Posted on 11/02/2020 8:51:02 AM PST by Red Badger
(Courtesy of Bill Combs Jr.)
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It’s a scientific fact. Just like some people who lack the means to get from place to place on their own, relying on others for rides, hitchhikers exist in the animal kingdom too.
There’s the ray-finned remora fish—also called the “sucker fish” because of its suction cup dorsal fin—specifically adapted to latch onto sharks, to ride and feed in a symbiotic relationship.
Less well documented is the small Egyptian plover bird, or crocodile bird, which is rumored to perilously clean the reptile’s teeth by feeding on decaying scraps of meat inside its mouth.
A bird riding aloft another, larger bird though?
That’s hardly a common, or expected, sight. But a wildlife photographer based in upstate New York saw just that, and captured the moment vividly on camera.
(Courtesy of Bill Combs Jr.)
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On July 9, local nature photographer Bill Combs Jr. posted on Facebook photos he took of a red-winged blackbird making a mid-air landing on a bald eagle that would make Top Gun’s Maverick look like child’s play. The aerial acrobatics occurred over Cobleskill Reservoir in Schoharie County.
The bald eagle was flying over the water clutching a fish it caught in its talons.
Then the red-winged blackbird appeared from above and landed on the airborne eagle.
A stunning display.
Gonna hitch a ride
Head for the other side
Leave it all behind
Never change my mind
Gonna sail away
Sun lights another day
Freedom of my mind
Carry me away for the last time
Wonder if that’s Huginn or Muninn hitching that ride?
or
could be Heckle or Jeckle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckle_and_Jeckle
Conservation of energy.
Reminds me of the Australian Oomie-Goomie Bird..................
I think it’s part of an attack.
When I was young, I used to watch blackbirds vs river hawks when the hawks came into their terrain.
The article says it’s a fish and it looks like a fish to me. Fish are the normal food for Bald Eagles, not RWG’s.
Fish.
Hadn’t heard that one before. Only been to Australia once.
Cool picture and the eagle appears to be banded.......
LOL!.............
The Oomie-Goomie Bird:
The oomie-goomie bird has balls that hang down 14 inches. Unfortunately, his legs are only 12
inches long, and whenever he comes in to land, you can hear him cry, “Oooh, me goomies. Oooh,
me goomies.”
looks like a fish to me.
The bald eagle was flying over the water clutching a fish it caught in its talons.
Looks like the eagle is banded.
I wonder though, was the blackbird actually hitching a ride, or was it attacking the eagle?
Totally. Nonsense headline. You see smaller birds swooping on predatory birds all the time. The photographer just happened to snap a photo (or freeze frame a video) at a particular moment.
Should we walk or take a dog?
Is that O bama pestering the USA ?
Kind of unrelated, but in a small open area of the frozen Detroit River I watched a Redhead duck and a mallard fighting over a perch. Being a diving duck, I’m sure the redhead caught it. Each duck chased and grabbed it from the others’ bill a half dozen times. Finally a seagull swooped in and stole it. Kind of a lesson for life.
What kind of bird is in the eagle’s talons?
It’s a fish...................
Hey pal, going uptown ? Mind if I catch a ride ?
Hawks, Eagles, golfers, Foxes all get attacked by these things.....
we had one dive bombing us at my home course for weeks on end this spring
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