Thoughts and Science

Asian paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi)

The Asian paradise flycatcher is a medium-sized passerine bird native to Asia. Males have elongated central tail feathers, and in some populations a black and rufous plumage while others have white plumage. Females are short-tailed with rufous wings and a black head. They feed on insects, which they capture in the air often below a densely canopied tree. Adult Asian paradise flycatchers are 19–22 cm long. Asian paradise flycatchers are noisy birds uttering sharp skreek calls. In the afternoons they dive from perches to bathe in small pools of water. Being socially monogamous both male and female take part in nest-building, incubation, brooding and feeding of the young. 

Wolf Pack Seen in Northern California for First Time Since 1924

California has its first wolf pack since the state’s gray wolf population went extinct in 1924.

State and federal authorities announced this week that a remote camera captured photos earlier this month of two adults and five pups in southeastern Siskiyou County.

They were named the Shasta pack for nearby Mount Shasta.

The pack was discovered four years after the famous Oregon wandering wolf OR-7 first reached Northern California.

The Broken Heart

This image reveals the remarkable 3D structure of an adult mouse heart. The imaging technique used here is being developed to allow us to better measure the extent of injury after heart attack, and to assess repair.

Gillian Gray and Megan Swim University/BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh

Harris Morrison Institute for Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh

Image via Daily Mail