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Mobbing Behaviour
Mobbing in animals is an antipredator adaptation in which individuals of prey species mob a predator by cooperatively attacking or harassing it, usually to protect their offspring. A simple definition of mobbing is an assemblage of individuals around a potentially dangerous predator. This is most frequently seen in birds, though it is also known to occur in many other animals such as the meerkat and some bovines. While mobbing has evolved independently in many species, it only tends to be present in those whose young are frequently preyed upon. This behavior may complement cryptic adaptations in the offspring themselves, such as camouflage and hiding. Mobbing calls may be used to summon nearby individuals to cooperate in the attack. Konrad Lorenz, in his book ''On Aggression'' (1966), attributed mobbing among birds and animals to instincts rooted in the Darwinian struggle to survive. In his view, humans are subject to similar innate impulses but capable of bringing them under ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Redtail Hawk Chased By Crows 4391
The term red tail may refer to the following animals: *Red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis''), a North American bird of prey *Red-tailed boa (''Boa constrictor''), a Central American snake *Redtail catfish (''Phractocephalus hemioliopterus''), a South American freshwater fish *Red-tailed black shark or Red-tailed shark (''Epalzeorhynchos bicolor''), a common aquarium freshwater fish native to Thailand *Red-tailed black cockatoo (''Calyptorhynchus banksii''), a cockatoo native to Australia *Red-tailed tropicbird (''Phaëthon rubricauda''), a seabird *Red-tailed sportive lemur (''Lepilemur ruficaudatus''), a primate native to Madagascar *Ceriagrion aeruginosum, Redtail (''Ceriagrion aeruginosum'') a species of damselfly found in south-eastern Australia The term may also refer to: *Redtailing, following a fellow snowboarder too closely. *Redtail, a Customer relationship management, CRM designed exclusively for financial professionals *Redtail Nature Awareness, a nature based camp in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darwinian
Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. Also called Darwinian theory, it originally included the broad concepts of transmutation of species or of evolution which gained general scientific acceptance after Darwin published ''On the Origin of Species'' in 1859, including concepts which predated Darwin's theories. English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley coined the term ''Darwinism'' in April 1860. Terminology Darwinism subsequently referred to the specific concepts of natural selection, the Weismann barrier, or the central dogma of molecular biology. Though the term usually refers strictly to biological evolution, creationists have appropriated it to refer to the origin of life or to cosmic evolution, that are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animal Communication
Animal communication is the transfer of information from one or a group of animals (sender or senders) to one or more other animals (receiver or receivers) that affects the current or future behavior of the receivers. Information may be sent intentionally, as in a courtship display, or unintentionally, as in the transfer of scent from predator to prey. Information may be transferred to an "audience" of several receivers. Animal communication is a rapidly growing area of study in disciplines including animal behavior, sociology, neurology and animal cognition. Many aspects of animal behavior, such as symbolic name use, emotional expression, learning and sexual behavior, are being understood in new ways. When the information from the sender changes the behavior of a receiver, the information is referred to as a "signal". Signalling theory predicts that for a signal to be maintained in the population, both the sender and receiver should usually receive some benefit from the interact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stotting
Stotting (also called pronking or pronging) is a behavior of quadrupeds, particularly gazelles, in which they spring into the air, lifting all four feet off the ground simultaneously. Usually, the legs are held in a relatively stiff position. Many explanations of stotting have been proposed, though for several of them there is little evidence either for or against. The question of why prey animals stot has been investigated by evolutionary biologists including John Maynard Smith, C. D. Fitzgibbon, and Tim Caro; all of them conclude that the most likely explanation given the available evidence is that it is an honest signal to predators that the stotting animal would be difficult to catch. Such a signal is called "honest" as it is not deceptive in any way, and would benefit both predator and prey; the predator as it avoids a costly and unproductive chase, and the prey as it does not get chased. Etymology ''Stot'' is a common Scots and Northern English verb meaning "bounce" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eberhard Curio
Eberhard Curio (22 October 1932 – 11 September 2020) was a German ecologist, ethologist, and conservation biologist. He was involved in conservation in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines. Curio was educated in Berlin and went in 1950 to the Free University Berlin. In 1957 he obtained his doctorate. Curio worked in 1957 at Ludwigsburg bird sanctuary and as an assistant at the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology in Seewiesen. He taught zoology at the University of Tübingen from 1964 to 1967 and joined the faculty of the Ruhr University, Bochum in 1968 becoming a professor in 1971. In 1976 he published ''The Ethology of Predation''. He retired in 1998. Curio was involved in the conservation of hornbills, in the discovery of the Panay monitor ''Varanus mabitang The Panay monitor (''Varanus mabitang'') is an endangered monitor lizard native to Panay Island in the Philippines. Unlike most monitors, it is a specialized frugivore. Distribution and habitat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scientific Hypothesis
A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous observations that cannot satisfactorily be explained with the available scientific theories. Even though the words "hypothesis" and "theory" are often used interchangeably, a scientific hypothesis is not the same as a scientific theory. A working hypothesis is a provisionally accepted hypothesis proposed for further research in a process beginning with an educated guess or thought. A different meaning of the term ''hypothesis'' is used in formal logic, to denote the antecedent of a proposition; thus in the proposition "If ''P'', then ''Q''", ''P'' denotes the hypothesis (or antecedent); ''Q'' can be called a consequent. ''P'' is the assumption in a (possibly counterfactual) ''What If'' question. The adjective ''hypothetical'', meaning "havin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adaptationist
Adaptationism (also known as functionalism) is the Darwinian view that many physical and psychological traits of organisms are evolved adaptations. Pan-adaptationism is the strong form of this, deriving from the early 20th century modern synthesis, that all traits are adaptations, a view now shared by only a few biologists. The "adaptationist program" was heavily criticized by Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Lewontin in their 1979 paper "The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm". According to Gould and Lewontin, evolutionary biologists had a habit of proposing adaptive explanations for any trait by default without considering non-adaptive alternatives, and often by conflating products of adaptation with the process of natural selection. One formal alternative to adaptationist explanations for traits in organisms is the neutral theory of molecular evolution, which proposes that features in organisms can arise through neutral transitions and become fixed in a population ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crows Mobbing Bald Eagle 04
The Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) is a series of remote weapon stations used by the US military on its armored vehicles and ships. It allows weapon operators to engage targets without leaving the protection of their vehicle. The US military has fielded both the M101 CROWS and M153 CROWS II systems. System overview The CROWS system provides an operator with the ability to acquire and engage targets while inside a vehicle, protected by its armor. It is designed to mount on a variety of vehicle platforms and supports the Mk 19 grenade launcher, 12.7 mm M2 .50 Caliber Machine Gun, 7.62 mm M240B Machine Gun, and 5.56 mm M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. The system is composed of two parts: the mount which is fixed to the exterior of the vehicle and the control group. The mount is capable of 360° rotation and −20° to +60° elevation and is gyro-stabilized. The sight package includes a daylight video camera, a thermal camera and an eye-safe laser ran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nest
A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves, or may be a simple depression in the ground, or a hole in a rock, tree, or building. Human-made materials, such as string, plastic, cloth, or paper, may also be used. Nests can be found in all types of habitat. Nest building is driven by a biological urge known as the nesting instinct in birds and mammals. Generally each species has a distinctive style of nest. Nest complexity is roughly correlated with the level of parental care by adults. Nest building is considered a key adaptive advantage among birds, and they exhibit the most variation in their nests ranging from simple holes in the ground to elaborate communal nests hosting hundreds of individuals. Nests of prairie dogs and several social insec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carrion Crow
The carrion crow (''Corvus corone'') is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus ''Corvus'' which is native to western Europe and the eastern Palearctic. Taxonomy and systematics The carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', and it still bears its original name of ''Corvus corone''. The binomial name is derived from the Latin , "raven", and Greek , "crow". The hooded crow, formerly regarded as a subspecies, has been split off as a separate species, and there is some discussion whether the eastern carrion crow (''C. c. orientalis'') is distinct enough to warrant specific status; the two taxa are well separated, and it has been proposed they could have evolved independently in the wetter, maritime regions at the opposite ends of the Eurasian landmass.Madge, Steve & Burn, Hilary (1994): ''Crows and jays: a guide to the crows, jays and magpies of the world''. A&C Black, Lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-headed Gull
The black-headed gull (''Chroicocephalus ridibundus'') is a small gull that breeds in much of the Palearctic including Europe and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters further south, but some birds reside in the milder westernmost areas of Europe. Small numbers also occur in northeastern North America, where it was formerly known as the common black-headed gull. As is the case with many gulls, it was previously placed in the genus ''Larus''. The genus name '' Chroicocephalus'' is from Ancient Greek ''khroizo'', "to colour", and ''kephale'', "head". The specific ''ridibundus'' is Latin for "laughing", from ''ridere'' "to laugh". The black-headed gull displays a variety of compelling behaviours and adaptations. Some of these include removing eggshells from one's nest after hatching, begging co-ordination between siblings, differences between sexes, conspecific brood parasitism, and extra-pair paternity. They are an overwintering species, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defecation
Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus. The act has a variety of names ranging from the common, like pooping or crapping, to the technical, e.g. bowel movement, to the obscene ('' shitting''), to the euphemistic ("dropping a deuce" or "taking a dump"). The topic, usually avoided among polite company, can become the basis for some potty humour. Humans expel feces with a frequency varying from a few times daily to a few times weekly. Waves of muscular contraction (known as ''peristalsis'') in the walls of the colon move fecal matter through the digestive tract towards the rectum. Undigested food may also be expelled this way, in a process called ''egestion''. When birds defecate, they also expel urine and urates in the same mass, whereas other animals may also urinate at the same time, but spatially separated. Defeca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_great-egret-8243-web_(324180866).jpg "Click for more on -> Animal Communication")
