This time it was sparrows, parents and dependent youngsters and the more mature juveniles, able to feed themselves, who were scrapping over the coconut feeder. A parent would park a fluttering fledgling, still using its wing beats to steady its stance on the thin branch above as much as to engage with the adult, and perch on the edge of the coconut, leaning in to select a seed or mealworm and then pick it out to feed it to the youngster. However, after waiting for a minute or so, the juvenile would try to muscle in beside the adult and be promptly rebuffed. Then it tried to tip the adult into the coconut. This was not appreciated.
The fledgling flew off, for some reason, so that the next time that the adult sparrow bobbed up with food, the intended recipient was nowhere to be seen. The sparrow went off to search for its offspring and the juvenile took the opportunity to plant itself actually in the body of the coconut. The unsuspecting adult sparrow returned to the nut, went to select another morsel and a short, but vigorous, struggle began between the occupant and the outraged incomer. The adult, with more experience and guile, won the encounter and the fledgling was bundled unceremoniously out of the nut.
thekitchensinkbirdwatcher 