Bird

The new personal-transportation option is meant to provide an efficient way to get around the University. Photo courtesy of Bird Rides.

For now, riders will be able to operate the scooters only within the University limits. When a report is submitted, someone is assigned to correct the issue. Scanning the QR code on the scooter will finalize the rental, and travel cost will be deducted from the rider’s credit or debit card account. Rides cost $1 to start up and 39 cents per minute afterward, so there’s no University funding involved. Cassie Gerhardt, associate vice president for student affairs, agreed. The app shows available scooters and their locations.

A new study examines how the geographic characteristics of the world's islands influence seasonal variation in the number of bird species.

The study determines how seasonal species richness of birds is affected by the size of the island, how isolated it is from the mainland and other islands, and the latitude in which it lies. The bigger the island, the more bird species. Species numbers reached their highest levels on islands located in the Northern Hemisphere at mid-latitudes during migration periods. Islands that occurred greater than 90 miles from the mainland contained substantially fewer species. "These findings emphasize the importance of evolutionary processes on the largest islands and the unique ecology of the world's most remote islands,",said La Sorte. "Overall, species richness was lowest across all four seasons on the smallest, most remote islands and species richness was highest across all four seasons on the largest islands located at intermediate distances from the mainland." The story changes during the non-breeding season when the number of species present on tropical islands peaks—reflecting the fact that the majority of the world's migratory birds breed in the Northern Hemisphere and head south in the autumn to winter in the tropics.

The late Gerald Durrell once said that freedom was really not all it was made out to be. But, even in the animal world, it does matter to be unrestrained.

Every time I see a beagle, or a Labrador, or even a badly behaved macaque, or a white rat, I give it a silent salutation, thanking its kind for testing the pills I take, or the pacemaker that ticks away in my chest. Wild, free animals had a very rough and tough life – they had territories to defend, mates to fight over (sometimes to the death), food to hunt down, babies to look after, enemies to avoid – no walk in the park. In many zoos, the animals are confined in dark dingy cages, and promptly go mad, pacing up and down relentlessly all day, or shaking their heads up and down or side to side (it’s called stereotypical behaviour) or mutilating themselves. I held my cupped palms upwards, opened them and with a whirr and a squeak (of delight?), the little bird took off to freedom, taking and freeing a little bit of myself with it. Others buy captive birds like (often garishly dyed) munias and release them en masse but this is to buy the approval of the Gods and only leads to the capture of more such birds (so they can be bought and freed). Many years ago, at a bird-ringing camp, I remember holding a little bird (I have even forgotten what species), that had been caught in the mist net, ringed and was now ready for release.

PHNOM PENH (The Phnom Penh Post/Asia News Network): The agriculture ministry and an institution under the commerce ministry based in Xiamen city, ...

The Xiamen centre is also working with Southeast Yandu (Xiamen) Industrial Development Co Ltd on plans to build infrastructure in Cambodia for the procurement and processing of edible bird’s nests for export to China, it said, adding that the centre is also keen to lend a hand to the Kingdom and Chinese Customs in the anticipated negotiations. Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon and the director of Cambodia (Xiamen) Commercial Center – the Cambodia Commercial Center’s representative arm in the southeastern coastal Chinese city – signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect at the ministry on Aug 8, according to a statement posted on the minister’s official Facebook page. PHNOM PENH (The Phnom Penh Post/Asia News Network): The agriculture ministry and an institution under the commerce ministry based in Xiamen city, Fujian province, China have entered into a partnership to pave the way for the export of Cambodian edible bird’s nest products to China and establishment of a domestic processing plant for the commodity in the near future.

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Cambodia (Xiamen) Commercial Centre have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to export ...

Connection is secure Checking if the site connection is secure Occasionally, you may see this page while the site ensures that the connection is secure.

Spotless starling chicks make quite a sight when they're hungry. Tucked inside their nest, the gray baby birds stretch their necks, stick their little faces ...

Based on all these findings, the scientists concluded that spotless starling chicks use their preen oil to alter the coloration of their mouth, which advertises their health to their parents. More research is needed to fully understand how and why the spotless starling chicks use their preen oil as makeup. Chicks with more ultraviolet preen oil also tended to have higher carotenoid levels in their blood. The scientists also found that parents gave more food to chicks whose preen oil was warmer-colored overall and whose mouths had more yellow, orange, or red and more ultraviolet coloration—a wavelength beyond the visible spectrum for humans. A team of ecologists in Spain found that the color of the chicks’ preen oil, which they take from a gland and apply to the edges of their beaks, influences how much food their parents give them. Because only chicks have this yellow oil, they wondered if the youngsters use it to catch their parents’ attention.

Spotted doves are small and look somewhat like a long-tailed pigeon. It is a resident common bird in the Inter State Chandigarh Region.

The flight of a Spotted Dove is very quick and if you are fortunate to observe its flight in a hilly region, you will be delighted to hear the flapping sounds of its wings. Spotted doves are small and look somewhat like a long-tailed pigeon. A common bird, Spotted Doves can be found in open grasslands, gardens, parks and in urban areas sitting on electricity wires.