Late evening at Lago Albano.

Last weekend my daughter was visiting and we found ourselves at Lago Albano (near Rome in the Castelli) as the sun was setting. So I thought I would share some of the images that I took....

Late afternoon sun is always good for pictures.

The sun is creeping lower over the Pope's summer place in Castel Gandolfo. A few gull species as the choir to add to the evening ambience.

 

Silhouettes with the orange sun in the background.

 

As we were walking back when the sun was fading, the moon appeared above a bare tree ....

 

Castel Gandolfo again with the sun well on its way to bed for the day!

 

A really enjoyable evening, even if it did begin to get a bit cooler.

Being bird brained .... is it that bad?

This was originally posted at www.ecolgoyweb.net on Sat/Oct/2005 14:37

By David Nowell
FAO Casa Gazette, October 2005

Frequently the term “bird brained” is used to refer to fellow individuals (humans) who are perceived to have reduced intelligence or intellect, or individuals being small minded or having done something less than intelligent. However, some people have recently been astounded to find that a number of the intelligence characteristics (such as language, tool use, awareness of self ad others, and deception) originally though to be entirely human are not only found in some mammals, but also in birds. Perhaps those that are most astounded were being “bird brained”.

Bad jokes aside, there is mounting evidence that birds develop skills that were previously thought impossible, and these skills are associated with brain functions normally only associated with intelligent species. Sometimes these skills are developed at short notice.

Vocalization
Some species of birds show definite learning skill; they sing a song that is a bit of mess at the beginning of their first season, but after a couple of weeks of practice become much better at singing the species' “ anthem”. In the wild though these birds learn from their own species.

Some birds learn, even in the wild, from other species and the ability for birds to mimic other bird calls suggests a significant degree of memory and logic at times. Not only can they mimic similar bird calls/songs, but those calls belonging to a wide range of bird species and vocalization activities e.g. red-capped robin-chat or Natal robin (Cossaypha natalensis) or Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen). Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) for instance will copy the whistles of various shore birds as well as the sound of other songbirds, even mechanical sounds, and incorporate them into their song. One of the greatest song mimics though are the Marsh Warblers. Scientists have recorded and distinguished the calls of over 200 other bird species being used by Marsh Warblers, though not all by the same bird.

It is well known that a variety of birds can be trained to “talk”, or at least repeat words or simple sentences e.g. parrots or the common mynah (Acridotheres tristis). A quite startling recent fact is that an African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) has been shown to have a vocabulary of over 900 words and can construct simple sentences in response to changes in the environment or the situation i.e. it creates simple sentences and may we even dare say “hold a rudimentary conversation”. The vocal / speech ability of this parrot has been substantiated by a number of well known anthropologists, including Jane Goodall of primate research fame. A simple vocal exchange / conversation with the parrot could certainly beat talking to oneself, or a partner who practices selective hearing or does not respond.

Use of Tools
There were very few examples, outside the human species, of clear planning of original solutions to new problems by individuals. However, on closer examination in recent years some bird species show this characteristic very clearly. A whole variety of birds are able to utilize tools, construct simple tools, and even construct tools from materials they have never encountered before. Birds ability to use tool goes as far back as the late 1940s when the Galapagos Islands Woodpecker Finch (Geospiza pallida) were found to routine spear or pry out grubs from under bark with twigs. The recent classic example is the New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) called Betty. Although the phenomenon of New Caledonian crows developing tools in the wild (such as developing wire or wooden hooks to remove insects from wood) has been carefully documented by some, Betty has been carefully studied in a “laboratory” and there is no doubt that she not only has the ability to solve problems, but to develop specific tools for a given occasion. In the wild, these birds are known to store their tools after use so they are available for repeated use.

Tool usage has also been found to occur in Varied Sitellas (Daphoenositta chrysotera), crested shrike-tit (Falcunuus frontatus), grey shrike-thrush (Colluricincla harmonica) and white-winged chough (Corcorax melanorhamphos) in Australia. Many other tool using species from around the world have been documented in more recent years.

But what else can they do?

Fire and fishing: Black kites (Milvus migrans) have been known to pick up smouldering sticks from areas recently burnt by a bush fire and drop them into unburnt areas so that they can feast on the small mammals that flee from the resulting fire. They have also been observed dropping “bait” into a lake to bring fish to the surface so are easier to catch.

Deception: white-winged chough (Corcorax melanorhamphos) in Australia are known to be very cunning. Young birds often pretend to help feed the chicks (they are often too hungry themselves to help properly) at another bird nest, or only assist with a task such as preening when other birds are within sight, in order to convince onlookers they are valued members of the group. This probably has to do with social acceptance and status.

Anting: Perhaps some of the strangest behaviour indulged in by birds is anting. Anting occurs either as active anting, in which the bird picks an ant up and applies it to its plumage, or passive anting. Normally, the ant during active anting will be stroked along the feathers, usually the flight feathers. Over 250 different species of birds have been recorded displaying this behaviour at one time or another. Starlings (Sternus vulgaris) actively seek out formic acid producing ants which suggests that the ants' ability to spray formic acid is an important consideration. It has been observed by many people that during anting the birds appear to get exceedingly excited. After the ant has been applied to the feathers it is either discarded or eaten. Other active anting birds are Babblers, Tanagers and Weavers.

Passive anting involves the bird finding an ants' nest and lying down among the ants. This process often likened to bathing in ants is not as well studied as active anting. Birds which are passive anters include the European Jay (&hellip, Crows and Waxbills. The Blackbird (Turdus ….), Redwings and other thrushes exercise a flexible strategy, being either passive or active anters as the occasion or some unknown need takes them.

What actually happens during anting is easy to observe and record, especially as many birds will display anting activity in captivity if offered ants. A more difficult question to answer is why. In truth nobody seems really sure what birds get out of anting. People have theorised that the ants help rid the birds of pests like feather mites and louse flies, other theories suggest that the anting is just a way of getting the ant to discharge its store of formic acid before eating it. The trouble with this idea is that it doesn't explain passive anting. Scientific evidence supporting the pest control theory is hard to find. However, it is known that ants are only eaten after they have discharged all of their acid. It is not unreasonable to assume that active anting as we see it today evolved from a detoxifying action to make ants edible but gave the added benefit of pest control to some extent. Nature often likes to perform several roles with one action and though scientists like to understand the order of importance and/or the order of origination of an action this is not always easy to achieve.

Memory: Some people claimed that animal with the best memory on earth is the bird! AN example of extraordinary memory is shown by Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana). This North American bird collects up to 33,000 seeds in November each year which it buries in over 2,500 food cache sites over an area that may measure 300 km2. Over the next 12 months it retrieves over 90% of these sees and some may be buried by more than a metre of snow!! ........ migration, storage of food.

Innovation: The Japanese crow (Corvus corone) were found to crack walnuts by placing in them in the path of traffic. When the lights changed to red they hopped down to the road and placed nuts in front of waiting cars. When the lights turned green, the birds flew to safety while the motorists drove over the nuts and cracked them open. Again when the lights turned red, they jumped onto the road and ate the freshly cracked nuts. Image if our brain could do that, particularly in response to exams!

The black-breasted buzzard (Hamirostra melanosternon) are known to drop stones onto the nest eggs of Emu (….), bustards and Brolga (…..) in order to break open the eggs so they can eat the content. As are Egyptian vultures (…&hellip known to use stones to break ostrich (Struthos ….. ) eggs.

Faeces: burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) are widely known to collect mammalian dung and place it around their burrow / nest. This has now been shown to act as bait for their primary food – dung beetles. They are known to stand motionless outside their burrows and then pounce on any unsuspecting dung beetle that may wonder near the burrow. The use of dung as a tool significantly increases the both the number of species and beetles it catches each day.

The bird brain

Recent studies have shown there is a strong direct relationship between increase size of a bird’s forebrain and the frequency of feeding innovation. Bird’s forebrain is usually about 5 times the size of the hindbrain. However, 2 groups with prominent forebrains are “corvids” (crows, magpie etc) and parrots which have increased ability to solve challenges, reasoning and language.

Studies also suggest that the bird brain is far more malleable than that of the human. The formation of spatial memories (such a relocating stored food) triggers massive increases in the number of nerve cells that migrate to the hippocampus (which is known as the area for spatial memory). As a result a bird’s hippocarpus may swell over 30% in only a few weeks. As maintaining this brain matter is expensive in terms of energy, it shrinks again when this memory demand has passed.

Investigation of songbird brains show that discrete brain structures are required by songbirds and such studies are giving us insight into basic issues of neuroscience that are applicable to other species.

Where does that leave us?
Clearly we are not the only animals on earth with intelligence and the ability to reason and solve challenges. Perhaps man is more impressive than any other animal in this regard, but we are less unique than we thought a few years ago. I suspect many of the current concepts and theories relating to bird behaviour will have to radically change. Over the next decade or so, we will learn an increasing amount about birds and their ability to think and/or reason, their memory, and behaviour. Complex social ornithological behaviour that we currently do not understand (or perhaps even some of those we think we understand) may become more understandable, provided we studied it more carefully and did not restrict ourselves to looking for the answers within normal “expected” bird behaviour from a current human knowledge perspective.

And now, what do we do with the usually standard sayings such as “being bird brained” or “learning like a parrot”? Perhaps we could still use these expressions, but we will now have to use them more carefully in a variety of very different or new contexts. Given the way my memory normally behaves, I could probably only benefit from having a bird brain – a “ food storage” bird brain that is.

Additional reading
Boland, C. 2003. Bird brains. Nature Australia 2003-2004. pgs 47-53.
Hunt, G.R and Gray, R.D. 2003. Diversification and cumulative evolution in New Caledonian crow tool manufacture. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. 270: 867-874.
Levy, J.L., Duncan, R.S. and Levins, C.F. 1004. This bird distributes animal dung in and around its brrow to provide bait for its prey. Nature 431:39.

What will global warming do to the birds around us?

This blog was originally posted in May 2007 on www.ecologyweb.net but is still very relevant today.

Tue/May/2007 22:30

by David Nowell

Everyone is beginning to talk about global warming and the effects it will have on our everyday lives such as warmer weather, less water, rising sea water levels, greater variability in weather and so on. If the weather is going to affect us this much, perhaps we should take a little time to think of the creatures that are entirely dependent upon the weather and other natural phenomena. Birds are typical. They are dependent upon weather for things such as:

• Food: their food is dependent upon the environment whether it is grain, fruits, insects or fish.
• Water: like humans, birds will die without water!
• Migration: birds have to migrate many thousands of kilometres at times to ensure they do not perish in the winter weather, and so that they will continue to have access to food.

Let’s take a closer look at just these three factors.

Food
Humans can either buy their food at the nearest store or we can grow it for ourselves (if they are lucky enough to have access to some land). Birds are entirely dependent on food becoming available at the time when the need it. Therefore, if the environment changes, they may not have food at the critical times during their life cycle and this can affect things such as the breeding season, survival of their young or their ability to survive while migrating. People studying this phenomenon have shown that certain kinds of insects are now emerging at different times of the year (for example, earlier than normal due to the increased winter temperatures in some areas). This means that if insect eating birds do not breed earlier than normal, they may not have enough food for their young or the food could be exhausted before the young can fend for themselves. There are apparently also large changes taking place in sea bird populations. For example, in the northern Atlantic the certain birds’ food (smaller fish species) appears to be moving further north with the cooler water and the birds will now need to follow their food supply. This means they may have to abandon their traditional nesting sites and may not be able to breed in a given season.

Generally, changes in food availability and types of food, will result in changes in the occurrence and distribution of birds and some people are already convinced we are beginning to see this trend occurring in many parts of the world.

Water
Water is essential to life as we know it and birds are no exception! Many bird species are entirely dependent upon water - not just to drink but also for their food (fish or water plants) and breeding habitat. Small changes in water availability could have large effects on bird populations - this means that species could change (some will disappear and new ones may appear). If there is a lot less water, water birds and wader populations could crash, but if there is more water (for example, rise in sea levels) then the number and variety of water birds and waders could increase. If regions are already dry and they start getting less rain or higher temperatures, then certain bird species may no longer occur in the region, while others could increase considerably. There are a small number of birds that get almost all of their moisture from the food they eat, but many of these species are not found in Europe.

Migration
Migration is dependent on many factors. Two key factors are the availability of water and food for most species - not all species migrate over long distances in a few days (some species are now known to fly continuously for more then 8,000 km without stopping long i.e. food only). Many bird species are dependent of food and water along the way to keep themselves going on their long journey. There is emerging evidence that some of the traditional migration routes may not be as favourable as they were due to reduced availability of water en route, for example, raptor migration over the Sahara region. This means that fewer birds can use such routes and/or that migrations times can change significantly and this then affects the birds’ ability to breed when they get to the normal breeding locations.

Although we do not understand all the information involved, it is well documented that many bird species time their migration to coincide with the availability of their food in the spring. Changes in temperature can change food availability patterns completely and this means birds need to adapt their migrations habits/patterns to ensure they are there when food is most abundant so that they can breed successfully?

This is just a superficial look at some of the key factors affected by climate change. Just imagine how confusing it is too many of our little feathered friends and how difficult life may become for some of them.

Mr & Mrs Blue-billed Duck

I am Mr Blue-billed Duck and the most handsome fellow on the whole lake! The ladies are really very lucky that I am around .........





.... and I am Mrs Blue-billed Duck! These males at this time of the year are so silly, but they do get me all flustered and happy to watch their antics - I wonder what the show will be today, as Mr Duck has a wicked twinkle in his eye!

To impress Mrs Duck today, I think I will first show her how I can make a large circle of bubbles and small waves all around me. That should show her that I am full of energy, creative and have strong legs.




He he he. This is SUCH fun and look at her just watching while pretending not to watch too closely. Next I will put my head under the water and then explode out in a shower of water and bubbles - then a very quick shake and flapping of the wings should get me looking all handsome and attractive again. I am sure she will not be able to resist at all! This is usually the show stopper and after that ... dare I say things get easier!?



Now Mrs Duck, would you like me to start all over again or are you quite ready to come over here and do a little preening before we have some fun? Come on, just a tiny little hint of your mood and I will respond so quickly you will not know what happened!

Time for Change

Instead of maintaining two separate blog sites, I have decided to migrate some of my old blogs across to this site - it should not take long as there were not very many. The older site can be found at Ecologyweb.net

 
It has occurred to me from time to time that I actually have a blog on this website. I am not sure why, as I seldom seem to use it. Although not very inspired today, I thought I had better try and get some momentum ..... so what to write about?!!

Birds - enough said already and I need something new.

Work - I am currently over worked and probably need a break from the overload.

Weather - not very inspiring and it is a little on the grey side today.

Noise - not sure why but the area I live in seems a little on the noisy side today! Building maintenance, street cleaning, buses, helicopters, trains in the distant and the odd neighbour showing signs of life.

Birds again - autumn / winter has arrived in Europe and the birds are "poured" out Europe to Africa, or from northern Europe to southern Europe. I should be out having a look around but after the last week at work, the energy levels are less than active.

Siesta - now this sounds particularly attractive!! Aahhhh .... now that is a good idea!! See you all another day!

What happened to my first blog??

Having been registered here for a while, I thought it was time to put keyboard to screen or "pen to paper". My first test a few months ago mysteriously disappeared while updating and this kind of reduced the enthusiasm.

Well summer was hectic but winter has now arrived in Rome and probably time to catch-up with all the tasks that were postponed over summer. The only problem is that I still appear to be as busy as ever. When I eventually get time to get hold of friends it always seems to be well after their likely bedtime and I think I will then contact them tomorrow. So far this strategy has not worked! :-(

Over summer, I have also been experimenting with Facebook and with Flickr (which I prefer to Picasso). It has been highly frustrating that I have not updated my website as while re-organizing my hard drive, I lost all the links to my images ....... and there are hundreds of these links I now have to re-do! Have a look while you can :-)

I am desperately waiting for Apple to upgrade Aperture so that I can continue processing my images with the new tools .... I am many thousands behind. I am hoping, against all odds I think, that this will happen before Xmas.

So much for rambling, I now need to get a few house chores done!!