Random Bird Facts That Are Straight Up Terrifying (18 items)

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  (#10) Skuas Chase Other Birds Until They Vomit... Then Eat The Vomit

  There's one bird that certainly doesn't mind vomit too much. In fact, the bird encourages vomiting. When a skua is hungry, rather than going out to try to find fish or prey, it will find another bird that seems to have eaten recently. Then, the skua begins annoying them until the other bird is running away, exhausted, and stressed. The other bird finally becomes so worn out that eventually it vomits. The skua then happily leaves the poor victim alone, and then eats the vomit instead.

  This isn't just an occasional thing, either. When it's winter, this vomit-eating makes up about 95% of the skua's diet. If they are unable to get the other bird to puke, they may eventually kill the other bird and eat it instead. Either way, this is one unique way to "eat like a bird."
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  (#5) If You Mess With A Crow, It Will Remember You

  Where to even start with crows? These birds are amazing and creepy in just about every way. When one crow has wronged the group, the rest of the murder may hold court over the perpetrator. Crows have also been known to peck out human eyes, because they are shiny. But perhaps most frightening is that crows are highly intelligent, hold a grudge, and are not afraid to let others know that you're a terrible person. 

  Research has shown that crows recognize human faces and remember them, as well as what areas are associated with them. Thus, if you're mean to a crow, it will remember you and what you did. On top of that, it will tell other crows that you're a nasty person! Research shows that crows did not need reminders that an individual had wronged them, and that over time, other crows who associated with that crow would become violent or afraid towards the individual offender as well. This even happened with crows' offspring, meaning that crows can hold grudges for generations.
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  (#18) Some Birds' Brains Grow And Shrink Every Year

  The phenomena of bird migration and memory has long been the topic of in depth study and question, but there's one aspect of migration that many people do not know. Research has shown that migratory birds have smaller brains than birds who stay in one place all year, but that size is not a constant. Instead, some birds' brains get bigger and smaller over the changing seasons. In particular, the hippocampus of the brain grows and shrinks seasonally, based on what is happening during the year. This has been linked to bird memory. Because birds need to remember hiding spots for food during the winter, their hippocampus grows as they map those spots. When birds are no longer mapping their food hiding spots, their brain actually shrinks a little. This may be a part of bird migration as well.
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  (#14) Violent Owls Are Coming To New York City

  Since 2015, winters have been cold enough in New York City that there have been a rise in snowy owls there, a species that previously wasn't around urban centers very much. In 2015, there were at least seven snowy owls spotted in NYC, and that number may be on the rise. While this sounds lovely because, well, owls are gorgeous, this can also cause a bit of an issue, because when owls are frightened, they aren't afraid to fight back.

  Snowy owls have been known to not only attack pets and people, but they may have actually contributed to the death of people. They have been said to gouge out eyes, though there are few recorded instances of eye attacks. Luckily, these attacks don't tend to happen unless their territory is threatened, frightened, or unless they mistake a hat or ponytail for  potential prey. Don't mess with the owls or their turf, and hopefully they won't mess with you. 
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  (#1) The Greater Honeyguide Is A Born Killing Machine

  The cuckoo is strange and diabolical enough in that it actually lays its eggs in another bird's nest so that its chick will be fed by the other mother bird, growing bigger and faster while the other chicks in the nest slowly die. However, the greater honeyguide takes it a step further: its chick is born in another bird's nest just like the cuckoo, but the honeyguide has a much shorter game plan in mind. 

  These chicks are born with a specialized beak sporting spikes at the tip. When the baby honeyguide finds other babies in the nest, it goes about systematically and violently killing them with this specialized beak. It stabs, chews, shakes, and does not stop until the victim stops moving. It will kill all the other chicks in the nest within an hour. Later, the baby's hook simply falls off the beak, its purpose served. In short, this baby bird is adapted perfectly to kill other chicks.
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  (#2) The Vampire Finch Survives On Blood

  There are a few birds out there that are somewhat carnivorous, but few are as creepy as the vampire finch. These small birds live in the Galápagos, and feed in large part on the blood of other animals, including threatened blue-footed boobies. They peck at other birds until they bleed, and then they drink the blood as it flows. Weirdly enough, the blue-footed boobies don't seem to mind much, though we're not sure why. Other similar finches prefer to pick parasites off of other animals for nutrients, but the vampire finch has evolved to pecking past just the skin.

  As an added creepy factor, it's also been shown that once a finch finds a victim they enjoy, they will actually return to the same animal multiple times to continue to feed. So, if a vampire finch decides you taste good, it'll be coming back for seconds.

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