Collared doves are regular visitors to my garden. I’ve always thought of them as local birds, so I was surprised to discover that the ones visiting my garden may have come from mainland Europe. Collared doves have been known to disperse up to 600 miles from where they they hatch, and they’re gradually spreading north west. ‘My’ doves may well be cooing in French or German.
Tag Archives: fascinating wildlife fact
Fascinating wildlife fact #8: Corvids use ants to get rid of parasites
Wood ants protect themselves and their colonies by spraying threatening creatures with formic acid. Corvids (birds of the crow family) sometimes take advantage of this by stretching out on or near an ant nest and letting ants climb all over them and spray them with acid. This gets rid of any pesky parasites that are bothering the birds.
Wild South 