10,000 Birds

AUGUST 19, 2014

There is a fantastic paper just out in Science : “Sustained miniaturization and anatomoical innovation in the dinosaurian anceestors of birds” by Michael Lee, Andrea Cau, Darren Naishe and Gareth Dyke. Whales are cows. The point is, of course, that whales are not cows. Even though whales are cows. Cows do not.

Camels 201

Camels Whales Whaling Apes 201

10,000 Birds

JUNE 22, 2011

There was also a mammal jawbone in the pellet too. I stuffed it in my pocket and decided to take it to Richard Oehlenschlager at the Science Museum of Minnesota. I wasn’t as interested in the mammal jawbone, but it totally piqued his interest. What was throwing me off were the feathers. Was that a cardinal beak?

Bats 209

Bats Dissection Owls Minnesota 209

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2011

Geophagy, the intentional consumption of soil by vertebrates, has long been documented in a number of bird and mammal species – including wide-spread use by humans – which consume soil to increase absorption of certain minerals not naturally occurring in the local diet. That’s right – birds eating clay. Thanks for visiting!

Peru 255

Peru Parrots 2011 Research Center 255