danger
edyong | September 2, 2009Birds have a variety of alarm calls that warn other members of the flock about impending danger. But for some birds, the very act of taking off is enough to sound the alarm. Mae Hingee and Robert Magrath from the Australian National University have found that crested pigeons have modified wing feathers that produce distinct whistles when the birds take off quickly and steeply. That's exactly the sort of flight that they undertake when they're alarmed, and other pigeons treat the resulting whistles as cues to take to the skies themselves.
Crested pigeons are comical-looking birds that are…
edyong | July 22, 2009
This is a repost from the old Wordpress incarnation of Not Exactly Rocket Science
You are being hunted, chased through a labyrinth by a relentless predator. Do you consider your options and plan the best possible escape, or do you switch off and rely solely on instinct? A new study provides the answer - you do both, flicking from one to the other depending on how far away the threat is.
Earlier studies have found that different parts of a rodent's brain are activated in the face of danger, depending on how imminent that danger is. Now, scientists at University College London has found the…