Who Goes There?

Day 96: The time-worn question of "Who goes there?" is a lot easier to answer when the culprit leave other evidence behind. Steller's Jay dropped a wing pinion among dozens of footprinted snow "asterisks" beneath the feeders. Steller's feet are like most birdses feetses: three toes forward, one back. This arrangement makes gripping branches easy, and the more skilled birds like the Corvidae will anchor a seed or bite of other food beneath their forward toes so that they can peck it into edibility. However, the Psittacines (parrots, cockatoos and macaws) have two toes forward, two back, giving them in essence a "hand" with two fingers and two thumbs. Imagine your own hand minus ring and pinkie fingers, but with a spare thumb. You might wind up envying our Psittacine friends their dexterity, even moreso when you throw a beak and nimble tongue into the equation. My Cockatoo could unscrew a nut from a bolt faster than I could twist it back on with my fingers. Putting it back on was a little more challenging for him, but he was perfectly capable of that as well, proving as I knew all too well that Cockatoos are smarter than Crows, especially this one.