More Birds in the Science Press
Here’s some more bird-related articles that have appeared in recent months.
Hitchcock Horror Mystery Possibly Solved
Scientists have finally found an explanation to the real events that inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 classic, “The Birds.”
http://www.mail.com/scitech/news/938468-hitchcock-horror-mystery-solved.html#.23140-stage-hero1-3
From Mail.Com Sci/Tech Online – 12/29/11
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Mere fear shrinks bird families
Just hearing recordings of predators, in the absence of any real danger, caused sparrows to raise fewer babies.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/336823/title/Mere_fear_shrinks_bird_families
From Science News Online – 12/9/11
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Pigeons rival primates in number task
Trained on one-two-three, the birds can apply the rule of numerical order to such lofty figures as five and nine.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337104/title/Pigeons_rival_primates_in_number_task
From Science News Online – 12/23/11
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Archaeopteryx wore black
Microscopic structures in an iconic fossil feather suggest that it was the color of a crow.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337887/title/Archaeopteryx_wore_black
From Science News Online – 1/22/12
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Nurturing Nests Lift These Birds to a Higher Perch
The quietly dogged parenting style of the New Caledonian crow
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/science/01angier.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha210
From New York Times Science Online – 1/31/12
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Bird flu leaves tracks in brain
H5N1 infection might make survivors vulnerable to Parkinson’s or other neurological disorders, a study in mice indicates.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/338071/title/Bird_flu_leaves_tracks_in_brain
From Science News Online – 2/01/12
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Bird flu less deadly, but more widespread, than official numbers suggest
The H5N1 virus appears to have infected far more than the 573 officially confirmed victims.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/338725/title/Bird_flu_less_deadly%2C_but_more_widespread%2C_than_official_numbers_suggest
From Science News Online – 2/24/12
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Pesticide-dosed bees lose future royalty, way home
Unusual field tests reveal how common insecticides, even at nonfatal doses, can erode colonies and threaten the future of bumblebees and honeybees.
[Not birds, and yet they fly]
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/339548/title/Pesticide-dosed_bees_lose_future_royalty%2C_way_home
From Science News Online – 3/30/12
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And finally, this might be a look in your mirror…
“Things” Birder’s Say
A YouTube short film on what may be the archetypal birder’s conversation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaX7i1Q7-Rw&feature=share
From Boulder Oak Films – 3/25/12
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[Chuck Almdale]
