Everything and More

We've all had people give us too much information about themselves, but TMI no longer applies when birds are the subject.

My blog entries frequently mention the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds Web site because it provides great information about birds. In fact, after exploring the site, one might think it really has all the bird information ever collected. It turns out, however, that there's more, and the Cornell Lab's latest offering gives us additional insight into the world of birds.

All About Bird Biology, a recently released (they say, "hatched") companion site to All About Birds, focuses on the biological aspects of birds. For example, the first collection of information looks at feathers. The site is interactive and already contains nearly a hundred videos about birds.

Billing (get it?) itself as a resource for birders, teachers, students, and just about anyone curious to learn more about birds, All About Bird Biology moves public knowledge of ornithology up a notch. As someone who once had an entire science fair project dedicated solely to feathers, I love it. To check out the site, click here.

Between All About Birds and All About Bird Biology, we can know birds inside out.

Bird Brains

For a while, people have known that certain types of birds, especially crows and parrots, are pretty smart. As The New York Times reports, we now know that pigeons can learn abstract rules about numbers.

Just a few weeks ago, I blogged that calling someone a rat could no longer be an insult. Now, it appears birdbrain is also out as a slam.

I think the new things we find out about animals and their capacity for intelligence and feeling reveal how our own knowledge is a work in progress.

Rats!

When a person calls another person a rat, it's not a good thing, but maybe it should be.

In a very interesting study reported by DiscoveryNews, rats were observed helping free other rats from imprisonment often even when presented with the alternative of eating a whole pile of chocolate chips.

The scientists conducting the study say the actions show that rats are empathetic. According to the conclusions, the results of the study indicate that empathy is a biologically rooted trait likely to exist in many species. This is interesting, especially considering how people used to think that humans were the only species capable of such feelings.

I wonder what assumption about our superiority over other animals will fall next.