Chris Merkord Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 A cedar waxwing shares a buckthorn berry with his potential mate. The cedar waxwing in the photograph is giving his intended mate a courtship gift, a buckthorn berry. I suppose you could say the berry is synonymous with an engagement ring. In this case, however, she’s not getting a diamond. She’s getting cut glass. Worse yet, the gift probably will give her diarrhea. Bad start on his part. Birds eat the very abundant berries. They are a “fairly good source of carbohydrates,” according to John A. Litvaitis, professor of wildlife ecology at the University of New Hampshire. But, he wrote in an e-mail, there are ornithologists who consider the berries junk food because they have a low fat content. That would make them poor food for chicks or a pre-migration diet. View the full article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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