Cornershot

On the afternoon of April 12, Bob Abraham of Christiansburg noticed something unusual outside: two female bluebirds “in a knock-down drag-out fight.”

“The fight was a very unusual occurrence. Males fight over territory, and that is normal but I had never seen anything like what happened,” Abraham wrote. He was so astounded that he snapped more than 700 photos of the 20-minute bout.

Then, of the 135 photos he kept, he emailed a few to the ornithology department at Cornell University to see what they thought. It seems they were equally excited.

“Female-to-female aggression in this species is somewhat rare, so this is a thing to ponder indeed,” wrote Marc Devokaitis, public information specialist for Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “Keep up the good birding!”

Abraham reported that when the fight was finally over, one of the females went up to the nest where the male was, with a tail that looked badly bent.

Weather Journal

3 hours ago

1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County 

2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day

3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys

4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping 

5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football 

6. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust

7. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen

8. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible

9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli 

10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area