Papa Plucking Momma

[Emily's Momma]

The little male zeb papa keeps plucking the momma zeb when ever she comes out of the nest for an inspection. I mean he will grab a beakful of feathers right off of her He only seems to do it when there is some sort of disruption, and if you stand far off he doesn't bother her like that. I really want to look in on the babies from time to time, but I sure don't want Ralph to be mean to Alice. Guess I should keep the checks to a minimum. Is this normal behavior?

[kenny]

hi emilys momma
yes i am afraid so its because you are distubing the nest it goes like this..........you go near the nest, the mother automatically leaves the nest as you have disturbed her the male wants her to sit on the eggs/look after the chicks....so he drives her back with a wee bit of aggression....when you are not there he doesnt do it as he knows she will come out of the nest of her own accord....as he is more or less giving her permission(chauvanist ) thats why he has no need to attack her when you are not there

ken