A Little Bit More
Be sure you don’t confuse the “bill-vibrating” behavior we’re discussing here with that of herons that use “bait fishing” behavior to catch food. The Green Heron and Black-crowned Night Heron both have been reported using bits of food to draw fish close enough to catch, but the bill-vibrating doesn’t use any food at all!
Until fairly recently, there were only a few animals that we knew about that used tools or something akin to tools. But as we’ve learned more and more about animal behavior, we’ve begun to realize that tool use, or “special” behaviors designed to accomplish various goals, are more common than supposed.
How an animal learns some of these impressive behaviors and then passes them on isn’t well understood but animals can and do learn – we’re not the only ones. No one is sure exactly what the herons are trying to mimic with the bill-vibrating but scientists’ best guess is that they mimic the struggles of an insect on the water. In any case, it seems to work and night herons are able to improve their catch by doing so.
When people think of herons, the night herons (Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned in North America) usually don’t come to mind. Although these birds look more “dumpy” and may not seem very heron-like, they are definitely herons. Ornithologists speculate that night herons are active at night, which reduces competition with other kinds of herons. The Black-crowned Night Heron is more of a fish eater and the Yellow-crowned Night Heron is more of a crab eater but both will take whatever they can find including, rodents, snakes, birds, eggs, and at times even some plant material.
Activities
Tools
Objectives: Understand that humans are not the only tool-using animal
Materials: Internet or library access
Tool use in animals is quite amazing. As more and more indepth studies are conducted on animals, more is being learned about animal behavior and tool-use is just one behavior that we’re learning about. Have your students use these internet sites listed here to help them get started. Students should be able to find out about some of the different animals and the tool use they have. Students can make a written or verbal report on their animal, or draw their animal actually using a tool.
Incidentally, the bill-vibrating isn’t really tool use so don’t confuse this behavior with tool use for this exercise.
Tool Use in Animals:
Key Concepts
Predator/Prey Relationships, Identification, Behavior and Regulation
Questions
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Posted by Hannah Bailey on March 14, 2005 at 01:28 PM
Q: If a wood frog is frozen in layers of ice, how does it get oxygen?
A: Very good question! To begin with, since the frog is frozen, it needs very, very little oxygen to maintain life. What little it may need can be acquired directly through the skin from the surrounding tiny air spaces in the soil. Just because a frog is frozen, doesn't mean it is frozen solid in a cake of ice. This would make an especially interesting area for someone to do research on. Who knows, maybe someday you will! Hope this helps. Thanks for your question.