Pak AUDUBON BULLETIN 
Published Quarterly by the 
ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 
2001 NorTH CLARK STREET, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 
Number 54 June, 1945 
Bird Behavior 
By LILLIAN CRAMP 
THIS PIECE about bird behavior, is written from our home in the mountains 
of western North Carolina, and is about our birds here. Location probably 
has nothing to do with their behavior or disposition. Either varies with the 
individual. Feeding them may modify or exaggerate natural tendencies. 
Our song sparrows stay all the year round, and they have come to 
consider the big flat rock in the back yard their special private feeding 
ground. One, especially, does his best to drive all other birds away. I saw 
him spread his wings, open his mouth, and run at a female cardinal. She 
looked astonished, but flew away. Another female cardinal landed just 
then, and, crouching low, she walked toward the sparrow with open mouth. 
She backed him right off the rock to the ground. That particular red bird 
is ill-tempered and quarrelsome. During summer, when the babies are 
being fed, she feeds the little girl babies and father feeds the sons. If a 
small male asks mother for food she dabs at him as though he were no 
relative of hers. Another pair that come to feed, but live in another part 
of the woods, are as sweet-tempered and gentle as can be. If our pair 
happens to see them there is a chase. 
Every spring we have a feud, or triangle, or some sort of robin trouble. 
It is most likely a fight over territory, for I have seen the one that nests 
on my neighbor’s grounds escort mine to the line between the two places, 
then retire to his own side. But at the start of the season the two males 
start at daylight and follow each other around till dark. Now and then 
they fly at each other, but most of the time they just run along one about 
a foot behind the other, panting and exhausted. One day a third male 
joined the feud. My robin was distracted. He made little dashes first at 
one and then at the other. If he turned his back on the newcomer to go 
after the battle-scarred next-door fellow, the new one fiew at him. He 
didn’t know which way to turn. He built eventually in a rose vine under 
our eaves. We didn’t think much of him as a neighbor. The female flew 
off the nest shrieking every time we went outside the door. The male chased 
every bird that flew past. It began to look as though the two robins were 
the only birds we would have that year. He even sat on the feeding shelf, 
hunched up and grouchy, apparently for the sole purpose of keeping other 
birds away. The one nice thing about him is his habit of sitting in the 
top of the tallest tree and singing goodnight to the setting sun. 
Downy woodpecker is one who minds his own affairs, molests no one, 
comes shyly to get a bit of suet, but spends most of his time digging 
raed 
