Songbird - Tumblr Posts
Mice Can Sing!
Rodents, often viewed as simple creatures, exhibit surprising complexity in their behavior. Mice and rats display human-like traits such as laughter when tickled, empathy by sensing each other's pain through facial expressions, and even an ability to discern artistic styles like Picasso and Renoir.
Studies reveal that male mice produce intricate ultrasonic vocalizations, or "songs," to communicate with females. These songs vary in complexity depending on social context: when males can't see females but only smell their urine, the songs are louder and more intricate; however, when in the presence of females, the songs become simpler but longer.
Researchers at Duke University have found that female mice show a preference for more complex mating calls, indicating their effectiveness in attraction. This suggests that male mice invest more energy in attracting females when they can't see them, but once in close proximity, they focus more on mating behaviors. The study aims to explore the brain mechanisms behind these vocalizations and whether mice can learn new songs, potentially shedding light on communication disorders like autism. Published in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, this research underscores the complexity of rodent behavior and its implications for understanding animal and human communication.
(via Yes, Mice Can Sing. And You Won't Believe How Much They Sound Like Songbirds | HuffPost Impact)
“Being mistaken about the nature of something and discovering its true nature is my favorite thing in the world to do.”
— Ayda Aguefort, epitome of romance
I can't believe Ayda catapulted herself to the top of my fave NPC list in just a few episodes. I am just so happy that she exists (she is so much like me) and I have been loving Fig more and more each episode of sophomore year (not that I didn't before) and they are both like a perfect split of my psychological issues... but together they're better! I vibed with their relationship since the sleepover and now they are canon! They had the best (and most in-character) getting together scene I could have never written.
I am so happy about them.
Also: I can't decide which shipname for them I like more... Songbird is beautiful in sound and metaphor, but Figayda has GAY in it... truly difficult questions indeed...
Sooo... when Fig and Ayda get married, Gorgug will be Figs best man and Adaine will be Aydas.
Fig is gonna be walked down the aisle by Gorthalax and Gilear on each side (Gilear does have some yogurt stains on his tux and is fully crying (Gorthalax is also crying, but tears of flame).
Jawbone has walked Ayda to the altar (because, c'mon, as soon as he meets her he is gonna adopt her).
Riz is in charge of the rings (and also in charge of security, he even protected the rings with a special safe and multiple booby-traps). He also threatens all the reporters that are trying to get into the wedding of the great rockstar Fig from "Fig & the Sig Figs"
Fabian is the flower boy.
Kristen is officiating. Ayda would have very much liked for someone more serious and orderly to be in charge, but she is Figs friend and her friend, so she concedes.
(Also: Gilear probably threw up in the flower petal basket because he was so nervous and Fabian was furious.
And Fig ditches her dads halfway down the aisle and just skate-boards the rest of the way to Ayda, because she just can't wait.)
Garthy O'Brien throws the party, in a true pirate wedding fashion, for free, because they are the best.
When they aren’t busy impersonating cryptofauna, Double Crested Cormorants can be found performing vocal exercises in the run-up to mating season. Gifted with a mellifluous timbre in the tenor range, these sonorous Sea-Birds favour particularly difficult arias in order to attract mates. Above, a Double Crested Cormorant finishes out the ‘Di quella pira’ caballeta from Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore.
Elizabeth and Songbird from Bioshock Infinite, one of my favorite games.I made this painting for my bro for xmas. He has a thing for Elizabeth and Songbird is just plain awesome.Enjoy!!
Its finally here the final of my sculpture. Since you didn’t guess the first time I will tell you why its Songbird of course.I enjoyed making this. It was so damn fun. Enjoy!!
Footnote: Feel like seeing more rambles n' stuff? This is my current blog! Due to some technical issues with the old one, I will be rblging the original MMM and CFF posts on this account, as well as future write-ups!
Creacher Feature Friday 6: I Found a Tragedy and a Rarity in the Ferns 🪺
~Ah, brood parasitism, one of my favorite forms of symbiosis. Brilliant tactic, evolutionarily speaking. Why invest precious resources and time into raising your own offspring, when you can just entirely hijack the parental instincts of another species? The cuckoo bird is one of the most well known and famous examples of this reproductive strategy, never building their own nests, but happy to drop their eggs into the clutches of other birds to raise as their own.
*(fun fact: this is actually the origin of the slang words “cuckold” and “cuck”, from an old French term for the cuckoo bird.)
Today I would, however, love to talk to talk about the brown-headed cowbird, another parasitic avian species, common to the United States.
The reason why is because I found a lucky, incredible sight while watering my Aunt’s ferns once:
If you don’t immediately get why I was so excited when I realized what this was, this is a photo I took of an inactive house finch nest I had been keeping my eyes on last summer.
For some reason every year, they love to set up nests inside the hanging plants. A cowbird must have also decided it seemed like a lovely spot, and left behind one of its own eggs in the nest. Now I didn’t see the brood up close myself until the family had already moved on, and I snapped this picture when the time came to remove the nest, having no idea it had even been parasitized. And what was left behind is evidence of a little-known phenomenon called
Egg capping!
What makes parasitism like the This destructive to the original nest is that one cowbird hatchling usually dooms its adoptive siblings. They grow much faster than their host species and they immediately outcompete the other fledgelings in the nest due to their size for the host parents’ attention and feeding. I think you can see why they need all they can get. Exhibit A:
Another way they have of reducing competition in the nest, it’s been theorized, is to literally prevent their “clutchmates” from hatching at all- by “capping” one of the original eggs with its own eggshell. This is not something that the hatchling does on purpose, but with a little bit of luck, in the fact that they often hatch and develop faster than the hosts, this can happen by pure chance as the shell gets tossled around with the other eggs. And evidently, this is extremely rare to happen under normal circumstances, what with chicks synchronizing their hatching, the parents usually then removing the shells from the nest.
So, it’s a fortunate evolutionary bonus for these home-wrecker cowbirds that this is another way they manage to gum up the works.
An Extra note: though it is potentially upsetting news that Brown-headed cowbirds are detrimental to their host nests, they are still a native and federally protected species in their home range. It is illegal to remove or tamper with their eggs the same way it is illegal to disturb their hosts’, and upon finding a parasitized nest in your yard, remember that it is best to let nature take its course. Cowbirds are still part of this beautiful ecosystem, even if they are mooching free-loaders :)
But, there is a nasty little twist to the story in my nest photos. The cowbird chick probably didn’t find success either. You see… house finches were actually a really poor choice for the mother cowbird who decided to drop her offspring here.
While the majority of local songbirds here (brown headed cowbirds included) require insects in their diet to develop well and strong, house finches are a special exception- they are almost exclusively herbivores. The cowbird that capped this finch egg probably didn’t fare well under its unsuspecting parents, muscling out its competition in vein. I hope those finches have a better run next year, but I am very thankful I got to see some really neat ecology in action, and right outside the front door!
SAME
ma’am please that’s my emotional support brainworm
With the popularity of Suicide Squad at least somewhat rising, it makes me curious as to how a Thunderbolts adaptation would work.
I think if there's one thing I'd prefer for a Thunderbolts adaptation, I would like it to be animated. 2D or 3D, whichever works.
I think it would be best if it's adapted the part about the original Thunderbolts being villains faking it as heroes in a bid to get at their nemeses. You could make the lead Songbird, her growing to actually love being a hero.
Or if you want to go with later Thunderbolts, have them as the anti-heroes, and I do mean anti-heroes but you could also use villains, who deal with other types of threats that the Avengers don't really deal with, like say King Hyperion. The alternate universe Superman-like character that conquered his universe and is looking to conquer others. You could have a whole lot of fun with that part.
Anyways, if you got anything to add, go right ahead! Would love to hear from people that know more or have other ideas for this!
Male cardinals are beginning to look brighter and brighter, the closer we come to spring. Healthy males are newly molted, with bright new feathers.
Soon, pair-bonded males will start mating rituals with their long-term mates, while young, single males will compete to find a life-long companion.
Northern Cardinals are especially monogamous. They are never too far away from each other.
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Her face, though. Dammit. ;_;
Ugh, this game. so many feels. Was not expecting.
(I couldn't figure out how to hide the pictures under a Read More. I'll tag it with spoilers instead. Deepest apologies.)
Finally throwing my So Mi playlist out here 😼 playing the king of cups ending again and I’m in shambles… again. I feel a persistent need to make others suffer with me. Enjoy ^_^
Finally throwing my So Mi playlist out here 😼 playing the king of cups ending again and I’m in shambles… again. I feel a persistent need to make others suffer with me. Enjoy ^_^
I thought it was only appropriate to put her by my birds.