Where are the (dead) birds?

[asteven221]

There are millions of birds all aound us when we are on land and when we are on the sea. Logic says if there is that many, then the sea/ground should be littered with dead ones? You rarely see a dead bird. So do they vaporise when their life expires?Do they live forever? /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[Kilter]

Here!

 

[jhr]

Where do you think KentuckyMacKingBurger et al get their raw materials from? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Most of the dead birds in our garden (and indeed, dead mice and voles) get carted off by magpies: Mrs jhr refers to them as "the undertakers". Other carrion feeders like crows do their bit as well.

Quite a lot of live birds get converted into dead birds by the sparrowhawks that reside in our garden over the summer but that's a different matter.

 

[Richard Shead]

I was waiting for that...

 

[Kilter]

...you didn't have to wait long! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Major Catastrophe]

[ QUOTE ]
I was waiting for that...

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, he stole my thunder as I was going to link to it.

But, a couple of years ago, I watched a bloke fishing catch a young seagull. After struggling to remove the hook he got out his priest and tapped it on the head. He removed the now dead bird from the hook and chucked it into the sea. Within ten seconds hundreds of seagulls were arguing over the corpse. Eventually one got it and made off pursued by the pack (Flock, for the pedants).

 

[Kilter]

Sorry about your thunder but "flock the peasants" is classist so I'm telling Dan on you!

 

[Searush]

Do you never walk the tide line on a beach? You will usually find a few remnants. but as others have said Nature is very good at recycling animal & vegetable matter. It's our detrius (like plastics) that cause problems.