‘To Kill a Mockingbird’? You Might Want to Think Twice
Hunted and killed for entertainment, food, and even more absurd reasons, birds of all species don’t have it easy. Well, it seems that, for one species at least, enough is enough, and they’re out to level the playing field.
A new study has revealed that North American mockingbirds can distinguish one person from another and that they single out persistent intruders for retribution. Regular encroachment on their territory is met with screeching, dive-bombing, and sometimes even a swift graze across the heads of intruders.
All that just for getting a touch too close to their nests? Imagine what vengeance mockingbirds would cook up if we stuffed them into cramped, filthy cages and barns, like factory farmers do to chickens and turkeys.
Written by Shawna Flavell
