DEAR JOAN: I read a story in the paper recently about drunken birds causing traffic problems. I had always thought that birds got drunk on fermented berries, but then I read somewhere that no, it was just that they had eaten too much and couldn’t fly right.

Which is it?

Curious, Orinda

DEAR CURIOUS: There has been a theory floating around that when birds appear drunk they actually have just over-indulged and find it hard to fly, or difficult to fly straight, with full crops. That might happen, but in many cases, the birds are snockered.

Almost any animal can experience intoxication if they eat berries, corn or grapes that have fermented. Robins and cedar waxwings have a great love for berries, and if they happen upon them as the fruit is starting to ferment, the birds often get drunk on them.

Being small, it doesn’t take a lot of berries to get the birds tanked. Unfortunately, they don’t have designated flyers, and when they take to the air, they can get into all sorts of trouble, flying into traffic, into buildings and into each other.

Sometimes they are so blotto that they can’t fly at all, and might be seen flopping around on roadways, which is what happened in the article you read.

It might seem like a laughing matter, but it is harmful and fatal to many birds.

DEAR JOAN: I heard recently that one should stop feeding hummingbirds on Nov. 1. Is this correct?

Is this to encourage them to migrate? Will my hummer understand? He greets me like a long lost friend when I arrive with a refilled feeder.

Judith Clark, Bay Area

DEAR JUDITH: Some folks believe that leaving feeders out in the winter encourages hummingbirds to either delay or forego migration, thereby dooming the hummer when cold weather hits, but that’s just not the case.

If a bird is programmed by its DNA to migrate, it will. What’s more, research has shown that hummingbirds are more than capable of surviving freezing weather.

While most of the Bay Area’s hummers do go south for the winter, a good number — including most Anna’s hummingbirds — make this their year-round home.

It’s important to provide a source of food for those who live here as well as for the birds migrating through. They may have tiny little brains, but they’ve got huge memories and a great need for food to fuel their flights. They remember every place they’ve ever stopped for food, and as they travel south for the winter and north for the summer, they visit those places.

That said, if you want to take a break from the nectar preparation and feeder cleaning, you certainly can. I’m sure your little buddy will understand. But if you like feeding the hummers, then I encourage you to keep it up.

DEAR JOAN: The broccoli story made me laugh. I’ve lived with a cat who would steal a slice of cantaloupe and eat it, rind and all.

Van Dyke lived for asparagus handouts, and my Maine coon boy digs the smell of celery. He doesn’t want to eat it, but he will lay on it and roll all over it like catnip.

They’re cats. Go figure.

Candy McCorkell, Lafayette

DEAR CANDY: All three of the cats I’ve had in recent years went crazy for the smell of green olives. They wouldn’t eat them, but they would rub them on their faces and attack my hands if I’d been cooking with them.

Readers, what weird things do your pets like to eat or smell? I’d love to share some more stories.