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Laviolette, Lance (EXP) wrote:
> The foot pattering you describe has been observed in a number of bird
> families. It is also used by members of the heron family and by
> gulls. The behavior is well described for several species in the thrush
> family as well though, particularly Hermit Thrushes. As was already
> suggested, it is thought that for land birds it is used to disturb
> ground cover and startle insects into moving thereby allowing them to be
> more easily caught. For shorebirds the principle is the same, though the
> mechanism is a bit different. Foot trembling on the surface of wet sand
> or mud causes prey items to rise from their burrows/tubes to the surface
> and thus they become available to be caught.
* Wood Turtles also stomp their front feet to bring Earthworms up to the
surface, and I understand that Human fish-bait collectors have machines
to do this for them.
fred.
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Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
Bishops Mills Natural History Centre - http://pinicola.ca/bmnhc.htm
Thirty Years Later Expedition -
http://fragileinheritance.org/projects/thirty/thirtyintro.htm
Longterm ecological monitoring - http://fragileinheritance.org/
Daily Paintings - http://karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/
http://www.doingnaturalhistory.com/
http://quietcuratorialtime.blogspot.com/
RR#2 Bishops Mills, Ontario, Canada K0G 1T0
on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44* 52'N 75* 42'W
(613)258-3107 <bckcdb at istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca/
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