Photo of a kea by Mark Whatmough - Milford Sound, Key Summit, The Divide, Queenstown, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Most of us have heard the phrase: Laughter is contagious. When we hear other people laughing, we often smile even if we have no idea why they are laughing. Dr. Sophie Scott from the University College of London and her colleagues played both positive sounds (like laughter) and negative sounds (like retching or screaming) to subjects and found the sounds activated the premotor cortical region of the brain. This area of the brain is responsible for preparing facial muscles…
kea
grrlscientist | February 17, 2008tags: birds, kea, Nestor notabilis, ornithology, Image of the Day
I have been digging through my image archives in my gmail account and found some real treasures that my readers sent to me. Unfortunately, I overlooked quite a few images that were sent when I was in the hospital and had poor computer access. So let me fix this oversight during the next few weeks;
Kea, Nestor notabilis.
Image: Daniel Collins [larger view].
The photographer writes; This particular shot was taken around Arthurs Pass, in the middle of the South Island, NZ. This is standard Kea habitat, but I suspect you'd…