Tail of the large plate
A natural demagogue
Dicrurus paradisaeus is very eye-catching – not only in life, but also when reading the list of species. As a medium-sized bird, the large disc tail is smaller than that of a crow, but its tail feathers are very long, especially the outer pair of tail feathers are extremely elongated, and the shaft of the feather is exposed, and only the tip part has a feathers shaped like a spatula. When flying, the decorations on the tail feathers fly uncontrollably behind the bird, as if they have their own soul. The tail of the large plate is black with a metallic sheen and uneven crown feathers, which looks like freshly washed hair. The eyeballs are red and the short, powerful beak is curved downward. Through the above description, you must have some awareness of the image of the end of the big market in your heart. If you think the tail of the market is not easy to provoke, then you are right.
It lives in the forests of most of Asia and is usually clustered with other birds, so it is fairly easy to find. It seems that group life has been integrated into its life. In the morning, the big pan tail will act as the "boss", making loud calls and mimicking the sounds of the species it wants to attract to summon members. In some areas, the pantail specifically summons the grey-headed noisy snipe (Garrulax cinereifrons) and the jungle thrush (Turdoides striata), both of which have their own populations. The large pantail that is deeply attracted by these two birds makes a "beep ~" sound to imitate their songs and chirps, and adjusts the height of their arboreal in time, just to get closer to these two species, as if crazy stargazing fans. In Sri Lanka, the stargazer at the tail of the large plate is the orange-billed thrush (Turdoides rufescens); And in Malaysia, it seems that woodpeckers have an irresistible attraction. No matter where he is born, Opanio seems to like to have birds in his company.
The logic behind this strategy is clear: the tail of the plate is a commensal forager, which means that they will always covet the "plate meal" of other birds. When insects hiding in the leaves are turned over by other birds that "fight the front", the large tail will take the opportunity to eat. Instead of searching for insects in the vegetation, Opanwei chose to observe the movement in the treetops. The birds will constantly turn insects out of their hiding places, while the large tail of the small plate that watches the birds' movements from the sidelines will profit from it. Sometimes the pantail also follows mammals, such as primates, squirrels, and other animals that forage on the ground.
Often, the relationship between the large pan tail and the forager is equal and mutually beneficial. The invited birds gather voluntarily to forage and are unable to coerce them. These birds know that having a large tail around them is also good for them. As a good hunter standing on a perch, Opantail has a very keen eye, so other birds will immediately respond to its alarm. What's even more peculiar is that the tail of the pan sometimes emits a species-specific siren, as if it is the guardian of those species. Not only can it act as a sentinel, it can even attack predators. There are about 20 species of birds in the capuchin family, and the large pantail is one of them that is very bold and aggressive, even in the face of huge opponents. Large birds of prey, crows, monkeys and even humans are sometimes attacked by the tail of the pan. It has been recorded that during one ongoing struggle, a large pan-tailed horsebill pecked on the back of a two-horned hornbill (a two-horned hornbill is not a bird of prey, but occasionally preys on the eggs or chicks of other birds). Under such thoughtful protection, the birds in the forest do not mind the large pantail integration into the flock.
However, the determination of the heroes of the tail of the market should not be overestimated. Even the most admirable heroes have flaws and sometimes even succumb to temptation, and the tail of the big pan is no exception. It should be admitted that sometimes the tail of the market takes advantage of relationships with other members, and the deception is very clever.
Think of yourself as a big tail that has just had a bad day. Maybe it's because you keep missing the insects that fly in front of your eyes; Perhaps it was the lack of beauty that caused everyone to go hungry. When this happens, it's not hard to imagine that instead of picking up leftover food from other birds, Big Pantail will instead steal directly from their mouths – as many birds do. Considering that Big Panwei is notoriously aggressive and is usually larger than their foraging partners, it is surprising that in Sri Lanka Tai steals only 3% of its total food. What's even more surprising is that the way the big tail steals is clever and ingenious.
They use a distraction approach. Sometimes, the tail of the pan will make a sharp cry to stop the foraging bird, and then take the opportunity to pick up the food dropped by the frightened bird. Other times, the call of the pantail is deceptive: upon discovering that a species is carrying a large piece of food, the pantail mimics the alarm sound of that species, even though there are no predators around. This can also cause the birds to run away in fright, leaving food behind. This is the trick that the tail of the big plate uses to steal food.
But it's clear that setting a precedent for false alarms isn't necessarily a good thing for the end of the market. This ruse is repeated too much and is likely to backfire. Because once victims recognize the scam, they no longer react to false alarms or even heed the call of gathering at the end of the market. So deception can only be used sparingly, no matter how effective it is.
In most cases, large pantails do more harm than good for small foraging birds. A small amount of stealing and spoofing is a small price to pay for the protection afforded by the tail of the market.