Docmartin
Thought Police
In the July issue of British Birds:
Yet even more ways to dress eggs
Andy Gosler provides a fascinating essay which explores the idea that the patterning found on the eggs of many species of bird is essentially functional. Traditionally, it has always been assumed that the main reason for patterning is visual – chiefly for the purposes of avoiding predators or, in the case of cuckoos, to mimic the eggs of their host. This paper suggests that pigment may be a structural adaptation for the eggshell, compensating for thinner/weaker parts of the shell.
Short-billed Dowitcher in Northeast Scotland: new to Britain
White-throated Robin: new to Britain
These two short papers continue the series ‘new to Britain’, with the official write-up of the first records of these two species in Britain.
A bumper crop of short notes in this month’s issue cover a typically wide diversity of subjects, from Greylag Goose nesting near the top of a tall pine tree in Kent, through some observations of roosting behaviour of Marsh Harriers during migration and of Magpie foot-paddling, to the calls of ‘Northern Bullfinches’. An illustrated article by James Siddle poses the question ‘which subspecies of Stonechat breeds in coastal regions of Portugal?’
Reviews, news and comment, requests for data, an obituary of former Assistant Editor of BB, J. Duncan Wood, and recent reports, accompanied by various mouthwatering rarity photographs, complete this month’s line-up.
See the British Birds website at http://www.britishbirds.co.uk for full details of current and back issues, and to download a sample copy of BB.
Yet even more ways to dress eggs
Andy Gosler provides a fascinating essay which explores the idea that the patterning found on the eggs of many species of bird is essentially functional. Traditionally, it has always been assumed that the main reason for patterning is visual – chiefly for the purposes of avoiding predators or, in the case of cuckoos, to mimic the eggs of their host. This paper suggests that pigment may be a structural adaptation for the eggshell, compensating for thinner/weaker parts of the shell.
Short-billed Dowitcher in Northeast Scotland: new to Britain
White-throated Robin: new to Britain
These two short papers continue the series ‘new to Britain’, with the official write-up of the first records of these two species in Britain.
A bumper crop of short notes in this month’s issue cover a typically wide diversity of subjects, from Greylag Goose nesting near the top of a tall pine tree in Kent, through some observations of roosting behaviour of Marsh Harriers during migration and of Magpie foot-paddling, to the calls of ‘Northern Bullfinches’. An illustrated article by James Siddle poses the question ‘which subspecies of Stonechat breeds in coastal regions of Portugal?’
Reviews, news and comment, requests for data, an obituary of former Assistant Editor of BB, J. Duncan Wood, and recent reports, accompanied by various mouthwatering rarity photographs, complete this month’s line-up.
See the British Birds website at http://www.britishbirds.co.uk for full details of current and back issues, and to download a sample copy of BB.
