Instinct for Survival

Okay, so for those of you who came back from yesterday to hear about the Grosbeak getting its head stuck in the feeder, this is it.
I have some squirrel-proof bird feeders that work pretty well. A plastic hopper is encased in a metal grid which is suspended by springs. Small openings allow birds to get a seed, but if something as heavy as a squirrel jumps on, the metal grid restricts access. Oh, they might get a seed or two, but they have to jump off and on again before the hopper will release more seeds.
There are few things in life that are more satisfying than watching frustrated squirrels.
Two of these feeders hang outside the window, eye level, so I have a great view of dozens of birds. This year a large population of grosbeaks nested near. Grosbeaks are smaller than robins, but bigger than finches. Two of them can perch on the feeder at once, but if a third shows up, the hopper closes. Which wasn't what happened when one got its head stuck yesterday.
I was standing here, writing a blog about quizzes and surveys on Facebook, when I glanced up to see a young grosbeak- you can tell a lot about them by their coloring. This was a young female- was reaching in to fill its beak with seeds when another one landed on the other side. This was enough to shift the weight. The metal grid closed over the bird's neck in a choke hold. The bird on the other side that could still reach the seeds was oblivious. Before the struggle turned from comic to tragic, the captive bird fluttered its wings, lifting it enough to frighten the bird on the other side. Then sweet release. The spring tightened and the bird popped its head out.
I guess it isn't hard to survive with a bird brain as long as instinctive behavior takes up a few neurons.
Now maybe tomorrow I will get back to my phishing issues.
Nancy Sherer