I was driving back from Queretaro a few evenings ago, through an agricultural part of the state. All of a sudden, a portion of the sky turned black. A huge flock of birds, reminiscent of the fantastic Starling displays we see back in England. I couldn't make out the details of any individual birds, but the behaviour and habitat told me all I needed to know. I was looking at about 20,000 Red-winged Blackbirds - nemesis of farmers, due to their ability to rapidly destroy whole fields of crops. I wasn't moaning, though..another bird to my Mexico list.
In other news, if anyone needed any confirmation that the Great-tailed Grackle is the most disgusting bird in the World, check out this picture I took...
The bird was trying to tuck into some kind of snail. It picked it up with its beak, tossed it in the air, rotating its head 180 degrees in the process, and then proceeded to catch the snail and devour it. Possessed? Possibly. An excellent demonstration of avian intelligence? Certainly.
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