Stupidest bird in the world

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Australia has this bird called the plover...stupidest bird in the world IMO. They "nest" in short grass, near footpaths, then swoop and carry on when people go near them (*)

Was explaining to my co-workers the other week that every animal appears to have a place in the environment, but these things appear to have no purpose other than being annoying and stupid...I painted an analogy/strawman that they'd be just as likely to nest in a carpark, and then get all uppity.

Was dropping a whole bunch of clothes to St Vincents around lunchtime, entered the carpark, and there was exactly what I'd proposed...Plovers, "nesting" on an asphalt carpark, and getting all squawky at the cars...that little thing to the left is a chick "hiding"



(*) they swoop, coming within feet/inches of your face with their wing spurs, and if they realise that you aren't fearful of that, they drop to the ground and carry a wing like it's broken so that you will follow them and not their nest.

The apologists for these birds consider their nesting behaviour effective at detecting predators...yep sitting in a carpark, that is virtually the opposite colour of yourself gives you a great view of predators...unlike THIS bird, the tawny frogmouth, which I'm quietly confident is also able to see predators.

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They've probably been on earth longer than humans, so they can't be too dumb.

Are these birds only native to Oz, like the Budgie?
 
Oz, New Guinea, and New Caledonia...I've read that they used to migrate to siberia, but stopped doing that and settled down...in carparks.
 
Arctic Skua do that swooping thing too. Not necessarily nesting, sometimes just for practice

Not so funny, because for them it can be a contact sport, and they are quite big. Also tends to happen on clifftop paths, so if the strike doesn't get you the 100m fall off Sumburgh Head might.





Pretty safe from them here though. In fact there seems an almost complete lack of seabirds. Not even any gulls.
 
I've had Aussie Magpies draw blood on me when I was riding to school, laceration behind the right ear...they are nasty. Priest in highschool was walking across the oval, and one lined him up side on, and took him to his knees in one hit...
 
My first guess when I saw this threads title was the magpie. They are pretty dumb and annoying.

With that said, I have to tread lightly here because there might be some Collingwood fans here. No harm intended.
 
Nah, magpies are smart and cunning...unlike Collingwood (I was raised a Bomber's fan, and later had to switch to GWS - although the annual Bombers/Collingwood ANZAC day game was always a good family thing)
 
We have "piping plovers" here that are endangered beach creatures. Off-leash dogs are apparently their biggest threat.

I work on a waterfront and we have this juvenile seagull that just stands in a puddle all day. We walk right by him. Tame! I'd mess with him but have been scalped by an angry mama seagull who was defending an invisible (to me) baby.

Coworkers think I'm a geek, being beat up by a bird. There was a second seagull circling during the incident, giving its tacit approval. I think they're a gang!
 
I think cottontail rabbits only purpose is to feed predators. Drive my dogs nuts and make it hard to take them on walks in early mornings and late evenings. Easy targets for bow and good tasting either fried or baked with stuffing.
 
Around here, we have non-native Canada geese to perform the same function.
They'll meander through parking lots and across roads oblivious to any potential danger.
Saw what I took to be a mother leading some now good-sized chicks across a fast and busy rural two lane one morning a couple of weeks back as I was driving to work. Of course I avoided them. Almost suicidal behavior.
Having found suitable habitat, it appears that at least some of these birds have even given up migrating.
 
Nice pictures- look like eagles in the face
Send them over Shannow
Anybody married knows stupid....... so no big deal
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Shannow - the Killdeer does the same thing here in the US. It can and will lay its eggs on bare concrete and then gets angry at people who go near the nest. It will feign injury to protect the young.

mommy-and-babies.jpg
 
Does doves making an actual nest on my Yaris hood between the wipers base count?

Darn birds, they scratched all my hood.....

The male was dumb enough to not fly when i was 3 feet from him.
 
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We have Snowy Plovers around here. The nest in a "scrape" on the beach and their defense is running away from their nest. Their eggs are sand colored so they get stepped on by beach visitors. There are entire sections of coastline that are close during plover nesting season.
 
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