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Getting the Bill – Taste, Touch and Smell in Birds

10,000 Birds

One of the defining characteristics of birds, besides the obvious features of wings and feathers, is their bills. From toucans to curlews and from hummingbirds to flamingos, birds display an almost otherworldly diversity in these body-parts. Bills are instrumental in defining three of the senses in birds – taste, touch and smell.

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The Gap Between Wildlife and the Animal Rights Movement

10,000 Birds

The animal rights movement is (rightly) closely associated with protesting things like factory farming, dogfighting, etc…basically, the mistreatment of animals. The birds had evolved without a predator like this, and with the new snake having no predators, it had no problem decimating the island’s birdlife.