I think they're inspecting it rather than mourning a loved one, funeral is probably the wrong word.

I believe elephants could possibly do it, they're extremely intelligent.

You know, I was thinking just the other day.

Where do birds go to die?

I've never seen a bird carcass, unless It's been road kill or a chick fallen from a nest.

So where do they go?

Reminds me of last year as I was driving to work. My boss was behind me in his tipper and a dove flew down and hit my car but survived. I looked in my mirror just as my boss accidently ran it over.
All of a sudden it seemed that all the birds in that area, not just doves but others, flew down and huddled around it as if they were mourning this dead dove. Should of got a video but it all happened very quickly.

Originally posted by SpearMint
I think they're inspecting it rather than mourning a loved one, funeral is probably the wrong word.

I believe elephants could possibly do it, they're extremely intelligent.

Inspecting the body of a dead bird would serve no purpose other than possibly searching for food. However, the article stated that once a dead bird was found, the other birds would stop foraging for a daylong period. If they were concerned with food this would not be the case. As well, the article did not say that the deceased bird's body was moved around by other birds which would have been the case if they were searching for food. That is the only reason I can think of for a bird to inspect a dead bird, as 1) it would cause them vulnerability, and 2) knowing what killed their previous friend would not prepare them any more than they already are.

If you read the article, however, you should see that, besides possible emotional reasons, they do in fact have a specific reason for doing this.

Also interesting from the article..

Giraffes and elephants, for example, have been recorded loitering around the body of a recently deceased close relative, raising the idea that animals have a mental concept of death, and may even mourn those that have passed.

Ever had a conversation with a bird? Theyre extremely intelligent, and i have no doubt whatsoever they have emotions... and non speaking species are just as intelligent as speaking ones. Small birds are just physically incapable of speaking because of the size of their uhmn...voice box. Ive caught mocking birds attempting to speak though, lol.....

However, its a similar intelligence to a young child. Not an adult human. Do children understand death? not really.

I owned a male and female cockatiel. The female got sick and died with basically no warning at all....very common for birds...they hide that theyre sick. The male cuddled up with her before she died and stayed cuddled up with her for hours after she died. he got really depressed and quiet and eventually we had to give him away to a friend that had cockatiels to try to help.

He would always whistle the andy griffith song when he was happy lmao....i never heard him do it again after his lady died......



So, birds do have an emotional response to other birds dying. But im not sure they understand death.