The Bizarre Biology of Birds
The Bizarre Biology of Birds A detailed look at one of nature's strangest experiments Stone Age Herbalist “Here also I first met with the pretty Australian Bee-eater (Merops ornatus). This elegant little bird sits on twigs in open places, gazing eagerly around, and darting off at intervals to seize some insect which it sees flying near; returning afterwards to the same twig to swallow it. Its long, sharp, curved bill, the two long narrow feathers in its tail, its beautiful green plumage varied with rich brown and black and vivid blue on the throat, render it one of the most graceful and interesting objects a naturalist can see for the first time.” -Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, Vol I If you’re anything like me then birds are one of those perennial, permanent obsessions. The kind of obsession that lasts a lifetime, and continually rewards you for your perseverance. One simple conclusion from this love affair is that birds are truly very strange. Creatures that live a...