Word: avian
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...avian milestone is a victory for biologists who persuaded the Federal Government that taking the endangered birds into protective custody was the best way to save them. Some conservationists bitterly opposed the capture of the last condors, arguing that pressure to preserve what was left of their habitat would vanish without a resident population. During the winter of 1985, nearly half of the 15 remaining wild birds perished, victims of lead shot, varmint poisons and land development. Two years later, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rounded up the last of the survivors...
...step. Merely another rare bird: the best damned boot-in-the- mud nature essayist -- piscine, avian or human -- in the business...
When unearthed in 1861 from a German quarry, Archaeopteryx seemed an ideal argument for the then new theories of evolution. Its reptilian brain and scaly head, combined with an avian wishbone and cloak of feathers, led many scientists to hail it as a missing link between reptiles and birds. But Protoavis has even more birdlike features than its younger cousin, Chatterjee believes. While both species have wishbones and forelimbs elongated into wings, he points out, the older fossil also has a bird's wide eye sockets, a large braincase and a breastbone designed to anchor muscles used in flight. Tiny...
...they do it? Not all the answers can be found in Bird Behavior (Knopf; 224 pages; $18.95), but that is because the subjects are so colorfully diverse. Zoologist Robert Burton writes informatively on the breeding, flying, feeding and migrating habits of some of the world's 8,600- plus avian species. His introduction is inarguable: "Birds are, perhaps, the most popular group of animals and they give pleasure to thousands of people around the world." Nearly 600 photographs brilliantly feather the text. Birds are observed blushing, using tools and eating everything from insects to other birds. To sample such variety...
Though much remains to be learned about the black-neck's mating habits, Archibald does not anticipate the need for a repeat performance of his avian minuets. "We have all the therapy we need to get the cranes turned on," he says. Still, Archibald has developed something of a crush on one of the black- necks. "Lan-lan is such a sweetie," he says. "When I first met her, she came over and started preening and chirping. It was as if we were old friends...