Bird Brain

[Gunnyart]

Can anyone explain why for the last six months this bird has been flying into the windows on my house? Not the same window mind you but at least three different windows. Nearly everyday for 10 minutes or so.

[SaltwaterSlick]

Don't know, but I have a Cardinal that does it hours at a time on my home office window... not hard. He just flies up and kind pecks at the window... I can only think he's seeing himself in the window and doing a little shadow boxing...

[Gunnyart]

Don't know, but I have a Cardinal that does it hours at a time on my home office window... not hard. He just flies up and kind pecks at the window... I can only think he's seeing himself in the window and doing a little shadow boxing...

That's about how this one does too.

I thought it might be something like seeing his reflection but he'll do it on either the sunny or shady side of the house and it's too cold to be catching bugs.

[waterdog]

Cardinals and Robins are very territorial birds. When birds see another of the same species in its breeding or feeding territory, it instinctively attacks the other bird.

Your house or cars windows act as mirrors to the birds.

When they are close enough to see their own reflection, they interpret this as an intruder and begin attacking or pecking at the window to chase the intruder away.

[pyrobow]

Cardinals see there reflections as competing males. I had problems with them attacking my truck mirrors constantly. In the spring I have seen them knock them self's silly flying into windows so hard.

[Gunnyart]

Picture doesn't show it well but I think it's a mockingbird

[Radar]

A few years ago, I drove out to my farm and parked my pickup by the gate and was going to walk to my tree stand. While I was getting ready at the truck a mockingbird began flying around my truck and would land on the hood and peck at my windshield. Then it flew off and came back with Hackberry seeds in its beak and would stick them on my windshield. I walked off and came back later on and that crazy bird had put Hackberry seeds all over my windshield, side glass and back window. I reckon it thought it was a feeding another Mockingbird.

[jerp]

There is a crow that visits me at work about once a week. He lands on the ledge outside my window and pecks at his reflection so hard I think he is going to break his beak. He then dances around and poses for about 10 minutes while looking at himself. Not sure what he gets out of it but it is amusing to watch.

[justletmein]

There's lots of superstitions with birds, especially ravens doing stuff like this. Quick google search yields some random thoughts:

When a bird flies in the window you may encounter an obstacle in your life soon.

Birds flying into windows (house or car) are also supposed to bring news of death. Birds looking in the windows or tapping at windows can mean a death is coming.

http://arts.pallimed.org/2008/10/bird-hits-window.html

[tex4k]

It also depends what the window is reflecting, I get several kamikazee dove deaths per year from them slamming into my large west facing windows in the evening.

[mrc]

Looks like a Mocking bird, we used to have one that would sit outside the back door and try to intimidate our dog in the house. He would peck the window and ruffle his feathers.

[RifleBowPistol]

Are you burning something in the house? Where I used to live years ago, every time I started welding or using a cutting torch, anything that produced smoke in the garage. A cardinal would start flying into the screen window screen, repeatedly. When I quit welding or using the torch and the smoke completely went away, the cardinal would go away.

I always figured it was some instinct that kicked in, the bird was panicking, thinking there was a brush fire. It would be dumb, I would think to fly towards a fire, but the bird seemed panicked when there was smoke going out through the window screen. If I actually caught something on fire, the bird would about kill it's self slamming into the window or screen.

Other bird problems we used to have at the same house, was every car that was parked in the driveway. Some bird, I think a cardinal again, would sit on the door, see it's reflection in the mirror, then peck the mirror repeatedly, fly into the mirror. Then sit on the door at the bottom of the glass and crap all over the door.