I was just wondering to myself why dont we see more dead animals around? I live in an area that has a high number of birds but i hardly ever come across a dead bird. Do they go to a bird graveyard to die?
just a curiosity i have.
Many animals will seek a safe hidden place when they are feeling sick.
If you walk a dog frequently, dead birds, mice, toads, etc can be a problem, as they will sniff them out. The dogs like to either eat them and then throw up on your rug, or roll in them and stink up the place.
Basically, humans that live in cities are pathetic when it comes to seeing nature. I can see deer and fish that other people will take 2-3 minutes to finally see after I point them out…and I know people who see game much better than I do.
I have never ever seen a turtle where I live, yet one day our terrier was playing with a small one (still alive) in the back yard. I moved it to a place with lots of cover and no dog access. It is probably still in that area of the yard, but I haven’t seen it since, and it has been a couple of years.
Well, I guess it depends where you live Ben. On the highways near my residence there are plenty of dead magpies, galahs and cockatoos, as well as the odd raven and parakeet, all hit by cars unfortunately.
I imagine that birds dying of ‘old age’ are in the minority, and that when they do finally cark it and fall of the perch (so to speak) there are plenty of other predatory birds and animals to gobble up the carcasse. Unless you spend a great deal of time traipsing through forests, grasslands or other avian habitats, you’re most unlikely to see the deceased 'uns up close. Clustered feathers are a dead giveaway but!
Cheers
kam
I’ve seen dead birds by my house, on streets in the Chicago Loop (hawks are messy eaters, and birds that crash into skyscraper windows tend to plop onto the sidewalk) and when mowing lawns. Perhaps partly it is a matter that most of a dead bird consists of feathers, which detach rather quickly, and natures scavengers make quick work of the rest. The resulting skeleton is very light and fragile, and is easily destroyed. Thus, bird carcasses don’t remain around as long as those of larger, more substantial animals. A filthy, matted, wet bird carcass with feathers, though, can also be mistaken for some other form of debris (this has also happened to me while mowing lawns) until you get right on top of it.
I saw a pigeon fall dead out of the sky the other week, it scared the crap out of me. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen anything like that.
Scavengers.
When I catch a mouse in my basement, using a spring trap, I put the carcass in the bird feeding area on my stone wall. Crows and foxes think that is a gourmet meal, and it is gone within minutes.
I didn’t even know a pigeon could blaspheme.
Seriously, I see a lot of dead animals, birds included. This weekend we were walking the dogs and had to skirt two piles of bones and feathers some predator(s) had scattered in the grass.
Recently I’ve been noticing an appreciable number collecting in one part of our yard; right by the birdbath. We’ve had 5 Blue Jays, usually what appear to be young adults, gather on or near the saucer and look rather feeble. They either don’t move at all when I approach or hop down to the ground and make a weak attempt to gain cover. Within a few hours or a day they’re dead.
When I see this I put on gloves, grab a ziplock, bag them, put 'em in the spare freezer and call Animal Control. While they don’t make me party to their test results, I’d be surprised to learn it was anything other than West Nile.
I live in the country and I see them regularly. I even posted this past spring that there was a dead blue bird (of happiness) on my front lawn - is that an ill omen?
I walk or run almost every day and I see dead animals pretty frequently.
Seriously, its takes less than a day for a carcass to be scavenged.
Very few critters are actually vegetarians, give them the chance to munch something else and most will.
I was waiting to cross a busy street in Boston once when a bird landed on my shoulder. Obviously, that isn’t normal but it just sat there for a few seconds while I wondered what was going on and then it took off and flew straight in front of an incoming car like it wanted to commit suicide (which was very effective if that was the intention). There was an explosion of feathers and not much else. The poor thing basically didn’t exist at all after that. The feathers blew away quickly and that was the end of it. Birds don’t have much mass at all. They just go poof.
I see dead birds all over Chicago, robins, blackbirds and especially pigeons. It’s hard to walk under a bridge and not see a few dead ones
You don’t see many dead birds here in Tel Aviv. You do, however, see plenty of large, well-fed cats walking around. Coincidence?
I gotta back that up. When I was over there a while back I was seriously impressed with the crazy-ass number of wandering cats.