I finally had to disagree with my buddy about the whole 'birds aren't real' thing

I mean, he was dead serious about it being a government drone program, but come on. Idk, maybe it's just me, but after watching birds in my backyard for years, that theory just doesn't fly.

4 comments

4 Comments

willow_lane1mo ago

Consider their social behaviors, like mourning or play. That's evidence from before drones even existed.

kevinking1mo ago

Last spring, I watched a group of squirrels in my local park. They were chasing each other up and down trees like kids playing tag. One even faked dropping a nut to trick the others. It made me think about how much we miss in their daily lives. That kind of playful trickery seems pretty smart for a small animal. I remember telling my friend about it and we both got into watching birds do similar stuff.

david7031mo ago

But is that play really a sign of smarts, or just hardwired stuff? @kevinking seeing a squirrel fake dropping a nut is wild, makes you wonder.

margaret7361mo ago

Honestly david703 has a point though. We see a squirrel do one cute trick and suddenly they're planning their next chess move. It's probably just an instinct they have, like birds building nests. We love to put human smarts on animals but most of the time it's just basic survival stuff. I'm not convinced a fake nut drop means they're sitting around thinking up pranks.