Last updated on October 15th, 2022 at 03:02 pm
How do birds respond to the death of their babies? Do they grieve, or do they simply move on?
Birds get sad when their babies die. Ospreys, penguins, pigeons, and jaybirds will perch by their empty nest or the spot where the baby died for long periods, sometimes calling out softly after their lost chick. On the other hand, birds like owls and eagles will eat their baby chicks after death.
How Birds Respond to Death
There have been several known examples of birds living in captivity or under the supervision of researchers who appeared to grieve the loss of a companion or friend.
For example, one duck laid its head down on the body of a close friend for hours following its death.
A swan drowned itself upon discovering an older swan, likely its mother, dead in the water.
Magpies and crows hold funerals for their deceased, circling a dead body for 15-20 minutes post mortem.
Some researchers have attributed these ceremonies to confusion or a need to determine the cause of death, but grief is likely present here as well.
Flock birds, like Eskimo Curlews, respond similarly when humans hunt a member of the flock.
Some birds, however, will move on very quickly from a death. One study showed that birds who lost a mate could pair with a new bird within half an hour of the death.
How Birds Grieve Their Babies
Each bird grieves differently.
Upon learning that its chicks have been stolen, one pair of Osprey parents were caught on camera perched by the empty nest, the mother crying out soft calls onto the land below.
Penguins, pigeons, and jaybirds grieve for days or weeks over the loss of their young, often refusing to eat and showing other signs of depression.
They will sometimes even revisit the place where their chick died as a part of the mourning process.
What Do Birds Do With Their Dead Babies?
Many birds, like pigeons and doves, will push their babies out of the nest once they die. This act protects the rest of the young from having their nest taken over by pests.
If a bird is left to decompose in the nest, it may attract scavengers, flies, and ants.
Others, like eagles and owls, will eat the babies or feed them to their other young before they have a chance to decompose.
Although this may seem harsh, it is an effective way to prevent pests from entering the nest while keeping themselves and their young fed.
Small, non-flesh-eating birds like bluebirds will allow the dead chicks to dry out in the nest, crushed by the living chicks.
This behavior is mainly because they cannot remove the dead birds, and they cannot process bird meat as food.
What Happens When a Bird Loses a Mate?
Some birds will rebound quickly upon losing a mate, or at least pair with a new mate shortly after.
Others will grieve and search for the lost partner for a significant period before moving on to someone new.
Parrots, ducks, pigeons, and penguins are all birds that grieve their lost mates by calling out to them in the hope of a response.
Losing a mate is one of the main reasons birds might become depressed; birds who have lost a mate will often refuse to eat or pluck their feathers.
How Can You Tell if a Bird Is Sad?
We know that birds likely feel the same kind of sadness that we do because researchers have looked at birds’ brain areas, hormones, and neurotransmitters.
And they’ve found similarities in the grieving pathways for humans and birds.
You can also see that a bird is sad based on numerous clues in how the bird is behaving.
Changes in the Brain Associated With Grief
The brain area, known as the hippocampus, is the primary area responsible for emotions like sadness and grief.
Other areas, like the amygdala and the thalamus, also play a role.
Stress reduces the ability of the hippocampus to create new nerve cells, which in turn decreases the total size of the hippocampus and causes depression.
Birds or humans who are stressed are more likely to become depressed for this reason.
Antidepressants stimulate the growth of new nerve cells in the hippocampus and facilitate new neuropathways.
The amygdala is activated when a person remembers something emotionally charged, like something frightening or grief-inducing.
When a person or a bird is sad, there is more activity in the amygdala.
The thalamus links input from the senses to happiness and sadness, so activity here also tells us that a bird is feeling certain emotions.
Certain hormones and neurotransmitters are associated with happiness, which means that an absence of these chemicals is associated with sadness.
These include serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
Outward Signs of Sadness and Depression in Birds
The following are signs that a bird is sad or depressed:
- Loss of appetite and refusal to eat
- Repetitive behaviors
- Feather-plucking (self-harm)
- Small flutters of the wings
- Changes in vocalization
Grieving chickens may tuck away by themselves with puffed-up feathers, but other chickens will come by to visit one or two at a time.
Some grieving chickens will die of the stress and depression associated with a loss.
How To Take Care of a Sad Bird
There isn’t much that you can do for wild birds who are processing grief besides reducing stressors in their lives as much as you can.
By providing food and keeping cats indoors, you can reduce the risk of starvation or predation during a time when it’s difficult for birds to care for themselves.
The same principle applies to domesticated birds. Here, you have more options; you can reduce stressors by moving the bird to somewhere quiet, away from windows.
Speak calmly to your bird, offering their favorite treats and toys to help them cope through the difficult time.
Chickens handle sadness and stress better when they have company.
You should always keep chickens in flocks, and if other members of their flock die, you should consider getting new chickens so that the survivor is not alone.
Just be sure that you bring in the new chickens slowly, as the process of introducing new chickens can also be stressful.
See also our article on how long baby birds stay with their mother.