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POPSBrick Habitats Brick Habitats is an encouraging proposal that allows residents to take environmental change in their own hands by participating in suburban habitat restoration.
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POPSBlue tits embrace 'aromatherapy' more (at source): "We hypothesised that aromatic plants used by blue tits had some anti-parasite properties, because most of these plants, or close species of the same genus, are traditional Mediterranean plants with well-known medicinal properties," says Adele Mennerat, a biologist now at the University of Bergen in Norway.
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POPSPic: Goose flying upside down more: “It looks like this bird is in mid-whiffle,” he said. “When geese come in to land from a great height they partake in a bout of whiffling, this involves the bird twisting and turning to spill air from their wings and thus lowering their speed prior to landing. In 36 years of birdwatching I have seen this many times, particularly when watching pink-footed geese on the north Norfolk coast coming in to roost in the late afternoon and evening. I have, however, never seen a photograph of a bird in mid-whiffle like this. It is an amazing photograph.”
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POPSThe Goliath Birdeater Spider - The Goliath Birdeater, like many tarantulas, can also release its hairs, which are barbed. These can cause severe discomfort and irritation when they make contact with bare skin, or when they are inhaled.
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POPSCute Birdie Pics "...I know, I know, we don't have enough cute damn birds on the site. I keep hearing about that and the lack of piglets. Do you know how hard it is to find a suitable cute piglet for this site? Do you people know I have a full time job?"
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POPSBirds - Indian Mynahs "From time to time I am asked (in what capacity I am never sure) how to humanely get rid of Indian mynahs. This alien species is slowly invading South Africa's eastern side. Town after town is falling to these raucous, aggressive birds that behave like Liverpool soccer fans. The first mynahs in South Africa were released in Durban in the 1890s from the top of a bus. A sailor had captured them in India and had tried in vain to sell them. They have since multiplied with biblical enthusiasm."
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POPSAttack of the killer ravens: Flocks are suddenly slaughtering lambs "Research published last year in the Scientific American also showed the raven to be one of the most intelligent species on the planet - up there with dolphins and apes and, unlike most other birds and animals, capable of learning from their own actions and from observing others' behaviour. They're thought to be one of the few birds that can count, and some have even learned to fashion leaves into special tools for extracting grubs from crevices in trees. In Japan, they were reportedly found dropping nuts onto a dual-carriageway, then darting down to eat them once the cars had cracked them open. Although older ravens (they live up to 25 years) mate for life and travel in pairs, young birds may form flocks of up to several hundred - collective nouns for ravens include an "unkindness", a "conspiracy", and a "murder" - which swoop on farm animals"