Why Are Hot Peppers Hot?

By Mike • July 11, 2007 • No comments yet

So birds will eat them while mammals avoid them! Coturnix explainsÂ while Feathers of Hope gets a tip of the hat for using the word herbivory.

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...Or These Blasts From The Past

About the Author

Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but what he really aspires to be is a naturalist. Besides founding 10,000 Birds and I and the Bird, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining sites and resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network.

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Asides

Birding Brazil Blog

Derek Kverno has already created epic blog travelogues of his stints in Ecuador and Tanzania. Now he’s moved to Brazil, which means we get to vicariously explore the avifauna of another bird-rich country. Awesome!

Flipping the Bird

Ever wonder why displaying a disrespectful middle finger is called flipping the bird? Brian Palmer at Slate breaks down birds’ long association with taunting. Anyone who’s recently missed a target bird (perhaps a Black Rail) can relate!

First Breeding Record for Neotropic Cormorant in Florida

Amazingly, it was a visiting birder from New York who discovered Neotropic Cormorants breeding in the Wakodahatchee Wetlands. Congratulations to Ardith Bondi for the great find!

Less Birds Around Fukushima

A team of researchers has found that the populations of common birds around the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan has plummeted. Most disturbingly, the populations of species that the area has in common with Chernobyl has fallen more in Fukushima than they did in the site of worst nuclear disaster in world history.