Annoying Behavior

[Alan Sondheim]

Annoying Behavior

Annoying and annoyance are difficult to analyze. Yet they form a behav-
ioral matrix, appearing in such forms as teasing, taunting, daring,
whining, infuriating, and seducing. The phenomenology of annoyance is
complex; among animals, annoyance plays roles ranging from deflection to
prey production. Crows and other birds will annoy hawks; smaller birds
will annoy crows - in both cases to lead the larger birds away from
potential prey. Egrets on the other hand will annoy bottom-dwellers, which
flee their hiding-places and are caught. Their behavior ranges from wing-
flapping and circling to leg vibrating and kicking back. These actions
change quickly, decreasing the likelihood for a steady-state response by
potential prey. It's unclear to what degree this behavior is learned or
instinctual. See http://www.asondheim.org/annoyingegret.mp4 - a snowy
egret at dawn in the Bolsa Chica wetlands, Huntington Beach, California.
Other examples - chipmunks, squirrels, and various bird species taunting
rattle-snakes; coyote and other large predatory animals harrowing prey;
annoying by the weaker and taunting by the stronger, among humans.

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