Birdbrained Evolution

Posted on August 3, 2003 in Creatures Evolution & Creation

Sociobiologists and Creationists are fond of observing how neatly nature works in all its forms. Just now, I watched while a hummingbird betrayed a cul de sac behavior.

Those of us who keep feeders know that hummingbirds are among the most territorial of birds. It makes sense when you live off flower nectar. Fields of flowers produce only so much syrup and you must spend your day going from plant to plant. Last year, I observed a single Costa’s hummingbird fending off all comers to a field of orange bush monkeyflowers behind the Griffith Park Observatory. He had a finite field from which to nourish himself. Other hummingbirds attempted to sneak in and steal some of the juice from the flowers. When he spotted them, he swooshed down with the rage of a harrier jet and drove them away.

This behavior makes sense. But the black-chinned hummingbird who has claimed our feeder is an idiot. Any human can see that there’s plenty of clear nectar in the bulb to feed him and several others. Once a week, I must change it before it ferments. As I do, I think how much goes to waste because of my emerald and jet warrior. His instinct remains in the meadow and his birdbrain hasn’t figured out that the feeder can support more than just him.

He could conserve energy by not chasing all the other birds away all the time. He and the friends could choose who can approach. But they don’t. They are limited by their intelligence.

Evolution leads to stupidity, purblindness, that endures just as long as it allows the individual organisms to breed. Narrow instincts and ridiculousness repropagate because they don’t kill off the creature before it has a chance to lay eggs and see the young fly from the nest.

The moral is that stupidity will not kill itself off. Think of that the next time you read the news.

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For the Creationists: if a hummingbird is the product of intelligent design, it doesn’t say much for the intelligence of the designer.

For the Sociobiologists: a gear in the watch that your blind watchmaker made is missing a tooth.