Posts
News and links about birds, birding, and the environment.
- Palaeontologists have discovered a new species of "terror bird." This South American species was about ten feet tall with a 18-inch bill that could handle dog-sized prey. It lived about 15 million years ago.
- The Maryland State Law Library's collection of original prints by John James Audubon is undergoing restoration. Aside from the usual build-up of grease and discolortion, several prints have been creased or cut, so that the restoration work is more difficult. The linked article describes the restoration process.
- Cornell has developed new software called "Raven" for analyzing sound recordings. Users can edit files and view spectrograms. Several versions for professionals cost money, but there is also a free version for hobbyists. See here for details.
- The Independent has a list of ten recommendations for helping garden birds. It is directed for a British audience but the same holds true here.
- If you want to report a dead bird for influenza testing, you can go here. (via Birdchaser, who has much bird-flu coverage this week)
- Rabbits are stripping the vegetation from Macquarie Island and destroying important habitat for albatrosses and penguins. These rabbits are the descendents of animals brought by Europeans in the 19th century.
Announcements
- On January 20, 2007, there will be a conference for science bloggers at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. See here for more information about the program and registration.
- For people in or near College Park, Maryland: The Fluid Dynamics Reviews Seminars of the Burgers Program presents G.R. Spedding (University of Southern California Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department) who will discuss “Experiments in Low-Speed Aerodynamics: Birds and Other Micro-Air Vehicles." Time: Noon on Friday, October 27. Place: Room 2164, Glenn L. Martin Hall, University of Maryland College Park Campus, College Park, MD.
