When Judi, Kathryn, Mary and I moved into the new house I began feeding the birds on a regular basis in our yard. The only birds we had at the other house were cactus wrens, quail and doves. We not only have those three but now we have robins, hummingbirds, finches, cardinals, and sparrows. At first, most of the birds were greedy when I fed them. They weren’t sure if there would be enough food to go around. The cactus wrens were especially mean, which shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with birds. They would attack the robins, cardinals, and sparrows that came to get some food. This situation continued for awhile until one day I saw a change in the bird’s behavior.

After feeding from the unlimited supply that I was furnishing, the birds appeared to be less greedy with the food. They began feeding at their leisure, realizing there would be more food when their current supply was finished. Then, just last week, something even more remarkable happened. After all the hording, greed, and then cautiously enjoying, the birds began to show a more nobler characteristic. They began calling for one another at mealtime and working together for the good of all.

Today, when the seed is there for the birds, one bird will call for the others to share what they’ve discovered.

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