Signs of Evolution

We were at a Wendy’s in Grants Pass eating our chicken parts and watching the local birds when I observed one of the flock begging for French fries. He (it was a male) was facing the driver’s window of a car just outside of our window when he opened his mouth, puffed out his feathers and repeatedly made a noise like a hungry baby bird (a sound I’d heard before). His plea was successful and the car driver threw him a fry. Then he turned to us and tried the same thing. Obviously his actions were a work in progress as he hadn’t figured out yet that the restaurant windows don’t roll down to allow food to be thrown in his direction.

Needless to say I was fascinated by his behavior and had plenty of questions about how he’d learned to do his little begging routine. Was he just out of the nest when he first tried it? Did he learn it from another member of the flock? Was I watching evolution at work at the local fast food palace?

Next thing you know I was riffing about a new nature show that investigated “The Birds of Fast Food” using scientific methods to track, observe and discover what behaviors were being learned by those birds in their efforts to exploit this plentiful food source. Maybe I should look into getting a grant to do the study myself. Hmmmm.