Who are you to judge what is good parenting?

There is a new study this week about an unusual reproductive strategy in a bird, the Penduline Tit, which, if anthropomorphized, would appear to be an example of some really bad, deceptive parenting. But, Anne-Marie and Kate demonstrate the proper way to think about this. Obligatory Readings of the Day.

More like this

Today's image shows the ever-interesting Maned wolf, the so-called 'fox on stilts' Chrysocyon brachyurus, kindly supplied by Anne-Marie of Pondering Pikaia. Anne-Marie studies these animals for her honors thesis. Maned wolves are well known for being predators of large rodents (like pacas) and…
This was Anton's idea, at the dinner the other night, but I will get it started here anyway. An interesting animal I had I never owned an unusual species of animal. As a little kid I had small turtle named Aeschillus. Later I had two horses, half-brothers, whose names meant the same in two…
Jonathan Eisen, Rosie Redfield and Douglas Theobald destroy the especially egregious example of bad media reporting on the "function of appendix" paper. Kate does not dance around the issue when discussing a study on the relationship between lapdancers' earnings and where they are in their monthly…
Anne-Marie reviews two books that appear to be useful in thinking about one's career in science: The Beginner's Guide to Winning a Nobel Prize, by Peter Doherty, and The Chicago Guide to Landing a Job in Academic Biology, by Chandler, Wolfe, and Promislow. Read the review and, if you think this is…