Digging for worms

katex

katex

Resting in Peace
Overlooker
Just watched a blackbird in my back garden search out a worm .. then .. yuk .. eat the poor miserable wriggling thing, however, curious to know how they find them in the first place. Can't see any clues on the surface or 'owt.

Guess, like all animals, they increase their senses to search out the necessary food.

Ok .. could possible be a little bored.. still curious though.. :confused:
 
I dont know if its right but i got taught they do a 'rain dance'......dance on a patch of grass and the worms think its raining so they come out.....surprise surprise,they get the luxury of being eaten......



no rude comments please ;)
 
I see a large flock of landgulls (visiting from Whinny Hill I think) regularly descend on the playing field. They walk across the grass like a posse of policemen doing a fingertip search, all walking in the same direction
 
I'm with Kitty on this one. I was told as a child that the birds jump up and down, and their little feet pitter-pattering, tricks the worms into thinking it's raining.

Hence they come to the surface, only to be pulled off and gobbled by Mr Blackbird.
 
misskitty said:
I dont know if its right but i got taught they do a 'rain dance'......dance on a patch of grass and the worms think its raining so they come out.....surprise surprise,they get the luxury of being eaten......
Click to expand...

Mmmm .. that does sound quite feasable to me ... although don't think would need to convince the worms about the rain today ... :D

(Just wish someone had told that to the motorist today on puddle-swamped Asda car park that he didn't have to drive through it quicker than need be, to attract my attention, by soaking my left leg .. sat here steaming literally now :rolleyes:)

Thanks Miss Kitty .. think I believe that one.
 
yep its true the little birds tap on the ground and the silly suckers think its raining and pop out....good eh?

but why do the worms come out in the first place?
the water soaks through so why come up for it?
 
panther said:
yep its true the little birds tap on the ground and the silly suckers think its raining and pop out....good eh?

but why do the worms come out in the first place?
the water soaks through so why come up for it?
Click to expand...

Found this
Ladywildlife's Common EarthWorm Page
see 2nd para 'to browse in leaves and grasses and to mate' - when grass is wet it will be better to wriggle a wet body in it.

Worms are also hermaphrodites - can breed without sexual encounter
 
[email protected] said:
Found this
Ladywildlife's Common EarthWorm Page
see 2nd para 'to browse in leaves and grasses and to mate' - when grass is wet it will be better to wriggle a wet body in it.

Worms are also hermaphrodites - can breed without sexual encounter
Click to expand...

Is being a hermaphrodite different from being asexual? I thought they were different but I'm unsure. I thought hermaphrodite was just an existance of both organs, where as asexual is the ability to produce offspring alone...
 
is it true though, that if ya chop a worm in half you get 2 worms???
emmm......yeh 2 dead ones!
 
I'm pretty sure that at least Robins get their worms by hearing/feeling/seeing the worms vibrating movement. It's neat to watch them cocking their heads and then diving into the ground. They then invariably come up with a nice juicy one.

Brian
 
at school we did an experiment to count the number of worms that came to the surface

On 1m square we put soapy water, on another we 'tapped' the ground on another we watered it from high like rain and another we used as a control.

The soapy one won, alearly the way they wriggled showed they were irritated by teh soap.

'Rain' came next then 'us simulating rain'


control was next to zero.

so without the ability to put soapy water down or make it rain they are doing teh best they can!!!
 
Perhaps because of the Parkinson's Disease, and the resultant shake, I should hire myself out as a worm charmer.:D
 
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