Critter News

MARCH 21, 2012

It's a horrible topic and I post news articles about the abuses from time to time. But I want to be able to argue about it intelligently, citing science, not just morals. Apparently, there is a lot of argument out there than animal experimentation is even good for humans. Many times tests fail. Or vice versa. Or vice versa.

Animal 100

Animal Morals Science Humane 100

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2017

A few years back, Audubon magazine published a thoughtful article and series of musings (including those of our very own Corey Finger) on the subject of why birds matter. But not everyone sees things through such an avian-positive lens, and hence science often has to make the case for birds’ intrinsic worth.

Birds 100

Birds Science Research Humane 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2018

According to a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study, human-induced climate change has doubled the area affected by forest fires in the western U.S. An excellent Audubon article states “What do birds do when wildfires break out? ” The article goes on to mention that fires are not all bad.

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Wildlife Sacramento Shelters Science 102

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

Jennifer Ackerman points out in the introduction to What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds , that we don’t know much, but that very soon we may know a lot more. What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds is a joyous, fascinating read.

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Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 200

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

Fortunately for the honor of the species, the researchers found that kleptoparasitism was practiced at a low rate (4% of observations) while much more often, drongos captured insects disturbed by other species (41% of observations). I am sure one could make a very boring movie based on the events described in this paper.

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Birds Sri Lanka Taiwan Cats 202

Critter News

SEPTEMBER 7, 2008

In an article published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UC Berkeley researchers argue that substantial die-offs of amphibians and other plant and animal species add up to a new mass extinction facing the planet. I can't believe we are still debating this.

Science 100

Science Research Humane Tagged 100

4 The Love Of Animals

JULY 14, 2010

The purpose of her trip was to study the behavior of the resident chimpanzees in order to better understand humans. It was through her research that she learned how chimpanzees make and use tools, eat meat and engage in war-like activity. What she learned then added to our understanding of what means to be human.

2002 100

2002 United States Research Meat 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2020

Not all habitat change is due to humans; there is Chestnut Blight destroying American Chestnuts in the early 1900s, and the more recent Dutch Elm disease. The “Literature Cited” section lists the traditional print articles, books, and maps, but doesn’t include items like data sets or rare bird alerts.

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New York City New York Birds Breeding 146

10,000 Birds

JULY 3, 2012

What I didn’t know was how this relationship actually works: the mechanics of Red Knot migration, the reduced digestive systems necessary for their long flighta, the need to fatten up quickly so they can fly to the Arctic and breed, how they compete with other shorebirds and gulls and, it turns out, humans, for horseshoe crab eggs.

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Delaware New Jersey Research Eggs 176

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 7, 2014

It’s very hard to organize the many ways in which human beings relate to avian beings into comprehensible text. Jonathan Elphick and John Fanshawe provided “specialist research” and support.” Perhaps it’s because the topic is so huge, it’s difficult to comprehend in a systematic way. A few words about the back of the book material.

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Birds Egypt Family Eagles 205

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

It’s all about the improbable intersection of human beings and Emperor Penguins, and if I can’t make it to an Emperor Penguin colony (highly unlikely), reading this book has been the next best thing. It’s part memoir, part travelogue, part scientific narrative, part prologue to making an argument for Antarctic conservation.

Penguins 151

Penguins Seals Leopards Research 151

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2023

Being lazy, a bunch of researchers used camera traps to investigate the species rather than following the birds directly (which would have had some health benefits). With regard to their music taste, the research results were inconclusive. Being a management consultant, I am well-versed in the science and art of b *g.

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Birds China Science Research 130

10,000 Birds

JULY 25, 2022

“A reading of recent research shows that Australian birds are more likely than most to eat sweet foods, live in complex societies, lead long lives, attack other birds, and be intelligent and loud.” ” (Tim Low, “Where Song Began”). While this may sound attractive at first, it also covers highly immoral behavior.

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Birds Australia Ducks Mountain Goats 217

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2020

This is a delightful book, large (8-1/2 by 11 inches), filled with Sibley’s distinctive artwork and an organized potpourri of research-based stories about the science behind bird’s lives. copyright @2020 by David A llen Sibley. As Sibley tells us in the Preface, he originally intended to write a children’s book.

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2020 Birds Groups North America 262

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 14, 2015

If you want to know why most scientists support collecting this piece in Science explains it better than I can. I can understand why some people are conflicted, but the value to science of the collections is immense. This collection isn’t some ghastly memorial or symbol of human stupidity.

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Collecting Solomon Islands New Zealand Fiji 214

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

This is in addition to the many articles and exhibits and even film devoted to the bird, one of the few species whose death was witnessed and noted down to the exact day, Tuesday, September 1, 1914 (though there is some question about the exact time). This is not that kind of book, as Fuller makes clear from the beginning.

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2014 Killing Michigan Kentucky 159

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 25, 2011

And if you look into it enough, it presents a classic case where science can fail us. I believe in science. Science is based on logic and evidence, which I think is a very respectable way to look at the world. But what many people fail to realize, and too often scientists themselves, is that science is elastic.

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Emotional Science Birds Mammals 198

Critter News

DECEMBER 7, 2010

The article from UPI is below in its entirety. Drug and chemical companies say they endorse a Europe-wide initiative intended to eventually end the use of animals in research and safety testing. I guess it depends on how much you believe them.

Animal 100

Animal Rodents Industry Animal Research 100

10,000 Birds

JUNE 26, 2018

The causes were the usual reasons for island extinction—deforestation by both humans and invasive plants that crowded out native plants, hunting, and invasive rats, mongoose, monkeys, and, of course, feral cats. Is it any wonder that Pink Pigeons were on the brink of extinction when humans intervened? I know, that’s harsh.

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Mauritius Stud Zoos Eggs 101

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

March 14, 2011 Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Jon Gassett, Commissioner One Sportsman’s Lane Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 Dear Mr. Gassett, I am a writer, naturalist and artist with a special interest in human/bird interactions. She illustrates her books and magazine articles with her own sketches and watercolor paintings.

2011 239

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 239

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 5, 2024

It seems that like me, Oriental Storks are not that fond of humans. A study found that in areas with intense human activity, their nests were higher, while in safer environments, the nests were lower and closer to food resources, allowing parent storks to invest more in the nestlings. Well, they are birds, not humans.

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Birds China Humane Battery 154

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 1, 2024

In the same article, Henry Adams, wildlife management coordinator for Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute, describes the night heron as having “grumpy old geezer energy.” Some ornithological research is surprisingly simple. Some ornithological research is surprisingly simple.

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Birds Research Science Europe 180

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2018

Darwin Day is February 12th, and for an early celebration I thought I’d take a look at a book that rethinks the way Darwin, and we, think about evolution—a very specific part of evolution, the way beautiful features and behavior have developed amongst birds and, by extension, amongst humans.

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Ducks Research Animal Stud 100

10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

None fly, most are curious and social, which probably contributes to our cultural perception of penguins as one step away from human. Science and Conservation , the second section, presents two-page summaries of the diverse research being done around the world about penguins. Some are cute, some are dignified (and royal!).

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Penguins New Zealand South Africa Albatross 191

Animal Ethics

MARCH 10, 2008

Recently published research suggests that the situation is even more dire than previously predicted. They conclude: Our results suggest that future anthropogenic [human-generated] emissions would need to be eliminated in order to stabilize global-mean temperatures. The complete abstract of their article is available here.

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Washington Obama Animal Ethics Research 40