Friday in the FalklandsMarch 13, 2012 – I keep coming back to the Falklands because I like these islands. They form a strangely serene and rather rainy bit of earth in the South Atlantic, but I keep boarding ships that take me there. Last year I was surrounded by beautiful baby birds, and the year before that I ate my fill at…
Honeyguide chicks stab foster siblings to deathSeptember 06, 2011 – One by one, three bee-eater chicks hatch in their underground nest, and they are all about to die. There is a fourth chick in with them, but it is no bee-eater. It is a greater honeyguide, a different species that was laid in the nest and mistakenly incubated by the bee-eater parents. Having hatched a […]
Mutant flu – the risks and benefitsMarch 06, 2012 – For a few months now, an intense debate has raged around two mutant strains of H5N1 ‘bird’ flu that, unlike their wild counterparts, can spread easily between mammals. The strains, created by two teams of scientists, have prompted fears that they might be trigger a pandemic, after being accidentally released or used in bio-terrorism. To […]
Gulf Islands National Park ReserveJuly 06, 2011 – Nurtured by a unique Mediterranean climate, this British Columbia park supports a stunning diversity of rare bird, plant, and marine life spread across 15 islands.
Photo safari – wedge-tailed eagleMay 02, 2010 – The wedge-tailed eagle – a truly formidable bird of prey whose impressive beak and talons are tempered only by the fact that it looks like it’s wearing flares. This individual, at Caversham Wildlife Park, spent a while dragging its beak against a log. Feel free to hazard a guess as to why – sharpening, perhaps?
Pictures: China's Wetland RevolutionApril 28, 2011 – The Chinese government has invested 1.1 billion yuan ($16.11 million) in wetland protection projects since 2006, but are climate change and development destined to dampen the country's green crusade?
Bone holes suggest active dinosaursJuly 05, 2011 – Somewhere on the side of your thigh bone, there is a tiny hole. It’s called a “nutrient foramen”. An artery passes through this gap, suffusing the bone with blood and oxygen. The hole is found in all thigh bones, from those of birds to lizards, and it always fulfils the same function. But it can […]
Spider-slayer uses ninja stealth, unbreakable grip and body armourJune 15, 2011 – Spiders can tackle all manner of prey, from insects to fish to birds. But some of them specialise in killing their own kind. Palpimanus gibbulus and Palpimanus orientalis are two such spider-slayers, and they use special adaptations to tackle their dangerous prey, including ninja-like stealth, blinding-fast strikes, unbreakable grips, and heavy body armour. Stano Pekár […]
Swimming robots and flexing bones: My new story for the New York TimesMay 17, 2011 – Biomechanics is the science of flesh and bone–how birds fly, sharks swim, muscles twitch, and tendons spring. In January, I went to a fascinating session at the annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology where biomechanics experts talked about how they’ve been trying to turn their insights about biomechanics into commercial products. […]
Talk to the AnimalsFebruary 08, 2011 – For animal lovers, there may be no one more heroic than Dr. Dolittle, the title character of Hugh Lofting’s charming children’s books and Richard Fleischer’s schmaltzy movie (one of my childhood favorites). Dolittle’s patients are people, at first, until they get fed up with his growing number of house pets — rabbits, mice, pigeons, a […]
Moth and plant hit on the same ways of making cyanideApril 12, 2011 – If “cyanide two-ways” sounds like an unappetising dish, you’d do well to stay clear of the bird’s-foot trefoil. This common plant flowers throughout Europe, Asia and Africa, and its leaves are loaded with cyanide. The plants are also often crawling with the caterpillars of the burnet moth, which also contain a toxic dose of cyanide […]
On Turkey LegsNovember 25, 2010 – This story is so kooky that I must lead with the video: This slow-motion film stars turkeys of different ages, from hatchlings to adults, and yes, they’re furiously climbing a steep wooden ramp. The video comes from a study published earlier this month. But let me start at the beginning.
Are there aliens worth saving?February 24, 2011 – Behold the Japanese white-eye, considered an invasive species in its new home in Hawaii. Yet the bird does something that conservation biologists might considered useful for sustaining ecosystems: it spreads the seeds of native Hawaiian plants. Get rid of the Japanese white-eye, and you get rid of its service. In Yale Environment 360 this morning, […]
Platypus Genome Reveals Secrets of Mammal EvolutionMay 07, 2008 – The duck-billed mammal is related to reptiles and birds, a study finds.
Love Is in the AirDecember 01, 2009 – Birds do it, bees do it, even pollinating plants do it.
Tsunami Aerial ViewsOctober 09, 2009 – Check out these aerial photos for a birds-eye-view of the Indian Ocean Tsunami.