No you got the chicken and egg who was first in the wrong order. The fox ate birds, so this bird is taking back his due from the fox who grew hairs out of bird meals.
Fox had fed itself very well. There was no need infact the fox was tired and need to relax. It happens to us that we need that time to chill and forget the distractors after all they add nothing to us. Nor they can't harm us. Think about when it was a leopard 🐆. Would that fox relax.
Actually I think it's the opposite, it probably feels good tbh and he wasn't hunting he was napping so there's no reason to hurt the bird and the bird knew it. Nature is wayyyy more symbiotic than humans think.
@@TexasBackyardWildlife I have to wonder if the reason it wasn't bothering the fox too much was possibly because the bird was picking loose fur? If so then it might have been inadvertently doing the fox a small favor. Either way it's a interesting video. Edit: Looking further in the comments I see someone else already made the same suggestion.
@@Raison_d-etre I think the bird lulls the fox into thinking it's grooming, removing lice, fleas and ticks etc and waits for fox to settle before beginning proper plucking.
Quite a few people suggested this and I'm sure you're all right. Plucking live animals is apparently a known behavior in birds like titmouses when they're busy nest building in the spring, and the animals they pluck are all happy to lose some of their winter coats.
Isn't that hilarious? She actually hops up and kind of kicks the fox a couple of times right at the beginning before she gets to work. Just to see what kind of response she's going to get. The nerve!
@@TexasBackyardWildlife something's telling that both the fox and the bird benefit from this. Just like those tiny fish swimming together with sharks and whales (while picking up on parasites or dead skin).
@@TheMajkla YES! Ok, you saw it, too. What is that called with the sharks and remoras? Is that also symbiosis? It seemed like the fox repositioned to a particular tummy spot and let the titmouse go for it, like, “a little to the left.” 🤗 Those bebbehs are getting the highest quality remi in that weave. Sparrow no expense!
I actually saw this happen to my dog. He was sunbathing and a bird landed on his butt and took some of his hair to build their nest in our backyard. I don’t think they’d take it from dead animals b/c of all the bugs and parasites in it. Birds are usually very tidy with their nests.
My dog's fine & silky hair used to get in the fake plastic "grass" doormat on my back porch...& the little birds would come down & pluck out beakfulls of it for their nests!
I usually groom my poodle outside and one day I left some of her hair on the lawn and I saw a hummingbird carrying hair back and forth from a nest she was building using the dog hair. It was super cute!
I used to have a Pyrenees mix that guarded my goats and when I brushed him out in the spring there was oodles of fur. One day about a week after he started his spring shed I went to take him out to brush him and there were birds of all kinds literally lined up on the fence waiting. So after I was done I went into the barn to do some chores and when I looked out about an hour later pretty much all but a few tufts of the fur were gone. Needless to say most of the nests were easy to spot because they were all lined with bright white fur. 😅
I guess if it's spring, the animals might be shedding their winter coats at the same time the birds need to make their nests, so maybe it works out for both of them.
This is an amazing footage. The docile fox just let the bird went about with its business. I like how the bird took its own sweet time to pick a good spot and harvest the fur.
Bird brain - definition....smarter than you think. After grooming my dogs or cats, I always clean out the brushes and let the fur fly outside. It doesn't take long for the birds to recycle it for their nests. Awesome video!!
@@TexasBackyardWildlife My wife does the same thing after grooming her horses. But only the shorter, softer horse hair. Birds can get tangled in the mane hair. Blue birds and mockingbirds love the soft, short stuff.
@@Harry64278 I heard about this many years ago and then started throwing the lint from my dryer in my own backyard. I watched a Wren take some of the lint in the backyard for a nearby nest and also observed a Mockingbird doing the same.
Man, this is the equivalent of parents trying to sleep in the morning of a big road trip and the kids just come in jumping on the bed and poking at them going "Are we going yet? Are we going yet? Are we going yet?" Poor fox.....
This is so incredible. I always thought the just collect the hair from the environment, never thought the would be so brave to come to a sleeping predator
Yes, the chicks will be very comfortable. We have a titmouse nest on our live stream at the moment - lots of fur and (we think) 6 or 7 eggs. texasbackyardwildlife.com/live-stream/. We don't think it's the same titmouse - the timing for adding fur didn't quite match. This shows the mama titmouse starting work on the nest: texasbackyardwildlife.com/nesting-titmouses-days-1-2-building-a-mattress-of-moss/
I think the fox decided it kind of liked the treatment and knew exactly what was going on: Spring, nest building shedding and all that... Maybe it was also exhausted after a hard nights work?
This is so cute. It looks like the Titmouse is totally taking advantage, like it's taking as much as it's little beak can carry. But I'm sure the fox wouldn't put up with having fur stolen if it hurt. It's probably like a massage. That is one chilled out fox by the end of the video.
They even sorta purr when they cuddle and are pet. I saw a video of a guy with a rescue fox and when it laid on his belly to take a nap it was purring. Foxes also have retractable claws like a cat and climb trees, and solo stalk prey at night like a cat and unlike a dog
I remember seeing this with my German Shepard a few years ago. He was snoozing on the porch and it was spring, anyone who’s had a shepherd knows how they shed. That bird was going crazy pulling his lose fur.
It seems to be a really well-known behavior. I think we were just about the last people in the world to find out that birds like the titmouse often harvest spring fur from mammals that might normally eat them for lunch.
My grandmother used to brush her hair outside on the back porch and toss it out into the yard. When I was twelve, I found a bird's nest under a big pine tree that was lined with silver grandma hair!
Thank you so much for sharing this joyous vid!!! I live in Northern CA & about 15 years ago a mom & 5 kit foxes showed up in our backyard. The kits climbed our Japanese maple & jumped from branch to branch chasing each other!!! I couldn’t believe my eyes. And back then, I had no vid camera or smart phone. No one I told this to could believe that fox kits could climb a tree, much less jump from branch to branch. It was the most beautiful, joyous sight.
Have you seen the video showing some kits having a tree-climbing party? I'm thinking you have, but just in case: texasbackyardwildlife.com/flying-foxes-did-you-know-that-gray-foxes-can-climb-trees/. They are amazingly agile climbers. You can send a link to the video to everyone who doubted your story from 15 years ago!
I did see that video! In fact, I thought that was the vid I was commenting on but somehow it ended up with this vid. Who knows? Anyhoo, yes! Gray foxes are just too cool! :)
I was thinking the same thing, maybe when it’s looking around the fur. It’s looking for the loose fur and trying not to pluck fur that isn’t loose, so it doesn’t wake the fox up completely.
A crow used to do that to one of my dogs. Super mellow dog the crow had taken time, over years, to get to know. The crow and dog used to snooze on the deck just a couple feet apart. So cool you built a den!
I sometimes find horse hair in the garage, the swallows collect it from the horses next door for nest lining. They nests are in the rafters, the swallows not the horses.
Have never seen anything like this before on ANY NATURE CHANNEL after all these years!!!! Lolll like what the heck lol. One of the most interesting things I have ever seen! And the fox just gave up lol 😂😂
We were so surprised to see it. Lots of people have commented that they've seen little bird plucking their pets, though. It's smart, if you can get away with it.
@@TexasBackyardWildlife Yeah I have a long-haired cat and every year about this time he likes to have his hair pulled on because it speeds along the process of losing that heavy coat. Maybe it's itchy or uncomfortable whenever the hair is still in the follicle but is on its way out.
Yes!...with my longhair cats, if you pinch with just the right amount of force, only the shedding hair comes out, and they really seem to appreciate it, especially around the neck area. For the fox, it seems like an easy meal, but he probably knew there was no chance without the element of surprise.
@Coo Koo Very close to the 70s but I have been bald since the damn birds found me and plucked my hair off since I was 40 and I love a nap in the garden with a beer on my stomach.😂😂🤣
@@stephanieashton8835 hi steph. Yes they are beautiful. I love the color pattern as well on this guy. They are beautiful animals. Always liked the foxes. Tc b safe. ❣
We used to have a big family of gray foxes sleep on our deck from early morning until early afternoon for years. Sadly in 2019 they stopped coming and I haven't seen one since then so seeing a gray fox again really made my day! Great video :)
the fox is actually enjoying this, it's getting a free plucking. Utter cute and very nice to watch my favorite two animals, foxes and birds, coexist like this.
Lots of commenters have told us that they've seen small birds plucking the winter coats of furry mammals - it seems to be a pretty common behavior among some birds when they're nest building and the animals all seem to tolerate it. When the animal is shedding, perhaps it doesn't hurt at all, just a minor irritation and both sides benefit.
I can confirm over the years I have encountered pics, videos, and anecdotes about titmice doing this to other animals as well, cats, skunks, groundhogs even raccoons and people. I guess they're not very picky as long as their subject is cooperative! Haha
We thought it was the most extraordinary thing we'd ever seen but then read that it was a known behavior. Why did the fox not just try to snap up the bird? Someone else commented that the fox was probably losing his winter coat and perhaps some of the fur came out quite easily. I definitely would not try this with a skunk (but our local skunks can be pretty cranky).
@@TexasBackyardWildlife Could it be that the "donor" animal notices that they profit by having the bird hold watch while they sleep? The bird looks up after every pluck, so it can't easily be approached without noticing. So while the bird keeps plucking, the fox knows he's safe from larger predators.
Could be, but in this case the fox had deliberately chosen to nap in a very protected spot. He's outside a den in an area completely encircled by a high wall of piled-up dead cedar brush. There's no way for a coyote or dog to get in without making a huge amount of noise.
This is great too. And a great story. I've seen that in the inside of nests before but never knew it could be related to this! Fox probably finds it relaxing and that's why he falls asleep, in relaxation! Yes, similar textures to the amazing owl video. A camera that's not moving with that overcast weather equals "great lighting." Plus you've got great energy as a steward of the land. Bless you.
We were astounded to see the titmouse get away with pulling fur out of a live fox. Truly one of the most remarkable things we've ever caught on video. You're right that the fox seemed to relax and - perhaps - quite enjoy it all.
When I brush my dog in the spring and leave out the tufts of hair the birds come out to retrieve the tufts. The birds literally gather while I’m doing this.
At first I thought she was searching the fur for ticks/fleas for a meal. Very cool to learn otherwise. 2:56 Woah, she's really getting a beak full there!! Lol Amazing footage my fellow Texan!! Love it!
What a generous fox! What a healing my heart! The two cute gestures make me smile. The photographer has an endless love for these creations. Thank you for providing a great video.
That is so amazing! In the beginning, the bird reminded me of a little kid annoying a very tired parent. By the end, seeing that beak-full of fur was astonishing. I'm also impressed with how close the bird came to the fox's mouth a few times. That is real spunk and courage.
Excellent! The fox and titmouse video is one of our current favorites. It has made our day to hear that it also made yours! Have you seen this one? texasbackyardwildlife.com/the-tale-of-the-brave-raccoon-cub/ It's a really astonishing story about a baby raccoon from last year.
So funny...maybe it's the odd soothing of being plucked that helps zonk out the fox. You're a lucky dog to witness a budding symbiotic relationship. Thanks for sharing!!
This video is amazing thanks so much for sharing. We have these birds around all the time on our feeders, we call them the mohawks. They are very hyper birds and funny to watch.
Mohawks is a great name for them. Perfect. They seem to be gutsy little birds. The raw footage shows the titmouse testing the fox patiently for hours before she finally started pulling out fur. It was a very careful and calculated assault. The fox, it seems, just got used to her and decided to sleep through it.
Tufted titmice (close relatives to the bird in this video) are my favorite birds. I think it is a little risky for them to get material for nesting for live animals though. Extremely cool little birds. Thank you for sharing this amazing video.
We're hearing lots of reports of titmice plucking pet dogs and horses, and even people. It does seem truly risky, but apparently it's a known behavior. We were stunned when we saw this little one plucking a fox, but our commenters seem to have often seen it before.
Titmice have plucked hair from our Sheltie, Riley, multiple times, including one flying into the house to do the harvesting. Riley was almost as tolerant as this fox. I like your description of the titmouse giving the fox a few trial taps to get it habituated to the process of fur harvesting.
That's so interesting, Chris. We've heard from others that they've seen this behavior before, too. We were completely stunned. We couldn't believe the fox let the little titmouse pull out a sizable mustache of fur.
I’ve seen nesting birds hopping all over horses in the Spring plucking away on their shaggy shedding winder coats.. it’s so cute watching the tiny birds try to fly away with huge hairy mustaches.
@@TexasBackyardWildlife I was actually referring to that episode of SpongeBob, where they (Patrick and SpongeBob) take all the fur from their friend Sandy, to survive the winter.
I had no idea! Just as you were saying in the video. I'm glad you shared this. I find this fact so amazing, and probably wouldn't believe you if I hadn't seen it myself! Thank you again!
