“Magpies swoop bald men more often, eight-year-old’s viral survey finds,” says an Australian Broadcasting Corporation report. Some years ago, Australia’s Department for Environment and Water offered this advice: “Magpie swooping season is here! Find out why they swoop and how you can try and avoid them”. And this suggestion: “Carry an open umbrella above your […]
This week’s Feedback column (that I write) in New Scientist magazine has four segments. Here are bits of each of them: Best interests at heart? — Feedback is fascinated by the final eight words in this statement: “Disadvantages include the competitive element associated with racing, which creates a strong incentive to kill birds where this is not in […]
The Doris Huestis Speirs Award is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding lifetime contributions to Canadian ornithology. In 2017. the award went to Professor David Bird who is Emeritus Professor of Wildlife Biology and Director of the Avian Science and Conservation Centre of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Research research by Martin Gardiner
“Mirrors or mirror-related toys are often provided to Budgerigars as a substitute for social interactions with a plethora of different mirror toys available for purchase. Despite widespread use, exactly how mirrors relate to social behaviors (i.e. actions directed towards conspecifics within a flock) remains a mystery in Budgerigars.” That’s to say, with reference to […]
