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How Birds Evolve: What Science Reveals about Their Origin, Lives, and Diversity: A Book Review by a Non-Science Person

10,000 Birds

Doug Futuyma believes in science and in the scientific basis of evolution. How Birds Evolve: What Science Reveals about Their Origin, Lives, and Diversity by Douglas J. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just a very different kind of book than popular books about bird behavior, which rely on story as much as science.

Science 207
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The Secret Perfume of Birds: Uncovering the Science of Avian Scent–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

The Secret Perfume of Birds: Uncovering the Science of Avian Scent focuses on this last question, but you might find yourself fascinated by the first two, which come early in the book but linger on in the imagination as author Danielle J. Do birds use odors and a sense of smell to communicate with each other? But Danielle Whittaker has.

Science 213
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Every sperm is sacred

10,000 Birds

(If you’re feeling particularly science-y, the full paper is here.). By studying Zebra Finches and domestic chickens, the scientists discovered that multiple sperm appear necessary for a fertilized egg to progress to the embryo stage (a process called “polyspermy”.)

Zebras 145
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Teaching Ornithology in High Schools

10,000 Birds

Manker’s thesis is that ornithology is an excellent gateway to students becoming science majors in college and, more broadly and longer-term, conservation-minded citizens. Of course, there was conventional classroom time spent on topics such as mechanics of flight, metabolism, digestion, nest building, egg production, and so forth.

2018 263
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Birding Shanghai in June 2023

10,000 Birds

In the slightly frighteningly named journal “Science of The Total Environment”, there is a paper on organochlorine compounds in Purple Heron eggs nesting in sites located around a chloralkali plant (Ebro River). Summary result: relevant chemicals emitted by the plant can be found in the eggs.

Birds 130
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What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

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.

Owls 203
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National Audubon Society Birds of North America: A Guide Review

10,000 Birds

The photographs are from VIREO, the ornithological image collection associated with the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, which licenses bird photographs to many guides and reference books. However, they usually explain the process in the introduction and describe how the text has been updated.