Post #14733

Why do pelican chicks crawl right inside their parents' throats? When adult pelicans fly tens of kilometers away to fish, their grown but not yet independent chicks remain in a huge colony. A sort of “nursery” under the supervision of several nannies. Young people gather in groups, play and patiently wait for their parents to return from fishing. But in this crowd of hungry beaks, how can you feed your own and not waste precious resources on the prosperity of other people’s genes? Nature has come up with an ingenious system. The parents do not keep the fish in the beak (the neighbors would steal it!), but bring it deep in the goiter - a special extension of the esophagus. To get a portion, the chick literally has to crawl its head into the parent’s mouth. From the outside it looks creepy: as if teenagers are tormenting adults. But in reality, this is the only way to make sure that dinner goes to yours. Chicks are sometimes not very selective in who they beg from, but they are guaranteed rude refusal from other people's parents. How do parents find their chick in a huge colony? Scientists suggest that identification occurs by voice. In the incredible hubbub, each pelican unmistakably recognizes the call of its offspring. Strict “face control” guarantees that the kilometers of flight and hours of hunting will pay off - and the fish will land exactly at the address. Author: Richard Rechitsky Photo: Nadezhda Dorofeeva, Andrey Maksimov Stills from the film “Pelican Island” from LNF LLC 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot