Like some holiday celebrations, birds and other wildlife can find their surroundings overripe for intoxication.
You're most likely to see cedar waxwings in this condition. This usually occurs in spring, when warming days cause last year's berries to ferment. Following lunch at a favorite berry bush, members of a cedar waxwing flock sometimes tumble from perches, bump into each other, and fly into things. This usually lasts a few minutes, and then, if they survive their dangerous antics, they fly away.
Robins, pigeons and even insects are occasionally observed in what looks like an inebriated state. Bees find it impossible to fly after sipping overripe nectar. Wasps can become tipsy when feeding on rotten fruit. Falling to the ground, they buzz around on their backs for a few seconds while their rapid metabolism cleanses the alcohol from their systems.
Drunken wildlife is probably more common than we realize. There is no evidence, however, that they enjoy this condition and don't seem to do it deliberately. This impairment is a lesser known challenge in the wild.
Watch as robins flying in circles in the video below courtesy of Rocza on YouTube.
Tipsy on Fermented Fruit
Are your backyard birds acting strange? Barbara Damrosch of The Washington Post provides some insight to the world of intoxicated wildlife and how fermented fruit is the culprit.
- Fruit can become alcoholic in a number of ways. Sometimes in the fall, fruit matures too much and ferments. In the winter, cold concentrates the sugars, which then break down and produce alcohol.
- Although animal intoxication is often a naturally occurring event, it can put the imbiber at risk. Impaired birds sometimes fly into walls and windows, and they are vulnerable to predators, including house cats.
- If you find drunk birds in your yard that seem to need help, set out water for them to drink to rehydrate.
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