Recently Slow Birding, a book all about enjoying the birds in your backyard, was published. The author, Joan Strassmann, an accomplished scientist in the field of evolution and microbes writes about her hobby of birdwatching and offers some good advice. Rather than traveling far and wide to see and list birds in new locales, the […]
The name of the dance called the Cha Cha is derived from the shuffling sound of the dancers’ feet when they dance two consecutive quick steps. It is an onomatopoeia, meaning that the name comes from a sound. Originally from Cuba, it was first called the Cha Cha Cha as the footwork goes one, two, cha cha
The uropygial gland, also called the preen gland or oil gland, is a bilobed structure on the dorsal base of a bird’s tail between the fourth caudal vertebra and the pygostyle, the structure formed by the fusion of the final caudal vertebrae. The pygostyle is surrounded by flesh, the fleshy structure commonly called the “pope’s
A recent article in the New York Times posits an idea as to why people get fat; it isn’t their fault. Instead of blaming food choices, lack of exercise, slow metabolism, or simple gluttony, the authors believe that the availability of “junk food” makes us fat. High calorie fast food, snacks at the movies and
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