I was reading an article on wood storks in the Smithsonian this morning and stopped at this sentence:
“The actual mating takes 15 seconds”
Talk about a quickie! :eek:
And we won’t even go into how they find food.
Every day Zyada, I thank the gods for not making me a woodstork.
[sub]Not that it would have made much difference in my sexual prowess.[/sub]
Actually, quite a few birds have that fast of a copulatory response, and get it back on just as quickly (either multiple times with a single partner, or single times with multiple partners, depending on the species).
Actually, that and multiple partners might have helped this year - breeding numbers and chick survival is waaaaay down at the Corkscrew Swamp Rookery (Naples, FL), what with the drought down here and all. Last couple of years looked pretty promising, but this year has pretty much nearly wiped out the last few years’ gains.
Which issue of Smithsonian is this article in? According to my information here at the office, the average response time on the tacto-location ‘bill reflex’ (snapping the bill shut when a fish is touched) is about 25 milliseconds, making the above-noted 15 seconds seem like a weekend at the Hyatt.
We’re talking one fast bird here.
I’m happy to not be a wood stork but now that I think about it I may have went out with a wood stork. 
screech-owl - The article is in the Smithsonian that I just got in the mail, so February or even March 
And doesn’t running your beak through muddy water until you touch a fish sound like a great way to get lunch? I think I’ll go to Burger King instead.
I’m just so used to reading and seeing stuff like this, it doesn’t seem to bother me (much) anymore. (You ought to see when a stork gets a hold of a baby gator! Ever watch a vulture eat? And guess how the Loggerhead Shrike got the nickname ‘butcherbird’?) Definitely have to pick up that issue, though.
As to dragging your beak through muddy water - quite common in storks and flamingoes. (Sorry for the dry factuals - I’m at work, and this way I can justify my time. :D)
As for Burger King, um, I’ll pass. I’ve seen how they prepare the food there. Brrrr. ::shivver::
“My Dinner With Andean (Condor)” would be much more palatable!