"Do
you think most robins bounce their babies a little when they fly off the
nest? Can this hurt the eggs or nestlings?"
Most
robins actually bounce their babies MORE than these robins do, because
most robin nests are on branches of trees, which bounce a lot more than
a ladder does! This has been happening for so many thousands of years
that baby robins are designed to live with it.
"What is the mother feeding these tiny nestling?"
The
mother is regurgitating
small
bits of the food she has caught and eaten herself. They are so tiny that
a whole worm would be too big for their mouths and throats, and their
stomachs aren't ready to digest raw food yet. So her stomach gets the
process started. This is also how their stomach and intestines will get
the right bacteria in them so as they get bigger they can feed themselves
and digest all their own meals.
"What is the mother eating in the second and third video clips?"
The
mother is eating the babies' fecal sacs--their poop! The babies are so
tiny that they aren't digesting all their food, and their intestines don't
have much bacteria yet, so this helps the mother to have enough food while
she's spending most of her energy getting food for the babies.
"Why does the female open her beak when the male flies in?"
The
female is a little stressed when ANYTHING approaches the nest when the
babies are so tiny. So her open beak may show a little fear and a little
warning. But it also helps her to beg from him. Her hormones are all geared
up to nurture babies. If the male feeds her, she can use that food to
feed the babies.
"What food is the male bringing?"
It's
hard to see it for sure. He has definitely swallows worms and or bugs,
because he has to wiggle his throat to make them come up again. It looks
like he may have given her a small worm or just the stringy, goopy remains
of the food he's eaten.
"Why
doesn't the male feed the babies?"
The
male is perfectly capable of feeding them. But at this point, the mother's
hormones are at such a high level that she is more protective of and anxious
to feed the babies than he is, so she is the one who does that job.
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