You all know this happened.
But there is some controversy over what kind of bird it is.
There is no doubt whatsoever that the bird was a finch. However, what kind? Most likely a house finch, because they are common, and the most likely to live in a big auditorium thingie and not be fearful of people.
A pic of the bird is above. Here is another:
What do you think it is?
One of those really cool and useful “evolution stories” gets verified and illuminated by actual research. And blogging!
Continue reading The Oystercatcher and the Clam
This is the continuation of a discussion of loons, skeptically viewed. I am not skeptical about loons themselves. I know they exist. In fact, I just spent the last half hour watching Mom and Dad loon (whom I cannot tell apart, by the way) feeding Junior I and Junior II (whom I also cannot tell apart) what I have determined to be mostly crayfish, but also the occasional minnow.
In this installment of How the Loon Terns we will look at breeding success.
Continue reading Lead Poisoning and Loons: A skeptical look