Question:
A friend recently told me that birds can sometimes get drunk, even to the point of flying into glass windows. Is that true?
Response:
Yes, it is indeed true! I recall a report from Gilbert, Minnesota whereupon folks in that town were calling the local police to say that birds were flying into windows and cars in an erratic manner. It seemed like the birds were intoxicated, they said. Well, in fact that is exactly what was going on. Due to an early frost, the berries had fermented earlier than usual and the sugar in the berries, crab apples and other fruits ingested by birds turned into alcohol as they lose moisture. We mostly see this type of behavior in Robins and Waxwings, both species being huge fruit-eaters. While likely all of them consuming fermented fruits do experience some level of intoxication, some really overdo it and end up as window or road kill. When I delved further into this matter, I came across an article describing the phenomenon in Canada’s Yukon, Whitehorse to be exact. Meghan Larivee, a former student and employee at my avian research centre at McGill University described placing a bunch of tipsy Cedar waxwings into “drunk tanks” or modified hamster cages. The birds had come in with juice-stained beaks and were unable to fly or walk in a coordinated way. “Definitely flying under the influence,” she said. But it is a problem that we might end up seeing more and more due to climate warming. It could cause increased frequencies of frosts and thaws, more periods of fermentation, and more intoxicated birds and not all having happy endings. If you find a seemingly drunk bird, just put it in a cardboard box with air holes and a towel on the floor for gripping until it sobers up. It is not yet known whether birds experience hangovers.
Check out this article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/birds-drunk-fermented-fruit-1.4892283
Check out this article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/birds-drunk-fermented-fruit-1.4892283
David M. Bird, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Wildlife Biology, McGill University www.askprofessorbird.com
David M. Bird is Emeritus Professor of Wildlife Biology and the former Director of the Avian Science and Conservation Centre at McGill University. As a past-president of the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, a former board member with Birds Canada, a Fellow of both the American Ornithological Society and the International Ornithological Union, he has received several awards for his conservation and public education efforts. Dr. Bird is a regular columnist on birds for Bird Watcher’s Digest and Canadian Wildlife magazines and is the author of several books and over 200 peer-reviewed scientific publications. He is the consultant editor for multiple editions of DK Canada’s Birds of Canada, Birds of Eastern Canada, Birds of Western Canada, and Pocket Birds of Canada. To know more about him, visit www.askprofessorbird.com or email david.bird@mcgill.ca.
