littera enim occidit

veganmudblood:

rhamphotheca:

How Does a Parrot Learn Its Name in the Wild?

Biologist Karl Berg asks the question, “How do parrots learn their names?” Are they genetically encoded or are the learned from their parents? In this video, Producer Marc Dantzker delves into Karl’s work with Green-rumped Parrotlets in Venezuela, and explains how this simple question is shedding light on one of nature’s most complex communication systems.

(via: Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

Don’t like the idea of the eggs being switched…but the study’s findings are interesting nonetheless. 

I’m not a huge fan of that either, but assuming that none of the birds noticed, I don’t think there’s anything inherently superior about being raised by your biological parents if all other factors are equal.  as behavioral studies on non-human animals go, this is relatively benign, and hopefully will lead to greater respect for and protection of animals in the future. 

I’m not a biologist precisely because I don’t feel harming animals is justified in the process of studying them, and I’ve yet to learn of a decent program that didn’t oblige you to do so.  I’ve considered doing microbio eventually, but for now I’m geology/social science.