September 2009

  • Beleaguered Hawk Attacked by Tiny Kingbird

    By lisala on 9/30/09 9:46pm
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    Pauline Gaines captured this amazing shot of a tiny and furious kingbird aggressively attacking a red tail hawk at Bonny Lake park in Colorado.. The hawk got close enough to the smaller bird's nest that it became territorially outraged to the point of essentially piggybacking on the much larger predator.

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  • “Vegetarian Fed” Chickens? But Chickens Aren’t Vegetarians!

    By erika on 9/22/09 6:21pm
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    This conversation crops up a lot on the various forums for chicken owners on the internet.  Several lines of chicken feed (such as Purina's Layena Sun Fresh) are labeled "No Animal Protein" or "Protein From Vegetarian Sources."  Then again, most consumers have also seen eggs and chickens labeled "Vegetarian Fed."

    The odd thing is, chickens are not vegetarians.  Chickens are omnivorous, and when left to their own devices will eat a diet of about 80% plants and 20% insects and small animals.  (Yes, chickens will eat mice, lizards, small snakes - basically anything that they can catch.  You did know that chickens evolved from tyrannosaurus rex, didn't you?  Now you can see the resemblance!)


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  • Heroic Duck Rescue

    By lisala on 9/14/09 6:26pm
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    So, baby ducks with mombaby ducks with momOK; maybe it's not all that heroic, but it is way too cute, and it's a lovely demonstration of the phenomona Konrad Lorenz call imprinting.

     

    (Thanks, Juniperus!)

  • The Falcon v. the Starlings in the Vineyards of California

    By becksta on 9/12/09 11:48pm
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    StarlingStarlingWhat would you guess would be the arch-nemesis of the California wine-growers and their grapes? Would you guess droughts, floods, fires, or the innocent little starling birds?  If you chose the starling as your final answer, you are absolutely correct. The starlings are known as gluttonous fans of the grapes and can reportedly eat their way through the fields in record time.


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