Which bird did YOU see shadow boxing? Click HERE!

Why do birds peck at mirrors? Why do they repeatedly fly into windows? This website aims to be a central hub for everything related to avian shadow boxing, the putative defence of territory or resources by a bird against a perceived intruder due to confrontation with its own reflection. In 2013 Joël Roerig published a paper that summarized the literature on the topic worldwide and analysed some new data from southern Africa.

This website is in its infancy and does not contain much information or entertainment yet, but you can already DOWNLOAD the Ornithological Observations paper, browse a DATABASE with 446 records of 191 bird species shadow boxing, check a selected list of REFERENCES and contribute to our knowledge by SUBMITTING one or more records via a simple web form – it will just take one minute!

Click on the images above to read a brand new ARTICLE (pdf) on shadow boxing in the Summer 2014/2015 edition of Wild magazine, including marvellous illustrations by watercolour artist Duncan Butchart.

Which bird did YOU see shadow boxing? Click HERE!