Sandy Lawrence · @swlawrence
38 followers · 219 posts · Server aus.social

AAAS: "Two of these eggs are impostors. Can you spot them?" A classic mimic is the African cuckoo (Cuculus gularis), which can camouflage their eggs to match the eggs of the unwitting mothers who will end up having to raise the miscreant hatchlings. "But the fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis)—a glossy, red-eyed bird native to southern Africa—isn’t so easily fooled." In a study just pulished in the Proceedings of the Royal Academy B, 'drongo moms can spot the counterfeits with 94% accuracy, despite cuckoo eggs being an almost perfect visual match for their own.' The drongo apparently homes in on subtle variations in color + speckles patterning on the surface of their own eggs + spot the counterfeits. "Each female has a unique egg type, helping her spot impostors with accuracy that outstrips both humans and computer models." In the two drongo clutches in the photograph, the cuckoos failed to accurately replicate the speckled appearance of the other 2 eggs. I guessed wrong. See if you can do better.

In both cases the parasitic egg lies at 4 o'clock. Congratulations if you got it right.

#parasite #cuckoos #ornithology

Last updated 1 year ago

Phys.org · @physorg_bot
502 followers · 14853 posts · Server social.platypush.tech
JuneSim63 💚 · @junesim63
870 followers · 4689 posts · Server mstdn.social

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has added ten more radio-tagged cuckoos to their Cuckoo Tracking Project. For the first time, it includes three Cuachs (cuckoos in Gaelic) tagged in Ireland. You can donate or sponsor a cuckoo and get regular updates of where all the cuckoos are on their epic migrations to and from Africa.

bto.org/our-science/projects/c

#Birds #WildLife #migatorybirds #ornithology #Africa #Ireland #england #BTO #cuckoos

Last updated 1 year ago

Lorry · @Lorry
937 followers · 4782 posts · Server mstdn.social

For a group that loves calling people they don't like "cucks"; the American right is not saying very much at all about and his relationship with

#cuckolds #alsoagoodsitcomtitle #itsthe #itsnotyou #cuckoos #poor #harlancrow #clarencethomas

Last updated 1 year ago

Ruth Mottram · @Ruth_Mottram
3813 followers · 6391 posts · Server fediscience.org

Signs of spring: the first of the season is now available for preparation in NW - which reminds me of + other signs.

sternaparadisaea.net/2023/03/1

#phenology #cherryblossom #kievitsei #cuckoos #Greenland #fieldwork #satellitephoto

Last updated 2 years ago

Jennifer Ebeling · @GardenerPodcast
523 followers · 446 posts · Server mindly.social

17, 1770
Ludwig Van Beethoven, & , is .

Beethoven loved . His 6th is subtitled .
Each reflects a in the .
He that he wanted the to have an on the .

He once told a friend,

"[This is where] I composed the by the .
[ to the ], The up there -
and the , & - composed with me."

#December #otd #German #composer #pianist #baptized #nature #symphony #pastoral #movement #day #country #wrote #music #effect #soul #scene #brook #pointing #trees #yellowhammers #quails #NIghtingales #cuckoos

Last updated 2 years ago

Sensational Gus · @Sensational_Gus
59 followers · 149 posts · Server fandom.ink

SPOILERS

#29

1. Some of my favorite all-time mutants, the woefully underserved doing a thing that sisters do.

2. , a sentient cerebro headset, has melded with (and several others) menaces my . The panel feels familiar but I cannot put my finger on the reference.

#xforce #stepfordcuckoos #cerebrax #Krakoa #cuckoos #xmen #comics #emmafrost #marvel #comicbooks

Last updated 2 years ago

Cestrienne · @Cestrienne
99 followers · 92 posts · Server mastodonapp.uk

@petewalkden I said to a hotel receptionist on that it was lovely to hear as we no longer hear them at home. She said that being woken by one in the early hours gave her a slightly jaundiced view of them. Actually disturbed one on a walk and “she (should be he) singeth as she flies” is quite correct.

#mull #cuckoos

Last updated 2 years ago

sohkamyung · @sohkamyung
650 followers · 2162 posts · Server photog.social

Happy to be able to spot this Indian Cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus) during a brief visit to Pasir Ris Park, Siingapore, on 4 Dec 2021. It was perched near the mangrove boardwalk, apparently enjoying the attention of photographers and bird watchers there.

This bird is an uncommon migrant to Singapore from Northern Asia.

On iNaturalist [ inaturalist.org/observations/1 ]

#cuculidae #cuckoos #aves #birds #photography #singapore #nature #inaturalist

Last updated 3 years ago

Soh Kam Yung · @sohkamyung
556 followers · 11288 posts · Server mstdn.io

Saw some bird photographers gathered at a spot at Lorong Halus, Singapore, then spotted what they were shooting: a Chestnut-winged Cuckoo (Clamator coromandus). Spotted on 6 Feb 2019. Listed as an uncommon migrant in Singapore.

On iNaturalist [ inaturalist.org/observations/2 ]

#inaturalist #singapore #cuckoos #photography #aves #nature #birds #cuculidae

Last updated 6 years ago