Upon whom shall I defecate?

　　
　　"Upon whom shall I defecate?"
​ Birds can do it all. They fly, have hollow bones, eat worms all day, and live in houses made of sticks and spit. If you think birds can't get any more amazing, think again. Researchers at the University of Kyoto have found that Bengalese finches follow a pitch pattern in their tweets that is essentially grammatical. Danielle Perszyk writes in Scientific American that the study found "the birds responded strongly to tunes ordered with certain structure, even when this structure was artificially constructed." Birds may be the only species that can drop a dookie on you from one hundred feet in the air while correcting your use of a split infinitive.
How does one find out if birds know grammar? Kentaro Abe and Dai Watanabe, the researchers who led the study, did the following:
In each experiment, the birds were presented with the same songs until they became familiarized with the tune. The researchers then created novel songs by shuffling the notes around. But not every new song caught the birds' attention; rather, the finches increased response calls only to songs with notes arranged in a particular order, suggesting that the birds used common rules when forming the syntax of that song. When the researchers created novel songs with even more complicated artificial grammar--for example, songs that mimicked a specific feature found in human (Japanese) language--the birds still only responded to songs that followed the rules.
Amazingly, baby finches that were isolated from other birds were able to pick up on artificially constructed songs. It took the finches only two weeks to learn standard birdsong grammar after being introduced to a group of fellow fowls. This means they "absorb the precise rules of Bengalese finch grammar" just by listening.
Should further research prove that the varying tweets convey actual meaning, like words, it's a possibility that "these animals possess other cognitive abilities once thought to be singularly characteristic of human intelligence"

The birds food

　　
　　When it comes to providing food for the feathered creatures that visit your backyard, there are many decisions to be made. The type of feeder you choose, the food you use to fill it, where you place it, and what sort of habitat you provide the birds in your backyard will all affect the diversity and number of birds you see in your yard.
San Diego area residents are lucky birders, because there is a wild amount of diversity on the warm California coast, right through the year. Let’s start with the basic question: is there a certain type of bird you want to attract? If so, you should start by reading up a bit about that species. One of the best websites out there for birds is allaboutbirds.org, which is hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Additionally, you can check out the National Birdfeeding Society’s website birdfeeding.org.
No matter your preference of birds, there are some rules of thumb for all species.
1-Birds will be more comfortable coming to feeders if you have some cover in your yard, whether that is provided in the form of trees, shrubs, or even a brush pile or two
2- You’ll get more birds if you also have a source of fresh and clean water.
3- Keep your feeders well off the ground if you have prowling neighborhood cats in the area, or consider a fence that closes off access by cats into your yard.
Hanging feeders, such as gazebos and tube feeders, will attract many small songbirds that like to perch in trees. There are a huge variety of these birds, which include chickadees, warblers, vireos, finches, and some tree sparrows like Chipping Sparrows. Heavier and larger birds, and birds that forage on the ground will avoid hanging feeders. These birds will come readily to platform feeders and include: robins, doves, grosbeaks, jays, and many ground and shrub-foraging sparrows like White-crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos.
Hummingbirds and Orioles each have nectar feeders specifically designed for them. The choice of feeder is mostly aesthetic, but be sure that it is easy to fill and clean. Providing fresh fruit in your yard, either nailed to a surface that provides a perch or presented in a specialized fruit feeder, will attract any frugivore including orioles. Suet feeders will round out the bunch, and will attract any bark-foraging birds like woodpeckers, flickers, nuthatches, and chickadees.
No matter your feeder type, be sure that it’s easy to fill and clean! You can save yourself a lot of frustration in the future this way, especially if you are successful in attracting lots of birds. Also, make sure the feeder is designed to protect the contents from rain and has good drainage for any moisture that finds its way inside. Remember to hang your feeder so that it’s easy to reach!
Feeders can be filled with a number of different small nuts or seeds. Black-oil sunflower seed is an all-purpose seed that many birds like and it keeps well because it is protected inside its shell. I have had no luck using bags of mixed seed to fill hanging feeders, because most of the seed is usually wasted. Each species will prefer a different seed, and will dig through the mix until they get it, dropping whatever is in their way onto the ground. It’s much better to provide the seeds individually in different feeders.
If you are interested in bird diversity, provide several feeder and feed types in your yard. Experiment with the placement of those feeders to find that magic combination of shelter and openness that will make your birds flock in! No matter what else you do, remember to enjoy the birds that come into your yard. Happy birding!

Baltimore Oriole Of lovely

　　Few birds can match the bold coloring of the male Baltimore oriole. With it's signature black and orange feathers, it's no wonder so many people want this flier at their feeders. Learn how to attract a Baltimore oriole to your yard, and listen to its song.

　　Photo: Roland Jordahl
Scientific Name: Icterus galbuba.
Family: Blackbird.
Length: 8-3/4 inches.
Wingspan: 11-1/2 inches.
Distinctive Markings: Male has full black hood and fire-orange plumage. Female is drab yellow with dusky-brown wings.
Nest: Woven bag-like structure.
Song: Short series of clear whistles in varied pattern.
Habitat: Deciduous woodlands, parks and suburbs.
Diet: Mostly insects and berries.
Backyard Favorites: Comes to feeding stations for sugar water, halved oranges nailed to posts and grape jelly.

Hurt by oil of birds

　　
　　BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - One of seven oil companies charged with killing migratory birds during drilling operations in North Dakota has agreed to plead guilty.
Slawson Exploration Co. Inc., of Wichita, Kan., was charged under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act with killing 12 birds in oil waste pits in western North Dakota from May 6 through June 20.
Under a plea deal filed in federal court Monday, Slawson will pay $12,000 to the nonprofit National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
The maximum penalty for each misdemeanor charge is six months in prison and a $15,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Timothy Purdon said he could not comment on the deal because it still must be approved by U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland in Bismarck.
Stu Kowalski, an attorney for Slawson, also declined to comment.

A nail hurt two red-tailed hawk

　　
　　SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A red-tailed hawk that appears to have been shot in the head with a nail gun was captured in a San Francisco park and rushed to a wildlife center, a rescue group says.
The juvenile bird was trapped Saturday evening at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens, said Rebecca Dmytryk, executive director of the Monterey-based group WildRescue.
There was no immediate word on the bird’s condition, but a photo of the capture shows the bird being held by a rescuer.
Dmytryk said it was immediately transported to Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley in San Jose, where specialists were staying late to receive it.
WildRescue had been notified of the injured bird nearly a week ago and had tried to trap it several times last week without success.
But observers got close enough to the bird to see the nail extending from its cheek through the front of its head. They said the hawk appeared to be in pain.
Dmytryk’s group had been using a trap called a bal-chatri, a trap made of wire mesh, to try to catch the injured hawk.
Rescuers believe someone intentionally hurt the hawk earlier this month. A reward of $10,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whomever harmed the bird.
She has said that wild birds, like hawks are protected, and that it’s a felony to try to capture the birds without a license.

Birds life

　　If you like to hunt pheasants and quail, this might be the perfect fall to give the state's Walk-In Access areas a try. It looks like pheasant and quail numbers are up in Utah.

　　Walk-In Access areas can be great places to hunt pheasants. Utah's pheasant and quail hunt starts Nov. 5, 2011.
Photo by Scott Root
Great conditions
Justin Dolling, upland game and migratory game bird coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources, says lots of rain this past spring and early summer gave Utah's pheasants and quail exactly what they needed—good nesting cover (which makes it harder for predators to find the birds) and plenty of insects for pheasant and quail chicks to eat.
When the state's pheasant and quail hunts open on Nov. 5, don't be surprised if you see some younger birds. Pheasants and quail nest in April and May. But if their first nesting attempt isn't successful, they'll nest again in early summer.
"Many of the birds' first nesting attempts probably failed because of all the rain," Dolling says. "But bird numbers appear to be up from last year, so it looks like the second nesting attempts were successful."
Biologists don't have long-term survey data for pheasants and California quail. But they do have long-term data for Gambel's quail. And surveys conducted this past summer in the Mohave Desert in southwestern Utah—which is the only place Gambel's quail are found in the state—indicate the number of birds is up.
In 2010, the highest number of Gambel's quail and chukar partridge biologists saw at the two water holes they surveyed was 66 birds.
This past summer, the highest count was 90 birds. "And the birds were scattered more than they were last year," Dolling says. "To have 90 birds come to the two waters holes, compared to 66 during a much drier year, indicates Gambel's quail are doing really well."
Best places to hunt
Pheasants
Dolling says marshes near Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake are some of the best places to hunt pheasants in Utah. "Both of these areas have good numbers of birds," he says.
Other good areas to try near the Wasatch Front include eastern Box Elder County; along the Bear River and near Cutler Marsh in Cache County; western Weber County; small, scattered areas in western Davis County; and areas near Nephi.
Away from the Wasatch Front, Uintah and Duchesne counties in northeastern Utah and areas in central Utah south of Price, including areas near Huntington and Cleveland, are good places to try.
California quail
Northeastern Utah is the best place to hunt California quail in the state. Private land, from Duchesne east to Vernal, harbors good numbers of birds.
"You'll usually find quail in the same place you find pheasants," Dolling says.
Gambel's quail
Gambel's quail are found in only one area in Utah—the Mohave Desert in southwestern Utah. And that's good because there's plenty of public land in the desert.
You might have to travel awhile to get there. "But, if you can spend a couple of days in the area," Dolling says, "you should have a good experience."
To find Gambel's quail, Dolling suggests walking rolling hills and drainages in the desert that have cactus and mesquite plants on them.
"It's really helpful to hunt with a dog," Dolling says. "But make sure you place boots on your dog's paws so your dog isn't stuck by thorns."
Walk-In Access areas
One of the challenges to hunting pheasants and California quail in Utah is finding a place to hunt. Much of the land the birds are found on is private land.
Fortunately, Utah's Walk-In Access program is opening some of this private land to public hunters.
"I'd encourage you to visit our website and learn more about the state's Walk-In Access areas," Dolling says. "Several of them offer good pheasant and quail hunting."
You can learn more about the Walk-In Access areas—and see which ones have pheasants and quail on them—online.
More information about the Walk-In Access program.
Wildlife Management Areas
The DWR manages several wildlife management areas in Utah. Some of these WMAs have pheasants and quail on them.
In addition to the pheasants that are already on the WMAs, some of the WMAs will receive some additional pheasants before Nov. 5.
A list of the WMAs should be available online by Oct. 31.
You can learn more about Utah's WMAs by reading the "Access to Wildlife Lands in Utah" book. The free book is available at wildlife.utah.gov/publications.
Private land
Another option is getting written permission from a private landowner to hunt on his or her property.
Dolling encourages you to be polite and understanding if a landowner doesn't give you access to his or her property. "But if they do give you access to the property," he says, "you'll not only end up with a good place to hunt; you might end up with a new friend."
Dolling says you should not wait until the morning of the hunt to approach a landowner about hunting his or her property. "You need to get this permission several days before the hunt begins," he says.

Protect the Marine and birds

　　Spanish diplomacy has prevailed over environmental protection. On Tuesday, the Environment Ministry published its proposed list of the maritime areas that it wants the government to declare as national preserves.
However, in an effort to head off any diplomatic spats, ministry officials have eliminated three areas located in international waters, including two that are in an area of jurisdiction that is disputed with Gibraltar and Morocco.
Nevertheless, environmentalists are praising the government's move to declare 41 other areas as marine bird sanctuaries, saying that "it is a big step forward" in Spanish conservation efforts.

　　In total, the so-called Special Protection Zones for Birds total more than 50,000 square kilometers of areas along the coast of the Spanish peninsula and the Balearic and Canary Islands.
Strict controls will be enforced in each zone to keep oil tankers away and to ensure that birds that forage in these waters are not accidentally caught in fishermen's nets.
The Spanish Society of Ornithology (SEO-Birdlife), with financing from the European Union, helped ministry officials identify more than 37,000 kilometers of the most sensitive areas and, using GPS, spotted and listed more than 200 marine birds. Among the first tracts to appear in the SEO's proposed list were the Chafarina Islands, located some 2.5 miles off the coast of Morocco, where there are colonies of Cory's Shearwaters and Audouin's Gulls - both endangered species.
The SEO also included a part of the Straits of Gibraltar, which is located on the principle African-European migratory route, and the Banco de la Concepción, which lies just north of the Canaries.
José Jiménez, the director general of the Forestry Police, explained on Tuesday that the government decided to eliminate these areas from the initial protected-zone list because they are located in international waters. "Where there are disputes, we are going to sit down with the Foreign Ministry and study this issue more profoundly," he said.
Spain recently ignited a diplomatic rift when it declared the Bay of Algeciras a Site of Community Interest, which London immediately challenged before the European courts. The complaint was later thrown out by the justices.
Spain doesn't recognize any of Gibraltar's sovereignty claims to the waters surrounding the British overseas territory.
"Sites of Community Interest are designed to protect certain species and they must be justified," Jiménez said. The Forestry Police head also said he agreed with the Environment Ministry's decision not to designate the three areas in international waters Special Protection Zones for Birds because there "exist more than just scientific questions." The government doesn't want to create any unnecessary conflicts and has opted to study the matter before declaring the areas protected sites.
In 2006, the State Council prepared a report concerning the implications of designating protected zones in international waters. The report states that the Chafarina Islands were already declared a "national hunting refuge" in 1982, and recommended that if the government was going to extend the protected area, it should do so in conjunction with the Moroccan authorities.
SEO-Birdlife officials say they are disappointed by the Spanish government's decision to exclude the three areas from the list but reiterated that the ministry's designation of 41 other maritime areas "is a big step toward the conservation of our seas."
Pep Arcos, head of the SEO Marine Program, explained that even though an area is designated a special marine protection zone, "existing uses would remain" for the waters, such as fishing, but fishermen and others must avoid causing any injury to the birds. Arcos, however, admits that any approval of gas or oil exploration permits in these protected areas is more complicated.
The Environment Ministry has set a November 8 deadline for anyone who wants to file comments concerning the areas. Jiménez, for his part, hopes that the government will approve the designated areas before the current term expires.
Spain is far ahead of other European countries in this process of designation, Jiménez added. SEO-Birdlife acknowledged that it has been difficult to approve such protected zone designations in the past, but says this has been a commitment that has been driven by the past two Environment ministers.

The white-tailed tropicbird

　　
　　The white-tailed tropicbird found in the road near Colebrook reservoir.
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FALLS VILLAGE—Most of us have wondered at the ability of birds to travel thousands of miles between northern climes and their South American winter homes but recently this region had an unusual visitor who made the trip unwillingly, blown in on the winds of Hurricane Irene.
Wildlife rehabilitator Linda Bowen of Falls Village was host on Sept. 10 to a white-tailed tropicbird—Phaethon lepturus for those who like their birds with Latin names—that had been picked up sitting in the middle of the road near the Colebrook reservoir. These birds, natives of Caribbean, are rarely seen in North America—in fact, they are so rare that none of the people who came in contact with the visitor had any idea what he was.
The bird’s original rescuer called the rehabilitator saying he believed he had a tern, but, as few people can recognize terns, Ms. Bowen was skeptical and believed he had a sea gull.
“When the rescuer arrived and opened the box, I was surprised to see that the bird had a single, very long—perhaps 14-inch—tail feather,” she said. “The rescuer asked me what it was. I said, quite frankly, ‘I have no idea!’”
Subsequent consultation of field guides proved the bird’s southern origins. This began the saga of the first recorded sighting and rehabilitation of a White-tailed Tropicbird in Connecticut.
The bird, buffeted by the hurricane winds and swept more than a thousand miles from home, appeared to be slightly dehydrated, but had no visible signs of trauma. Ms. Bowen noticed that his legs were positions fairly far back on his body, which explained the rescuer’s report that the bird didn’t walk much.
“These birds spend almost all their time in air,” reported Ms. Bowen. “They even sleep in the air, riding on thermals. They will dive into the water, maybe 10 or 20 feet deep, catch a fish and gobble it down on the way back to the surface. Then they take off again. They don’t loll around on the surface like a sea gull.”
Ms. Bowen quickly gathered information about the bird as she attempted to stabilize him so that he could be returned to his natural environment. The rescuer revealed that he had the bird for at least a week and had been feeding it thawed smelt, which the bird readily accepted. He also bought it chopped octopus, apparently a treat for the refugee.
Without any knowledge of the species, the rescuer had hit close to home for the bird’s diet, which naturally consists of fish and squid. The docile bird dined on chopped clams for his first night at the rehabilitator’s. She also sought to rehydrate him by offering him water from a long curved-tip syringe. “When he bit at the tip of the syringe, I was able to push the tip beyond the glottis and he swallowed several times,” she reported.
Housing the bird required some ingenuity. Ms. Bowen set the bird up in a large crate to accommodate his very long, single feather, sometimes referred to as a “streamer,” arranging sheets under him to protect his keel, an extension of the sternum. With the bird fed and comfortable, she pondered her next step.

Dongzhai House Nature Reserve

Dongzhai Henan-Hubei provinces home Nature Reserve is located at the junction of the Dabie Mountains, the southernmost Luoshan from Xinyang City 32km. In June 2001, Dongzhai home Nature Reserve by the State Council approved the establishment of a total area of ​​46,800 hectares, located in China's north-south dividing line on the climate, the region is now distributed in 1879 kinds of plants, mammals 37 species, 44 amphibians and reptiles species of birds, 237 kinds, known as the "bird Paradise." Is a set of conservation, eco-tourism, bird watching, scientific study, teaching internships, entertainment, Chengde convalescence in one multi-functional integrated nature reserve.

Protected area's unique geographical location and characteristics of a mild and humid climate, the formation of a good forest ecosystems, and carries out a rich variety of species and biological resources, libraries, therefore, be included in the "China Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan" in the northern subtropics priority to the protection of the ecosystem area, but also inscribed on the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) conservation priority areas and national and worldwide significance of the area.
Dong Village of birds as much as does the same for the same latitude or longitude of protected areas in the rare bird species account for 79% of Henan Province, accounting for 20% of the country, including national key protected birds, 39 species included in the Sino-Japanese migratory bird protection agreements list of 95 species, country two protected birds Syrmaticus pheasant population density ranks first in the country.
Dong Village in bird-watching, one day is generally seen sixty-seven ten kinds of birds, up to see eighty-nine ten. Dong Village received a year of protected areas around the country who bring a hundreds of bird-watching trips, Beijing Normal University, River Normal University and other institutions of higher learning to Dong Village of teaching practice as a fixed base. Birds of protected areas to achieve scientific provincial and municipal scientific research 25. Protected areas are building China's largest white-crown pheasant breeding base in captivity, the full range of museum specimens of birds and attract beneficial bird hanging artificial nest.
[Dongzhai home Nature Reserve]

Protected area management and protection of natural resources continue to increase and strengthen public environmental education campaigns, improve and standardize the research and protection system; adhere to artificial nests attract birds and flying birds, to carry out scientific research without interruption; the use of "China Dong Village Bird Photographer of the Year would, "" Love the Birds Week "," wildlife Conservation awareness Month "and other activities to the public for the Protection of Birds, the natural ecological concern education, people's environmental awareness, increased awareness of protecting birds; protected areas is also attaches great importance to the training of technical personnel and training, management and protection of all workers in the distribution of birds identified in the books, a monthly record of bird species observed, Beijing Normal University and other experts invited lectures, has sent researchers to participate in the State Forestry Administration organized the training of the relevant knowledge of birds to learn . Since 2000, protected areas, Dong Village has a new record of birds found in 56 species of local bird species also increased from the 237 kinds of 293 kinds.