BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Anywhere you hang your hat is home, or so the saying goes, but the same holds true even if your cap is actually a cluster of rose-colored feathers, or even a cloche of streaky tan and taupe.  Perhaps we rarely see a House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) wearing a hat because, once they […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD You know how there’s always that last bit of liquid in the glass, just a few drops, that’s resistant to lift-off no matter how many times you re-position the straw or how much suction force you apply?  Well, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus varius) solved this physics problem over 10,000 years ago. Turns out, […]

A prominent German-American publisher in St. Louis at that time, sponsored the Transatlantic voyage of a dozen Eurasian Tree Sparrows (Passer montanus, aka German sparrows) and representatives of 5 other species from his fatherland. Hoping to establish colonies in the Missouri Rhineland, shortly after their arrival the itinerant avians were released into the park.

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD “He sure does have a chip on his shoulder!” That statement is a metaphor… … except when it isn’t. Taken literally, this idiom for describing someone looking for a fight may also refer to the ornamental insignia on a military uniform, or the poppy red and sunflower yellow feathers of Red-winged Blackbirds […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD We can argue until the chickens come home to roost about which 19th century influencer said it first, industrialist Andrew Carnegie or author and humorist Mark Twain, but there’s little dispute that most birds wholeheartedly agree with the statement, “Put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket!” Most, […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Lately, when I’m feeling especially stressed or anxious, I find it comforting to escape reality by watching a sitcom episode, or three, from “the before-times” (shorthand for “everything prior to the first quarter of 2020, when the world changed for everyone, everywhere”). Little wonder I’ve considered, in odd moments, what the Friends […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD If the stranger hoped to slip into the Square unnoticed he went about it all wrong. Sure, choosing a plain white top beneath an unadorned black waistcoat might sound like a reasonable way to avoid detection, especially when one is hanging out against a backdrop of grey-scale bark and shadow. I could […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Just in case readers assume the title of this post is a typo, let me assure you it is not. I’m fully aware that the photos featured here are of mute swans (Cygnus olor) but, like any wordsmith worth her salt, I can’t resist indulging in a little harmless wordplay. As you’ll […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD A scientists’ work is never done. That’s because there’s always another layer to peel away, another stone to turn, another angle from which to view the situation. Case in point — about 200 years ago, Charles Darwin made the connection between the size and shape of a finch’s beak and the availability […]

BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD   Like Water Off a Duck’s Back — That tried and true adaptability adage is an apt observation for just about any species of waterfowl, thanks to their liquid-resistant outer contour feathers, but in the case of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) it’s also metaphorically germane… because this is one plucky duck. I won’t […]