According to this report in the Palm Beach Post, UF researchers have discovered that mockingbirds on their campus are able to recognize individual humans who have posed a threat to their nest. It’s very interesting reading; check it out! Since hyperlinks tend to die after time, I’m quoting some of the most interesting bits after the jump…

The mockingbird research, published last month in the on line journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that birds nesting on UF’s campus could distinguish between regular passersby and students who had purposefully touched the birds’ nests several days in a row.

Even when the students wore different clothes and came from different directions toward the nests, the mockingbirds would single out students for attack who had previously touched their nests, while leaving innocent bystanders alone.

This behavior shouldn’t startle anyone: many a backyard birder has stories of birds growing accustomed to their (and only their) presence at their feeders;

The study came about when UF student Gustavo Londono and others were conducting other research on mockingbirds around campus. The students realized that mockingbirds were singling them out for an assault.

“I’d be walking with 10 students and I’d be the only one getting attacked,” said Londono, who believes the birds even recognized his bicycle. “I’d park my bike far away and they would be coming after me.”

The study cost just $1000, or even less, to conduct because students volunteered. The only technical equipment used were cameras to document the attacks.

Conducted last summer, the research involved the same students walking up to mockingbird nests and standing near them for 30 seconds. For 15 seconds they would gently touch the nest.

After just the second day, Levey said the birds recognized the home invaders, flushing from their nests as the students approached, giving more alarm calls and flying aggressively.

When a different student approached the nest, the mockingbirds didn’t flush until the last moment.