How to protect birds from hitting windows

• Of course, his nearby mate was watching with either amusement or exasperation.

Flying the news: I've known birds could strike windows in flight, killing themselves, but didn't realize some would go for their own likeness.

Threat level: The behavior isn't "typically" harmful to the bird, according to Audubon. Most quick searches talk about how annoying it can be to the human.

What to do: The Bird Geek offers some practical tips to break up the beak brawl.

• Keep shades and blinds closed
• Leave plants outside the window
• Draw a grid on the glass with a yellow highlighter
• Hang ropes in front of the window
• Use an owl decoy
• Hang wind chimes

Or, you can do what my mother does: use colored masking tape to stripe an "X" on the glass.

The bottom line: Mating season can be cruel.

Worth's thought bubble: With apologies to Edgar Allan Poe.