Critter Chronicles: Pigeons Are Weird

Firsts off, they walk funny -- like wind-up toys -- their heads bob back and forth, and the faster they walk, the faster their heads move. It's a wonder they don't get whiplash.



And have you ever noticed how a flock of pigeons will take off from wherever they're roosting, fly around in circles for a while, and then light just where they were to begin with?

Antidote: Hey, Those Are Mine!

Via Digby:

This cat discovering that it has ears is absolutely the best thing I will see today. pic.twitter.com/SDx80QOnAI

— Amanda (@Pandamoanimum) July 16, 2020

Critter Chronicles: Encounters with Rabbits

So, I saw one of our neighborhood rabbits this morning. He/she crossed the street to the bushes in our parkway, then hopped into the yard. As I came in the gate, he was sitting there on the sidewalk; we looked at each other for a while, then he sat up and washed his face. After another couple of minutes, he hopped toward me -- in stages -- and eventually, after many pauses, hopped past me and out the gate, then hopped down the middle of the sidewalk to the neighbor's yard.

I don't know if our rabbits are somewhat tame, or just used to people -- I suspect they don't get a lot of harassment, in spite of the number of dogs in the neighborhood. Maybe he just sensed, somehow, that I wasn't going to eat him.



Side note: I've been noticing a lot of very small dogs in the park. I mean really tiny. I've never noticed that before.

Antidote

Bad week -- medical stuff, not desperate, but time-consuming.

At any rate, for those who are over impeachment already, this:

via GIPHY

And you thought they just did it automatically.

With thanks to commenter Doug105 at Joe.My.God.

Antidote: Welcome Home!

From the description: "Watch these dogs welcome home their soldier moms and dads!"

Saturday Science: Wandering

Although it sounds like this little critter had a destination in mind:

A young Arctic fox has walked across the ice from Norway's Svalbard islands to northern Canada in an epic journey, covering 3,506 km (2,176 miles) in 76 days.

"The fox's journey has left scientists speechless," according to Greenland's Sermitsiaq newspaper.

Researchers at Norway's Polar Institute fitted the young female with a GPS tracking device and freed her into the wild in late March last year on the east coast of Spitsbergen, the Svalbard archipelago's main island.

The fox was under a year old when she set off west in search of food, reaching Greenland just 21 days later - a journey of 1,512 km - before trudging forward on the second leg of her trek.

She was tracked to Canada's Ellesmere Island, nearly 2,000 km further, just 76 days after leaving Svalbard.

Could you walk over 2,000 miles in just over two months?

UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/GETTY IMAGES

Review: Bernd Heinrich: Mind of the Raven

Another Epinions piece that almost went down the memory hole. (I just spent ten minutes looking for one that did. Grr. . . .) At any rate, in case you were wondering about ravens, here you are.

Bernd Heinrich is a researcher and professor of biology at the University of Vermont. He is also the author of several books, including Bumblebee Economics, which was nominated for a National Book Award, and is a winner of the John Burroughs Medal for Natural History Writing. In his Preface to Mind of the Raven he recounts the origins of his focus on ravens and their behavior – for those who know and enjoy the raven's place in mythology and folklore, it seems only fitting that it started with a dream.

Among the questions Heinrich posed for himself was one that is very basic and not strictly scientific: why is the raven, of all birds, credited with being extraordinarily intelligent and, in many respects, almost human? Heinrich's studies over the next few years focused on the social life of the raven: mating, family life, group behavior, dominance patterns, communication (a very rich area), and a host of other areas and sub-areas. Heinrich has supplemented his own research, from studies carried out in Maine and Vermont, with information from other researchers in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The result is a fascinating picture of a remarkable bird.

Ravens, like other members of the crow family, are opportunistic feeders, largely scavengers (although Heinrich cites observations of ravens trout-fishing in Yellowstone Park, which I have done myself, although not quite the way they did it). Foraging and food-sharing lead to complex social behaviors, in that, while ravens are largely solitary, there exist associational networks among ravens that determine who will be allowed to share a find and when. There are also observations of ravens flushing game for other predators and then attempting to steal the kill – they come by the "thief" epithet honestly, it would seem.

As one might expect, communication is highly developed, and apparently has some fluidity. They also play. Ravens exhibit complex behaviors, such as caching food, defending caches, deception, and raiding other ravens' caches, that necessarily demand some learning and some freedom of action. Heinrich includes comments on these activities as well as a chapter entitled "Morality, Tolerance, and Cooperation" which includes his observations on how tolerance develops between a group of ravens and a newcomer.

While his approach to his subject leaves Heinrich scope for philosophical rumination, he does take off from hard fact. Although he does not bring in the raven's role in folklore to any great extent, one can easily see how its reputation was earned – thief, trickster, fighter – it's easy to see how a raven's croak could be taken for an omen.

There are places where I would have preferred less rumination and more fact, although the wealth of information itself can give the reader pause. On the whole, for anyone interested in ravens and their behavior, it is a valuable book, although not one that makes an easily used reference.

(HarperCollins, 2007)

Today's Must-Read: Proud of What?

I missed reports on this little event:

Think Progress reports:

The Proud Boys took Manhattan Friday night, attending a lecture by their founder, Gavin McInnes, at the Metropolitan Republican Club of New York City.

Following the event, the white nationalist group took to the streets, brutally beating and kicking several individuals while shouting “faggot” and “cocksucker,” reportedly because one of them stole one of their MAGA hats. Fox News responded by only reporting on anti-fascist vandalism that had taken place at the venue, while continuing to portray Democrats as the real angry mobs.

There's a fairly detailed analysis of what makes these assholes tick, especially the men of color who are part of this white supremacist movement (and if you think that's an oxymoron, you're not alone). What it boils down to is "male rage". I guess they're just not men enough to deal with it like adults.

Two things that are more than a little sobering. First, the police:

Several people have pointed out that the police appeared to protect the Proud Boys in these altercations. Indeed, Rebecca Kavanaugh, senior staff attorney for The Legal Aid Society, confirmed on Twitter that three arrests were made, but all three were anti-racist protesters — none of them members of the Proud Boys.

Local police forces in this country already suffer from a reputation that is -- how shall I put it? -- tarnished? Things like this don't help.

And then there's the "leftist media":

As Huffington Post National Reporter Christopher Mathias pointed out, U.S. media would describe the Proud Boys’ behavior as a fascist gang in any other country, but somehow their extremism continues to be downplayed.

I wish the Republicans had waited a few years to destroy the country, after I was safely dead. Is New Zealand far enough away, do you think?

Video at the link, if your stomach can handle it.

Nature Note: Dogs Do It, Too

I like to sit outside the Zoo reading in the summer; there's usually a breeze, and I like watching the people. My favored spot is right outside the wolf habitat in the Children's Zoo, which is populated by red wolves. They have been extinct in the wild, and Lincoln Park Zoo is participating in a breeding program to beef up their numbers and reintroduce them to their previous range.

Mike Collins, UK Wolf Conservation Trust

At any rate, any time an emergency vehicle goes by with sirens wailing, the wolves start howling in response.

I was just outside when an ambulance went by, siren screaming. Someone had tied their dog outside the Dunkin' Donuts across the street, a standard poodle, and sure enough, it started howling.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

The Mouse, Updated

You may remember my mentioning that I have a mouse. It's a skinny little mouse, so, being me, I started leaving food out for it. (It seems to be very fond of carrots and Trader Joe's Chicken Fried Rice.)

Well, it's getting braver -- now it will sit there eating while I'm looking at it, rather than grabbing a mouthful and darting back under the air conditioner. (I have an air conditioner, which is under my desk. I haven't really needed it, even with getting full sun in the morning.)

So I guess that's progress of a sort -- and it does seem to be filling out a little.

Saturday Science: Animal Reactions to the Solar Eclipse

I know it's Sunday. So what?

Photo:  NASA

It will only be a partial eclipse in Chicago, but I may hang out at the Zoo and check out how the animals are reacting. If they react. It would be interesting to be someplace where the eclipse will be total:

Margarita Woc Colburn’s childhood memories of a July 1991 total solar eclipse in Central America are of a social gathering for excited adult relatives who spent hours waiting for an event that was over in minutes.

But the future veterinarian’s gaze was drawn earthward.

“I was looking down on a valley in Guatemala, and I just remember the flock of birds, this massive thing going down to the trees getting ready for nesting, just like what you see at night,” Woc Colburn said, describing a short span when the moon completely obscured the sun. “Then, it felt like a new day. Birds came out and were singing.”

Actually, looking at the map of the path, I'm not sure there will be enough eclipse to notice.

Image:  Eclipse 2017.org

Via Balloon Juice.

Antidote: It's What I Keep Saying

We take care of each other:

A tiny baby elephant got trapped in a water trough, and lions were closing in — when the most amazing thing happened 🐘💞 pic.twitter.com/URK2wfUAlp

— The Dodo (@dodo) July 31, 2017

At least, we're supposed to.

Stray, but somewhat related thought: Judaism, the parent religion to Christianity (and Islam, as it happens), was a tribal religion: exclusive, xenophobic to the point of being out and out racist, strongly patriarchal and authoritarian. Along comes Jesus*, who preaches inclusivity, love, compassion, charity, generosity -- all attributes that one might find in early Judaism, but in that case limited to the members of the tribe. Jesus expanded the definition of "us."

And modern evangelical "Christians" have gone back to the worst aspects of early Judaism, while the Jews have gone the way of early Christianity.

It's an idea that requires more thought/development, but I think it has the seeds of truth.

* Oh, and about the perennial debate over whether Jesus actually existed: it doesn't matter. The myth is there.

Antidote: A WTF? Moment

I really have nothing to say about this:

Ugly bunny fracas is swiftly broken up by the chicken police. pic.twitter.com/kTxMODYsGa

— Dick King-Smith HQ (@DickKingSmith) July 10, 2017

Because We Need It

Via Digby:

It might be impossible for any one person to adopt every pet in need of a good home, but these kids are doing the next best thing — by bringing shy shelter dogs out of their shells.

An innovative new idea, called the Shelter Buddies Reading Program, is already making a huge difference for animals at the Humane Society of Missouri.

The idea is simple: train kids to read to dogs as a way of readying them for forever homes, all while instilling a greater sense of empathy in the youngsters, too.

Read the whole thing.

Panda Update

The cubs did make an appearance while I was there -- mama came out for some lunch, and the kids followed, briefly. They're livelier than the video posted yesterday, hopping around and scuffling like real cubs. For about a minute and a half. Then back inside.

And that was it.

Which Is Worse?

These assholes?

Boston brothers said that they were inspired by Donald Trump to beat and urinate on a homeless Latino man, police revealed on Wednesday.

According to State Police, Scott Leader and Steve Leader encountered the victim on the way home from a Red Sox game near a stop on Boston’s subway system, The Boston Globe reported on Wednesday.

The man said that he awoke to find the brothers urinating on his face and rummaging through his belongings.

“Next thing . . . he was getting hit in the face and head,” a police report explained. “He remembers being punched several times and hit with the metal pole.”

A witness said that the brothers were heard laughing as they walked away.

Or their hero?

Trump called the assault a “shame.”

“I will say that people who are following me are very passionate,” he remarked. “They love this country and they want this country to be great again. They are passionate.”

They're not passionate -- they're stupid bullies, just like their leader.

That's really showing our greatness -- beating up on homeless people. If we were really great, we wouldn't have any homeless people.

Best Ad Ever

I don't have anything to add:

Although the puppy's cute, too.

Snow's Not All Bad

A taste of things to come. At least the panda's enjoying it.

The Universe Is A Crapshoot

Which is the way I normally state the position taken in this post by Tom Sullivan at Hullabaloo. He starts off:

Psychologists at the Yale Mind and Development Lab explore the human tendency to believe that "everything happens for a reason."

We look for causes. I don't really know if this is hard-wired or the results of millennia of conditioning, but we do. From the article he cites:

This tendency to see meaning in life events seems to reflect a more general aspect of human nature: our powerful drive to reason in psychological terms, to make sense of events and situations by appealing to goals, desires and intentions. This drive serves us well when we think about the actions of other people, who actually possess these psychological states, because it helps us figure out why people behave as they do and to respond appropriately. But it can lead us into error when we overextend it, causing us to infer psychological states even when none exist. This fosters the illusion that the world itself is full of purpose and design.

I take this as the basis of our tendency to personify animals and objects, to ascribe meanings and motivations that may or may not there. (In the case of animals, probably, although we may not really understand their motivations, which is one reason birds fascinate me: they're sometimes fairly inscrutable, such as when a whole flock just suddenly takes wing for no apparent reason. And cats are the masters of inscrutability. Objects? Not so much.) Ultimately, it's the basis of religion: natural phenomena become persons of great power and sometimes inscrutable motives -- gods and spirits. (The article notes that many people believe this tendency is the result of religious belief. It's actually the other way around.)

The consequences can be devastating:

Whatever the origin of our belief in life’s meaning, it might seem to be a blessing. Some people find it reassuring to think that there really are no accidents, that what happens to us — including the most terrible of events — reflects an unfolding plan. But the belief also has some ugly consequences. It tilts us toward the view that the world is a fundamentally fair place, where goodness is rewarded and badness punished. It can lead us to blame those who suffer from disease and who are victims of crimes, and it can motivate a reflexive bias in favor of the status quo — seeing poverty, inequality and oppression as reflecting the workings of a deep and meaningful plan.

I'm not sure that these are the best examples -- poverty, inequality, and oppression are not random events: there are human actors involved somewhere along the line. (Just think about the increase in poverty and the steady decline in the standard of living for most of us in the richest country on earth. Sorry, that didn't just happen.) But for victims of natural disasters and just plain old accidents, the conclusion can hold true. In Sullivan's words,"$#!+ happens." For a religious believer, "It's God's will," whatever variety of god you happen to believe in.

There. That should be something to chew on for a while. And do click through and read Sullivan's post. It's not terribly long, but it's incisive.

Saturday Science: Yes, Crows Can Think

More specifically, they understand cause and effect (which a lot of humans don't).

Crows understand water displacement at the level of a small child.

Credit: Sarah Jelbert; CC-BY

New Caledonian crows may understand how to displace water to receive a reward, with the causal understanding level of a 5-7 year-old child, according to results published March 26, 2014, in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Sarah Jelbert from University of Auckland and colleagues.

Understanding causal relationships between actions is a key feature of human cognition. However, the extent to which non-human animals are capable of understanding causal relationships is not well understood. Scientists used the Aesop's fable riddle -- in which subjects drop stones into water to raise the water level and obtain an out-of reach-reward -- to assess New Caledonian crows' causal understanding of water displacement. These crows are known for their intelligence and innovation, as they are the only non-primate species able to make tools, such as prodding sticks and hooks. Six wild crows were tested after a brief training period for six experiments, during which the authors noted rapid learning (although not all the crows completed every experiment). The authors note that these tasks did not test insightful problem solving, but were directed at the birds' understanding of volume displacement.

I think I've probably noted this before, but it bears repeating: We tend to underestimate the intelligence and capabilities of the so-called "lower animals." About as much as we overestimate our own.