Carnivalia

Here is more blog carnival goodness to keep you entertained;

Carnival of Evolution, part two, has been published. Once again, this blog carnival is filled with lots of science-y information to educate and entertain you, so go visit! And be sure to volunteer to host this blog carnival since they are seeking more hosts!

The latest edition of the I and the Bird blog carnival, which focuses on blog essays and photography of wild birds.

More like this

Okay, what's happening here, you guys? It seems that yet another blog carnival, Oekologie, has gone the way of the passenger pigeon. And I even volunteered to host this blog carnival by leaving a message on the site, but my message was discarded. I am happy to help rescue science-y blog carnivals,…
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux). Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power) -- Sir Francis Bacon. The next edition of Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) will publish Monday and as usual, it is seeking submissions and hosts! Can you help by sending URLs…
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux). Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power) -- Sir Francis Bacon. The next edition of Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) will publish Monday and as usual, it is seeking submissions and hosts! Can you help by sending URLs…
Image: wemidji (Jacques Marcoux). Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est (And thus knowledge itself is power) -- Sir Francis Bacon. The next edition of Scientia Pro Publica (Science for the People) will publish Monday and as usual, it is seeking submissions and hosts! Can you help by sending URLs…

May I hijack this post to ask a couple of totally off-topic questions about birds?

I'm located in Washington DC, downtown, and for the last year I've been feeding a group of starlings and sparrows near my office building. Over the year, watching the changes in these birds, watching them raise young, moult (did you know that tail feathers are not required for flight? I sure didn't) has been fascinating.

One of the most interesting changes has been in the starling population. In the fall, there began to be yellow bands at the base of the beaks of some, but not all of these birds. Through the winter these birds have come to have all-yellow or yellow and black banded beaks, but with one exception the overall beak length has not changed (about 1-1.25cm). One bird has about doubled the length of its beak and has a beak that is an easy 2cm long with a black end, a yellow middle section and now, a black base. It does not appear to be interfereing with its eating, yet, and I continue to watch this bird with some fascination.

My questions:

From observation of the color changes, I presume bird beaks grow from the base and wear where they meet, is this correct?

Does the shape of the beak change as it grows or it is a simple conic section?

Do bird's beaks, like rodent teeth, grow contiuously thru the bird's life?

Are they composed of bone-derived material or of dentin-derived material or of a fingernail derived material? (I know that evolutionarily the ancestors of birds were toothed dinosauria but wonder which part of the jaw structure was retained as the beak and what was lost.)

Any idea what is going on with my long-beaked starling? Is that bird in trouble?

And lastly, I know how (more or less) to sex the sparrows, but is there any "tell" on the starlings?