What would happen if an adorable 3-day old gosling was placed between two wire enclosures, one containing a sibling, and one containing a same-age gosling from another clutch? Would the baby bird recognize its brother or sister and patter over to its relative?
The answer: yes… at least as often as dentists recommend sugarless gum*. In four out of five trials, the little puffball sidled up to its sibling rather than a stranger’s young’un.
There’s one catch. The youngest goslings (ages 3–9 days) prefer groups. Even if it’s a group of unfamiliar goslings, the little bird almost always waddled over to an unknown group rather than a single relative. By 15 days old though, the youngsters reliably reunite with their kin, no matter how small their family.
p.s. I created this image at an awesome carbon dust workshop, coordinated by GNSI-Carolinas, this weekend. Marlene Hill Donnelly from the Chicago Field Museum was our fearless instructor – she’s wonderful!
*Radesäter, T. 1976. Individual sibling recognition in juvenile Canada geese (Branta canadensis). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 54(7): 1069–1072
Terrific drawing! Love the way you captured the light.
Thanks! (although I think the sun deserves most of the credit)
How lovely! The bird looks so soft. 🙂
Thanks Hanna! It was a perfect medium for the fluff.
This is beautiful and I love the story…..we always find our way back home. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks Laura! My draw-a-bird is very late. 🙂
And totally worth it! I’ll add your artwork into my roundup post! Glad you joined us!
Draw a Bird Day May: Bird Art Roundup! | Create art everyday
Wonderful to see your bird – so well done.
Thanks for being a part of draw a bird day too!
Gwyndolyn’s nest: Part 3 – Myr's Bytes
I clicked on the link at Mrs. Byte’s and found you here – I am very impressed by the gosling, and I like the way you handled those hints of background. I know carbon dust lends itself to this look, but it requires such close attention to detail! It’s not easy – very impressive! Now I have to click the link in your post, too –
Thanks, Blue! The instructor deserves the credit. It was a great workshop.