by Kieran Lindsey | Apr 29, 2021 | Mammals, Wildlife
BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD Is there any non-human skill people covet more passionately than the ability to fly? Understandably, early aviation experiments centered around mimicry of birds, complete with flapping arms that were usually covered in feathers. The Greek legend...
by Kieran Lindsey | Dec 23, 2020 | Birds, Wildlife
BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD The natural world outside my Midwestern door is preparing for a long winter nap. Cozy quilts made of homespun leaves keep tree feet from getting too cold. Seeds and insect eggs, the harvest of the previous growing season, have slipped into...
by Kieran Lindsey | Nov 25, 2020 | Birds, Wildlife
BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD The Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is a small bird who raises large families. Having a lot of children isn’t uncommon in the natural world but titmice parents are unusual in that they often follow the sitcom script for managing...
by Kieran Lindsey | Sep 30, 2020 | Birds, Wildlife
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...
by Kieran Lindsey | Jul 22, 2020 | Birds, Wildlife
BY KIERAN LINDSEY, PhD I wonder if Henry knew that not everything that shoots into the air falls back to Earth. I’m not denying the sovereignty of gravity but if the arrow is a male common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) hoping to impress a potential mate...