apothecary Posted August 22, 2007 So the last couple of nights, we have found this bird sleeping in our Brugmansia. It appears to eat the many many green caterpillars that feast on the juicy leaves and proceed to seriously zonk out for the night. My friend gently shook the leaf it was resting on; the bird stuck its head out, gazed at him for a second and went back to bed! First time I ever saw an untrained bird let a human without food get that close? The Brug is on our front porch type area and we often have the light on for whoever is coming home late, but this bird doesn't seem to mind sleeping in the bright light at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted August 22, 2007 he he, thats hilarious. Paint him a mustache as long as he´s asleep :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nothinghead Posted August 22, 2007 That's great!! Wonder how she feels in the morning. What kind of bird is she? Wish some would come and clean the bugs up off mine, they go to town on it every night. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
transDiMenTional Posted August 23, 2007 ive always wondered about the green caterpillars eating my brug. was tempted once to dry and smoke them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XipeTotec Posted August 23, 2007 thats a great story, although, maybe the bird doesnt respond because it has no head!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foolsbreath Posted August 23, 2007 thats a great story, although, maybe the bird doesnt respond because it has no head!!!! Um My friend gently shook the leaf it was resting on; the bird stuck its head out, gazed at him for a second and went back to bed! But yeah, I think the caterpillars require further investigation. I wonder whether they just sequester the alkaloids, or whether they alter them to make them more useful as a sleep aid? That would be cool! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SaBReT00tH Posted August 23, 2007 thats a great story, although, maybe the bird doesnt respond because it has no head!!!! Haha, reminds me of the movie 'Dumb and Dumber' with the blind kid. 'Pretty birdy, pretty birdy' That bird sure would be handy for pest control on a Sally, LOL! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kakti Posted August 23, 2007 Hehe that's awesome I too wish a bird would come eat some of the caterpillars on my Daturas Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MORG Posted August 23, 2007 What kind of bird is she? Hehe, cool. Your own resident pest manager. She looks like a noisy miner. Hard to tell from that angle though... where's her head?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted August 23, 2007 you all mention caterpillars but in my (brisbane) experience, it's grasshoppers that eat the hell out of them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shruman Posted August 23, 2007 "First time I ever saw an untrained bird let a human without food get that close?" A couple of months ago we were driving past a cricket oval which has eucaypts & pine trees scattered around & I saw a tawny frogmouth so we pulled up the car & got out to have a look I took my son over to check him out we even got a few pics of me holding him & him pointing at it he opened his mouth after he poked him a couple of time but it was pretty cool. Tawnies are notorius for this kind of behaviuor their method of defence is to not move try & blend in & be as iconspicuos as possible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
apothecary Posted August 23, 2007 My friend (who shook the leaf) works in a State Forest and does bird watching tours and stuff reckons it is a miner of some sort. It sort of folds/tucks its head into its feathers when asleep, I assume to reduce its 'birdlike' profile to bigger predator birds or something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
apothecary Posted August 23, 2007 That's great!! Wonder how she feels in the morning. I usually don't leave the house until midday-one pm at the earliest being quite nocturnal these days, but 'she' is always gone when I go out there during the day. Wish some would come and clean the bugs up off mine, they go to town on it every night. I have certainly never seen a bird behave like this, despite as you say, the hojillions of cateplliars/snails/bugs/whatevers that come out night and day to feast on our Solanaceous plants Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nothinghead Posted August 23, 2007 Interesting, my chilli's, datura and tomatoes seem to never get eaten... although grubs go for the capsicum leaves a bit, it's the brug they really love at my place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PD. Posted August 25, 2007 First time I ever saw an untrained bird let a human without food get that close? Very strange indeed apoth, miners are usually jumpy lil fellas, the noisy miners here are like a warning signal for the other birds when there is a predator or human in the area. he he, thats hilarious. Paint him a mustache as long as he´s asleep :-) Remind me to never pass out if EG is around. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lampy Posted August 25, 2007 thats great! i want one i also have many holes and munched leaves on my brug, found out the other day after looking real close that it was some kind of flourescent green caterpillars. They are really good at camouflage Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
apothecary Posted August 25, 2007 found out the other day after looking real close that it was some kind of flourescent green caterpillars.They are really good at camouflage Yep that's the one. They are hard to spot because when they start eating they are quite small but by the morning after they are seriously like 200 times bigger. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted August 25, 2007 It sort of folds/tucks its head into its feathers when asleep, I assume to reduce its 'birdlike' profile to bigger predator birds or something. Birds [and some other animals] do that to increase the amount of CO2 the inhale which helps to relax muscles and induce sleep. I do it with my doona sometimes and it works great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mu! Posted August 25, 2007 Increased inhalation of CO2 also brings about altered states of mind too, or so i'm led to believe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted August 26, 2007 Birds [and some other animals] do that to increase the amount of CO2 the inhale which helps to relax muscles and induce sleep. I do it with my doona sometimes and it works great. one of those animals includes humans, i allways used to pull my bed sheets over my head as a child and kept breathing the air sealed off by this methode. it seemed to relax me and who knows in some ways it was my first mind and body alternating experience. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites