mom came with a bug, the little one did not stand a chance.
Then came the time to watch them leave the nest. The oldest (who was also the biggest and the strongest) would flap its wings for a few days in the nest. She was getting ready. She would then go through the hole and peek out and look around. Typical oldest. Cautious, calculating, confident. After days of this, off she went. She flew straight away without hitting the ground.
Within thirty minutes, the second-born was like, if she can do it, so can I. Off he went flying well immediately.
The third one was different. She was asking who was going to take care of the youngest. He is just sitting there at the bottom of the nest. She waited with the little one. She even tried poking him with his beak, “come on get up its time to go.” She gave up and just left. She also flew great.
The little guy literally closed his eyes. He was like, it is so nice and cozy in this nest, finally the noisy ones are gone. I think I will just sleep here and now. It is so nice. That mom lady will come back with a bug for me, too. A few hours go by. He says, where did everyone go? Ok, if I have to do this, I will, but I would rather sleep. He jumps. He lands in the grass, though. Flying around a little but not much. He says, “I was so happy in the nest, this sucks, hey do you think I am safe here, crap- I don’t think I can make it back up to the nest– I WASN’T READY!”
If that does not explain it all, I do not know what does!
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