Amazing discovery. One book says they eat grass, but they eat veggies too. Smart.
You too!
Barbara
Sanford.
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
Hey everyone, thanks for all your responses. The jury has returned a verdict that they seem to love Beets, Swiss Chard, Kale, and Dandelion Greens(still waiting on some friends from the south to see if they like Collard Greens). It was interesting that though there is a lot of anecdotal evidence, such as observations and photos posted to forums discussing this question, however I was not able to find a reference to this feeding behavior in any of the guides I referred to in an effort to identify this. In comparing the main candidates listed above(assuming there are others) it appears the softer the leaves the better, and all of these are rich in calcium and phosphorus. In watching the behavior a little more intently, I did notice that it was males/females and this years brood that were going at the beets so I believe it to be a general nutritional supplement for them and not a sexually specific trait such as the females replacing calcium lost in the egg production process or strictly something where parents were using this to feed young still developing the ability to open/digest seeds, etc.--Cheers,Rob O'Connell
On Thursday, September 7, 2017 at 3:27:23 PM UTC-4, Rob O'Connell wrote:Greetings all,I have been watching the AMGO's at my house quite a bit lately, and while I thought I had found them doing something which seemed odd, I was able to confirm today that they were in fact eating leaves. It was not entirely surprising given that they are pretty strict vegetarians, and I have seen them eat all manner of seeds, but never actually witnessed them shredding apart the leaves of trees or plants. They have been doing this for weeks now, and there are a number of them in the garden at almost any point through the day. The high count was 28, however it is usually only about 6-8. Up until today though, I have not been able to catch them at it as the beets are just outside the back of the house and every time I approach they fly off. So up until today I had only fleetingly seen it, where I was finally able to capture some pictures and video.Given that most discussions of their diet consists of seeds from various plants/trees with occasional insects, or as noted in the Birds of America Volume 3, they can my first assumption was that the reason the beets looked so tattered was an insect was eating the leaves and that the AMGO's might be feeding on them. Closer inspection showed no major outbreak of bugs on these particular leaves, or at least not anything more than what is on or around every other plant in the garden. Looking at the other plants in the garden most are in great shape with the exception of the brussel sprouts and cauliflower which a groundhog decided to enjoy.So my question now are:A) Is this common and I have just missed it previously? I assume it can't be that common otherwise it would be mentioned in a guide somewhere.B) Why these beets(Early Wonder variety) and not other plants in the garden? (I know they are delicious with garlic and olive oil and a dash of red pepper flakes, but that is not how we planted them! :-) )C) Are there any other plants that they are known to enjoy?Figured I would toss these questions out and gather an informal poll!Cheers,Rob O'Connell
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