MetaFilter posts tagged with birds

Sky Hawk is watching you...

rtha — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:40:54 -0800

You may know of Kitundu as a sound artist (previously on Mefi). But did you know he also takes amazing pictures of birds? Without leaving the city of San Francisco, Kitundu has found and documented: Patch – Seven months in the life of an urban Red-tailed hawk Red-tailed hawks at the Sutro Baths (from his blog) At San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts, Red Shouldered Hawks have learned to hunt pigeons and coots. Some pictures are a little gruesome. All of them are beautiful

Heed the Birds

Knappster — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:38:12 -0800

Brian D. Collier is attempting to teach the starlings to say the name "Schieffelin." Eugene Schieffelin introduced European Starlings into New York City's Central Park in 1890 and 1891. The descendants of these birds have damaged trees and crops, transmitted diseases, bullied native species, and even brought down a Lockheed Electra in 1960, killing 62. But they are not without their charms. Starling flocks in flight are a sight to see (previously). And starlings are skilled at recognizing song patterns and can even mimic human speech.

West documents one hapless bird, caught in a web of string, shrieking "Basic research!" at its owners; another screeching "I have a question!" as it squirms while having its feet doctored. The speech patterns of one bird routinely precedes its rendition of "hi" with the sound of a human sniffle--a combination traced to his caregiver being allergic.

Collier is using this skill to turn the species into an environmental teaching tool. He has mounted a project to teach the starlings to speak the name of their patron.

The first and most simple strategy is to find a starling and shout "Schieffelin" to it. Research by West and King has shown that starlings have the ability to learn a word or phrase after hearing it only once. To increase the success rate, I recommend repeating "Schieffelin" as many times as possible to an individual or group of starlings.

"Eventually, the starlings themselves will begin to carry the name "Schieffelin" through their North American population. Research by West and King has shown that starlings can learn sounds from one another. With the teaching of just a few "Schieffelin" can spread, as a virus would, through a population."

"Big Bird says it's time to wake up..."

saulgoodman — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:24:15 -0800

A new round of genetic tests has confirmed it: The 'big lizards' of our childhood fantasies were more likely 'big birds.' In fact, they probably even had feathers, and looked more like this than this. Mind blowing, I know, but I guess this demonstrates that, despite what some may think, science really doesn't have a problem admitting that it got something wrong when new evidence comes to light.

The Nature Photography of E.J. Peiker

LeeJay — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:18:38 -0800

E.J. Peiker, Nature Photgrapher There are a lot of nature photographers out there -- some better than Peiker and some worse -- but what fascinates me about Peiker's site is the number of photos available. A birdwatcher's dream, it features pages of photos of over 500 different species of birds, including an index devoted solely to wild waterfowl. Maybe animals are more your speed? How about nearly 150 pages of photos of wild animals (including my favorite - a quite handsome, flower-eating porcupine.) There's also a section for scenic photography featuring 23 states and 20 countries (or you can search by national park.) The photos are, unfortunately, not that big but there a ton of them, many of them quite pretty.

John James Audubon's Birds of America

Kattullus — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:31:56 -0800

John James Audubon's Birds of America with Audubon's original text. It's laid out by family and genus but there is also an alphabetical list of plates which has bigger versions of the bird pictures. There are also links to the state birds as well as birds driven to extinction since Audubon's time.

Columbidae Love

R. Mutt — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:57:06 -0800

The Brooklyn Pigeon Serial Killer vs The Brooklyn Pigeon Advocate. Related to The Brooklyn Pigeon Blowdart Attacks of '98?

The Lady Birds Can't Resist

brain_drain — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 08:52:57 -0800

The male Superb Bird of Paradise has an unusual courtship routine. First he sings. Then he hops. Finally, he busts out a spectacular finishing move, which the female finds attractive and/or totally scary. (If an MC Hammer soundtrack isn't your thing, I recommend this alternative version of the video instead.)

Wild Turkeys: Pigeons 2.0

lukemeister — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:07:35 -0800

Wild turkeys up to 4 feet tall are strolling on the sidewalks of Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline, Mass. Animal control officer Pierre Verrier suggests shooing turkeys away with a purse. But some people need to be near the turkeys.

A New Version of the Penis Game is Born

Stynxno — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 13:18:13 -0800

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds likes tits but not cock.

Masters of Deceit

dhruva — Sun, 06 May 2007 20:54:04 -0800

Clever Ravens: "They have a long evolutionary process of espionage and counter-espionage to build on, in the course of which they became masters of deceit and problem-solving. They got better and better at guessing the intentions of others and concealing their own."