The cafes birds prefer

Some birds have an eye for leftover food in cafes. Which cafes do birds prefer? Birds, according to new research, prefer eating scraps of food from cafes that they have an ancient relationship with. New Scientist (December 4, 2015) says birds may be doing what their ancestors have done for millions of years.

Paul Haemig, animal ecologist at the Governing Board of Jonkoping Province in Sweden, visited 80 cafes and restaurants in southern Sweden to observe birds eating. He recorded thousands of visits from birds at these restaurants and cafes, mostly Eurasian jackdaws, wagtails, sparrows, and herring gulls.

Naturally, birds prefer al fresco dining (eating outside). Birds prefer relaxed staff with slow service, especially in clearing away food from people’s plates when they have finished eating. So the cafes birds prefer have slow plate-clearing habits. That enables birds to swoop down and eat the leftover food on the plates.

The shape of the food is important too. Eurasian jackdaws prefer long French fries, whereas herring gulls prefer hot dogs.

Haemig noticed only 13 species of birds eating at cafes – out of more than 500 species of birds in Sweden. These 13 species belong to only 5 clades. The white wagtail and the house sparrow, for example, are closely related. They are frequent cafe eaters.

Haemig thinks that the behaviour of birds going to cafes has evolved over time. In the principal clade the behaviour evolved earlier than humans because the species in the clade separated genetically before humans emerged. Therefore he thinks the association between bird and a particular cafe is ancient, stemming from its ancestors. Other scientists think the bird behaviour of eating leftover food is opportunistic, not an ancient association with the restaurant. See it, eat it!

Haemig’s research appears in the Biodiversity Data Journal, DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.3.e6360.

Image credit: Agencja Fotograficzna Caro/Alamy Stock Photo

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28626-birds-prefer-to-eat-at-outdoor-cafes-with-slow-plate-clearing/

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