Paul Hostovsky: Wording
Cynosure, gravid, pabulum–
just three of the many
unusual specimens
I’d been lucky enough to glimpse
in the last few days.
Cristina Robinson, et al: Complex birdsongs help biologists piece together the evolution of lifelong learning
Our human ability to learn language slows down as we get older, but scientists are not sure how or why this happens. An unexpected way to understand this learning process might come from listening to birds sing.
Video: This bird-of-paradise in New Guinea sounds like something from another planet
This video from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology provides a glimpse into the world of this idiosyncratic little bird, which has proven notoriously difficult to photograph in its rugged natural habitat.
David Watts: Blessing in the Midst of Siege
We are cloistered in our houses
dodging a horrible virus
but it almost feels like blessing.
Video: Birds of the Mississippi Delta
John Fitzpatrick, Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, takes us on a bird-tour of the Mississippi River Delta. The Louisiana wetlands that they call home are fast disappearing.
Tom Engelhardt: In Memoriam | A Planet of Missing Beauties
For those I’ll be leaving behind, my children and grandchildren in particular, this just wasn’t the world I ever wanted them to inherit.
Peter Makuck: Grackles
But after a few minutes
they become bold and
like dark thoughts
return
Kathleen O’Toole: Mindful
Samsara’s in every in-breath, each shutter click of attention: first warning
signs of famine, children lining up
for the soldiers’ candy
Scientists Name Top 100 Unusual And Endangered Birds
There are about 9,993 living species of birds known by scientists. A collaboration between scientists at Yale and the Zoological Society of London have analyzed all of them and ranked 100 bird species based on conservation status and how unusual they are compared to other birds.
Luray Gross: Epistemology I
Before the concert, the oboe player slipped off one red pump and slid it back on. Then her breath filled the space with plaintive sound. . She sat right in … Continue reading
Judith A. Brice: Before the Terns
It’s always the waves I hear, the lapping of the lake at Walloon— perhaps the first sound my young memory held, before the kingfishers’, the terns’ bolting splash to grab … Continue reading
Elizabeth Jacobson: Birds Eating Cherries from the Very Old Tree
I thought I would make a short list of what is not a feeling. Birds are not feelings. Birds eating cherries from the tree are not feelings. This is the … Continue reading
