Dinner and Potty Time

Ok, folks... for those of you who get squeamish, this might be a video to pass up on. For those of you who love SCIENCE and NATURE, check it out!

Did you watch the last video with the anole prowling around the wren nest? Well, this time one of the parents showed up with a lizard as dinner for one of the lucky chicks. I am not sure whether it is an anole or a gecko but it's not the anole from the other video... looking back at timestamps, this video was actually from earlier in the evening than the anole's visit.

I know that wren's are one of the birds that change their eating habits when feeding young, switching from seeds and such to live food, but I had no idea that would include something as large as a lizard!

As for the other bit that might make some folks squeamish, yes, after each meal the parents take away a fecal sack from one of the chicks, disposing of it somewhere well away from the nest. Baby bird diapers!

As gross as this may seem, it actually makes sense compared the alternative, a very messy nest. According to this article by the Audubon Society, the practice is not well-understood by avian scientists.  

A Visitor at the Wren Nest

Recently, shortly after one of the parents fed their chicks, the wren nest had a brief visitation from an anole (what we used to mistakenly call chameleons since they often change color to match the background). If there had still been eggs in the nest instead of hatchlings, he might have had a meal. Though as you'll see in the next video, it may be a good thing he didn't come around while the wren parents were at the nest...