So we have the world’s greatest bird feeder, with a birdy Zagat rating of 5.0, right outside our window where we can watch the traffic over coffee.
Mrs. B. reported this to me, and then I saw it this morning: a titmouse, hovering like a hummingbird, then lighting on one of the perches and still fanning its wings hard, all the while with its beak wide open. The Mrs said he was emitting a high pitched warble, but amid our usual debate about who has better hearing I heard nothing. (I have some very high-frequency hearing loss, at about 17k and up). Frankly, it looks odd and disturbing, like some kind of illness reaction.
Some searching hasn’t turned up a definitive answer. Is this behavior normal, and what does it signify if not mental or other illness on the part of this titmouse?