behavior
grrlscientist | May 13, 2008tags: foot binding, China, social behavior, fashion psychology, streaming video
A friend sent these images depicting foot-binding in China. To say the least, I knew this practice was painful and caused permanent malformations, but seeing the damage makes my own feet scream in agony. How did such a strange and harmful behavior like this ever become a cultural fashion/fad/fetish?
An elderly Chinese woman who was one of the countless victims of foot-binding. She can barely stand or walk, even with assistance. Gee, I wonder why?
An elderly Chinese woman, one of countless millions of female…
grrlscientist | May 13, 2008tags: fox news, subliminal suggestion, voting behavior, politics, streaming video
This streaming video shows a rather clumsy attempt by FauxSnooz to subliminally influence American voters. [1:15].
So .. do you think this might work by influencing innocent minds to vote against a person's best interests?
grrlscientist | May 12, 2008tags: bunnies, behavior, streaming video
It's springtime in bunnyland. This amusing streaming video shows .. well .. let's just say that most people probably never thought that a bunch of girls could cause so much trouble -- certainly, the photographers (who are trying to shoot a commercial) never thought so. (All narration is in Norwegian Finnish). [1:00].
Okay, for those of you who watched this, sorry to disappoint you about lesbian bunnies and out-of-control bunny hormones and all, but let me mention that same-sex humping is relatively common in animals because they use this to establish…
grrlscientist | May 8, 2008tags: screaming frog, amphibians, streaming video
This amusing streaming video shows a frog that was discovered by an amateur naturalist -- this frog was not enjoying the experience of being handled, either [0:25].
laelaps | May 2, 2008 If you're a pied babbler (Turdoides bicolor), you've got a bit to worry about while foraging. It's hard to keep watch for predators and eat your fill simultaneously, and trying to do both yourself would mean that you're either going to spend a lot of time looking for a predator that might not be there or that you might be oblivious to the predator that gets you. Fortunately for these birds there are individuals that act as sentinels, and as a new study in Current Biology reports, these sentinels appear to be boosting the feeding success of those they are watching over.
Like some other birds…
grrlscientist | May 1, 2008tags: eclectus, Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, parrots, birds, photograph
Elektra.
Female Solomon Islands Eclectus parrot, Eclectus roratus solomonensis, April 2008.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Last night, I was feeling rather depressed, so instead of writing, I watched The Golden Compass on DVD with my parrots. I crawled into bed and under the covers because it was cold, and Orpheus sat in front of my laptop screen, watching the movie while Elektra snuggled down on my side and pulled the blankets around herself into a cup nest there. She made…
grrlscientist | April 25, 2008tags: David Attenborough, pika, Ochotonidae, behavior, streaming video
This streaming video shows David Attenborough bonding with a Pika, beginning by presenting it with a floral bouquet [3:20].
grrlscientist | April 24, 2008tags: Waterbill Mystery, humor, behavior, streaming video
Jennifer and Jim kept getting huge water bills. They knew beyond a doubt that the bills weren't representative of actual usage, and no matter how they tried to conserve, the high bills continued. Although they could see nothing wrong, they had everything checked for leaks or problems: first the water meter, then outdoor pipes, indoor pipes, underground pipes, faucets, toilets, washer, ice maker machine, etc. One day, Jim was sick and stayed home in bed, but kept hearing water running downstairs. He finally tore himself from his sick…
grrlscientist | April 22, 2008tags: Lucasberg, wasp, Hymenoptera, behavior, streaming video
This streaming video is a fascinating close-up interaction with a wasp by the photographer, who goes by the name Lucasberg. To get these amazing shots, he used a 180mm SLR macro lens. The photographer says the video is a little shakey because he was balancing on the handrail of his porch and could only use 1 tripod leg while filming. [1:06].
Face to face with a Wasp.
grrlscientist | April 20, 2008tags: birds, Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, ornithology, Image of the Day
Note the paper teabag wrapper in the photo. I think it adds a "New Yorkish touch" to its construction.
Nest of the Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, located in a tree in the traffic circle in front of the Museum's parking garage.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger view].
Did you notice the pale blue eggs in the nest?
grrlscientist | April 19, 2008tags: birds, Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, ornithology, Image of the Day
Papa Museum's left eye was unwaveringly fixed on mine.
Male Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger view].
Bob Levy writes:
A sure sign that "spring hath sprunged" is the appearance of songbird nests. I found my first one this season in an unexpected fashion but then I have come to expect the unexpected when bird-watching. For several minutes I had been standing beside a wrought iron fence where the sight and sound of a singing male House Finch mesmerized…
laelaps | April 18, 2008It's difficult to think about dinosaurs and not imagine what they might have been like in life. Museum restorations have tried to recreate scenes from the Mesozoic from the bones of dinosaurs for about a century, but new technologies are allowing museum patrons a new way to think about what dinosaurs might have been like. A new exhibit called "Be the Dinosaur" will soon be launching at the Louisville Science Center, and visitors will be able to not only take control of a dinosaur in a virtual world, but also to observe the virtual behaviors of dinosaurs programmed with artificial intelligence…
awild | April 15, 2008
Forelius mccooki (small ants) & Pogonomyrmex desertorum
Tucson, Arizona
In last August's National Geographic, photographer Mark Moffett has a controversial photo essay depicting a large, motionless harvester ant being worked over by smaller Dorymyrmex workers. Moffett's interpretation of the behavior is this:
While observing seed-harvester ants on the desert flats west of Portal, Arizona, I noticed workers would approach a nest of a tiny, unnamed species of the genus Dorymyrmex. A harvester would rise up on her legs with abdomen lifted and jaws agape, seemingly frozen in place. Soon…
pontiff | April 8, 2008Did the Monte Hall problem, trip up a huge number of psychologists? So claims this New York Times article. For a good detailed explanation see here. For even more detail see the actual paper.
grrlscientist | April 7, 2008tags: elephant picasso, wow, animal behavior, streaming video
This is an absolutely amazing video of an elephant painting a picture of .. an elephant holding a flower! [8:28]
grrlscientist | April 2, 2008tags: European starling flock, birds, behavior, streaming video
This streaming video shows what happens when a large flock of starlings decides to roost in a small red cedar tree -- it bends over and then, when they fly away, it snaps back. [1:40]
grrlscientist | April 1, 2008tags: flying penguins, humor, satire, streaming video
Wow, hot off the presses: A flock of flying penguins has just been discovered! This video documents this amazing feat. [1:31]
grrlscientist | March 25, 2008tags: spider, web building, mind-altering drugs, streaming video
This streaming video documents that spiders web-building abilities are affected by exposure to mind-altering drugs, like weed, as demonstrated by in 1960 Dr. Peter Witt. [1:49].
grrlscientist | March 20, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, dog walking, wild birds, ground-nesting birds, conservation, peer-reviewed research
Dog walking in natural areas harms wild birds, according to recently published research.
Millions of people walk their dogs every day, and many of them enjoy walking their dogs in natural areas where birds and other wild animals live. Unfortunately, a scientific paper was recently published showing that the presence of dogs, even when they are on a leash in these natural areas, seriously interferes with wild birds' reproductive success and even scares many of them away.
This…
pontiff | March 20, 2008A New York Times article has appeared about a study on the effects of excessive beer drinking on scientific productivity. The study, (Tomas Grim, "A possible role of social activity to explain differences in publication output among ecologists." Oikos 117 (4), 484-487) done by the aptly named ecologist, Dr. Thomas Grim, claimed that scientific productivity among Czech avian ecologists and behavioral ecologists (as measured by number of publications, citation rate per paper, etc.) dropped according to how many beers the ecologists drank.
Now first of all, I find it kind of annoying that the…