#bird research

[tinylongwing]

Male Cerulean Warbler, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, and Lark Bunting, for Tonelli et al. 2023. Magnetic field disruptions lead migratory birds astray. Always a delight to contribute illustrations to papers like this one! Big thanks to Morgan Tingley for requesting these.

[lost-estradiographer]

I saved a bird today.

Fall migration is on, which means our seasonal research is on as well: monitoring the windows on campus for bird strikes. It's a bittersweet gig for a bird lover, because it means looking for dead birds in hopes of not finding them anymore.

But today, I found a live one, albeit a bit dazed. I was able to coax them onto a stick, and relocate them to a tree. After a few minutes of recombobulation, they flew away.

No friendship anklet for you today, little one. You don't get to be data. Not today. Today you're alive and flying and I'm crying agaijn.

[everydayesterday]

[photo 1: A Greater Honeyguide feeds on honeycomb in South Africa.  Photo: Nigel J. Dennis/Gallo Images/Corbis. From Audubon.]

[photo 2: A Yao honey-hunter in Mozambique holds a honeyguide bird. Photo: Claire Spottiswoode/University of Cape Town. From New Scientist.]

from New Scientist magazine: Honeyguide birds respond to special calls from human honey-hunters

Excerpt: "People from multiple cultures in Africa have unique sounds [my note: later described in the text as "bird-like whistles" of the Hadza honey-hunters, and "trill-grunts" of the Yao honey-hunters] that they use to communicate with honeyguide birds, and the birds recognise these signals as an invitation to cooperate.

"Greater honeyguides (Indicator indicator) lead humans to bees’ nests so that honey-hunters will break them open. While the humans collect the honey, the birds feast on beeswax and larvae."

The full research article, written by Claire Spottiswoode and Brian Wood, Culturally determined interspecies communication between humans and honeyguides, was published in Volume 382, Issue 6675 of Science.

[By the way, the Honeyguide has a fantastic taxonomic name: "Indicator indicator."]

[kavohh707]

For those interested in bird research I just came across this project, it shows results of lots of bird research about migratory birds from Europe and Africa. The data comes from bird rings and you can search for different species.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Daniel Greenfield

The primary victim of this policy will be Ariel University and researchers there.

The Biden boycott was only revealed when researchers at Ariel University were turned down. The State Department then declared that in a complete reversal of Trump administration policy, “participation in joint projects with Israel in the fields of science and technology in areas that came under its control after June 5, 1967” was  “not consistent with American policy.” That would potentially include not only Ariel University, but also parts of Jerusalem.

While the names of the researchers involved have not been made public, Ariel University has many talented people working on a wide variety of problems like Dr. Michal Hochhauser who is working to help autistic children integrate better into society and Konstantin Borodianskiy, PhD who is investigating how to coat titanium implants, like those used in hip replacement surgery, with natural materials so that they bond more securely with bones in surgical patients.

The U.S-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) encompasses BARD research on agriculture and BIRD research on industrial R&D including homeland security applications to counter terrorists. The Biden administration’s boycott of Ariel University and other researchers and facilities located in those parts of Israel claimed by terrorists cuts them out of the program.

While the Trump administration was unwilling to finance bat virus research in China, but was willing to work with Ariel University on medical, agricultural and national security research, the Biden administration will fund research in China, but not Israeli work on helping autistic kids..

During a better time, Ambassador David Friedman had joined Prime Minister Netanyahu at Ariel University to announce that the “geographic restrictions”, as they had persisted during the Obama administration and past administrations, “no longer comport with our foreign policy” of viewing Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, known to some as the West Bank as “inconsistent with international law.”

Deleting a single sentence, Ambassador Friedman revealed, was anything but simple and required “an inter-agency process with numerous branches of Government.”

[system-of-a-feather]

OK THOUGH BUT WE DO THIS WITH MY BIRDS

Cause our cockatiels originally were part of a larger flock (that lives at my parents house), every so often we literally give them time to talk to one another on the phone when we video chat and it is pretty enriching for them.

Cacatuidae family birds specifically are EXTREMELY social and bonded birds and cockatoo species are incredibly intelligence and emotional birds so that they are often compared to a toddler

Not gonna lie, if I could, it would almost be a dream to work in these studies XD

cockatoo ipad kid experiment

[phdguides]

Aiming for the stars with the right guidance.

wa.me/9340282643

[informationatlas]

Parrots learn to make video calls to chat with other parrots, then develop friendships with each other

Researchers from Northeastern University, in conjunction with scientists from MIT and the University of Glasgow, conducted a study exploring the impact of teaching a group of domesticated birds to communicate using tablets and smartphones. The findings indicate that utilizing video calls may assist parrots in mimicking the communication patterns observed in wild birds, potentially enhancing their behavior and overall well-being in the homes of their owners.

via smithsonianmag.com

[jstor]

Apropos of nothing, here is a baker's dozen images of bird-shaped brooches ca. 6th century, from Frankish, Vendel, and Anglo-Saxon artisans. They all come from the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection on JSTOR, which includes nearly half a million open access images for everyone!

[violetcheekedconure]

Okay but it turns out there’s some scientific merit to me having video called him while I was in the hospital for two weeks and I suggest if any of you are away from your birds for whatever reason to video call them often!

POV: You had a stroke last Monday and you’re FaceTiming with your parrot so he doesn’t think you died and end up burning down the residence in your absence.

[reality-detective]

American Farmer Breaks Down What’s Taking Place In Idaho.

In addition to the water shutoff order on a half million acres of farmland impacting farmers and about 6,400 water users. The Government is targeting chicken farms and cattle across the US.

There have been attacks on chicken egg farms across the country using the bird flu as an excuse to terminate the farms. 🤔

[jadafitch]

Great Duck Island Light, Frenchboro, Maine. Aptly named, Great Duck Island is estimated to support 20% percent of Maine's seabird population. Under the Maine Lights Program, the lighthouse and 12 surrounding acres are owned and manned by College of the Atlantic. The rest of the seabird-friendly island is owned by The Nature Conservancy in Maine

[heich0e]

just had a terrible, visceral thought about shouto feeding the animals in his neighbourhood in his free time. and i'm not talking like... just the stray cats. he's got bird feeders. he puts little peanuts out for the squirrels. when he has a day off he goes to the park and feeds the ducks. he's a disney prince i'm going to pass out

[iatnen]

Hey all…..

Errr uhhhh finally got to writing my fic

It’s a super short intro 😅 not a lot happened but at least it’s out

Quidditch, quidditch, quidditch

AO3 - Birds of a Feather

[ghurab-alzilal]

Dick: Your little obsession with Raven is becoming a problem.

Damian, grumpy : I'm not obsessed.

Dick, testing him : Oh, no? Then you don't care about her or her beautiful blue eyes, right?

Damian, undeterred : They're purple, whit a hint of light lavander when the light hits just right.

Dick, snorts : And when was the last time she smiled?

Damian, without hesitation : Today, at noon.

Dick, looks sideways at him : Right. And when it's my birthday?

Damian: *sepulchral silence *

Dick, raising eyebrow : When is my birthday? Damian? Damian, when is my birthday?!

Damian: *runs away *

[mmagpye]

American Birds Quilt, no date, cotton, 70"x 82"