(The most social) bird of the year: why superb fairy-wren societies may be as complex as our own
January 9, 2022 9.02pm EST
One mystery many biologists want to solve is how complexity develops in nature. And among the many social systems in the natural world, multilevel societies stand out for their complexity. Individuals first organise into families, which are members of bands, which are organised into clans.
At each level, associations between components (individuals, families and clans) are structured and stable. In other words, individuals within families usually stay together, and families usually interact with other specific families in a predictable way, to form stable clans.
Such social organisation has probably characterised much of human evolution (and is still common among many hunter-gatherer societies around the world).
In fact, multilevel societies likely played a fundamental role in human history, by accelerating our cultural evolution. Organising into distinct social groups would have reduced the transmission of cultures and allowed for multiple traditions to coexist.
More:
https://theconversation.com/the-most-social-bird-of-the-year-why-superb-fairy-wren-societies-may-be-as-complex-as-our-own-171494
fairy-wren
‘Tiny little balls of pure joy’: why the superb fairywren took our 2021 Australian bird of the year
With their glorious blue plumage, these common urban birds have been a comfort while we’ve been at home during the pandemic
Angela Heathcote
Fri 8 Oct 2021 15.00 EDT
‘The way they hop around with their tails aloft, it gives them attitude and makes them seem cheeky.’ A superb fairywren. Photograph: Auscape/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
Angela Heathcote
Fri 8 Oct 2021 15.00 EDT
The Guardian/BirdLife Australia 2021 bird of the year poll ended with the superb fairywren coming out on top.
While at first the victory had me crying “beauty contest!”, it speaks to our desire for small moments of joy in our daily life, as we’re restricted to the confines of our own homes.
Superb fairywrens, with their glorious blue plumage, can be seen darting between the dense shrubbery in the gardens and parks of almost every Australian capital city.
For the superb fairywren voter and urban ecologist Kylie Soanes, they’ve been a comfort throughout the pandemic.
“I’ve been seeing a lot of the posts on Twitter saying ‘Oh it’s a common bird. Why couldn’t something more special win? They’re not even the best fairywren’,” Soanes says. “But they’re these tiny little balls of pure joy that have managed to hang on in our cities and delight as they flutter past you on your way to work or you see them hopping around a train station. They’re always busy.”
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/09/tiny-little-balls-of-pure-joy-why-the-superb-fairywren-took-out-2021-bird-of-the-year
= new reply since forum marked as read
...flutter past..."
Not only very beautiful but sophisticated.
Thank you, Judi.
Thank you, Duppers, for taking the time.
Uh, oh, I went to find a photo of a Blue Jay with its head feathers in the relaxed position, found an interesting article, too!
First off, there are multiple photos, and there's an explanation in one of the articles that they don't have pointy heads when they are moulting, which hadn't occured to me.
THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT BLUE JAYS
Posted on September 28, 2012 by farlane
The All About Birds entry for Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) says that these birds are known for their intelligence and complex social systems. Here’s a few facts – click above for more:
Thousands of Blue Jays migrate in flocks along the Great Lakes and Atlantic coasts, but much about their migration remains a mystery. Some are present throughout winter in all parts of their range. Young jays may be more likely to migrate than adults, but many adults also migrate. Some individual jays migrate south one year, stay north the next winter, and then migrate south again the next year. No one has worked out why they migrate when they do. Their fondness for acorns is credited with helping spread oak trees after the last glacial period. Blue Jays are known to take and eat eggs and nestlings of other birds, but we don’t know how common this is. In an extensive study of Blue Jay feeding habits, only 1% of jays had evidence of eggs or birds in their stomachs. Most of their diet was composed of insects and nuts. The Blue Jay frequently mimics the calls of hawks, especially the Red-shouldered Hawk. These calls may provide information to other jays that a hawk is around, or may be used to deceive other species into believing a hawk is present.
More:
https://michpics.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/things-you-may-not-know-about-blue-jays/
This is all new to me! Yikes.
here in Texas I like to toss them peanuts in the shell each day and they have been known to sit on my patio railing and scream loudly if I forget or am delayed!
My godmother in England sent me an email with a picture of a blue jay from the internet, asking me if I had ever seen one of these beautiful birds, I said all the time!
hopping, and flying around!
I haven't seen a cardinal in years. 
Which is the most colorful bird I've ever seen - outside of our zoos here.
I like jay's, too. Haven't seen one in years either. For a sec I thought also a small jay in that photo.
Thanks for those flights of joy.
