I don’t like the term and I certainly don’t like the idea: there really are no “trash birds” if you’re a real birder. But in Guyana in November, Great Kiskadee, hardly a trash bird by any reckoning here in the US, nearly attained that status: not by virtue of its abundance, but by virtue of its less than virtuous behavior in the botanical gardens in Georgetown.
At first I thought, or at least hoped, that they were in search of insects attracted to the garbage, but no, they were happily cleaning out the styrofoam containers and greasy wrappers themselves.
(Notandum: Guyanans are extremely civilized people, and make conscientious use of public trash receptacles, which are then rifled overnight by feral dogs, to the obvious delight of the kiskadees.)
