100 FLYING BIRDS: Photographing the Mechanics of Flight
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ADVANCED READING FOR CHAPTER 5: LARGE WATERBIRDS
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANIMAL SIZE AND METABOLIC RATE
Animal size and metabolic rate are actually not linearly related. Kielber’s Law postulates that an animal's metabolic rate scales to the three-quarter power of the animal's mass.
MUMMIFICATION OF AFRICAN SACRED IBISES
The following interesting doctoral dissertation explored the practice of mummification and possible farming of African Sacred Ibises in Ancient Egypt:
Wasef, A. A. 2016. “Ancient Egyptian Sacred Ibis Mummies: Evolutionary Mitogenomics Resolves the History of Ancient Farming.” PhD diss., Griffith University.
https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/handle/10072/367796
THE STORK BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
A translation of the 1938 fairytale can be found here:
Andersen, H.C. 1938. “The Storks.” In Hans Christian Andersen: Fairy Tales and Stories translated by H. P. Paull, No. 19. HCA.Gilead.org.il. [webpage]
http://hca.gilead.org.il/storks.html
FRIGATEBIRD KLEPTOPARASITISM
An abstract of a study on the success rate of frigatebirds’ attempt to steal food can be found here:
Osorno, J.L., R. Torres, and C. Macias Garcia. 1992. “Kleptoparasitic Behavior of the Magnificent Frigatebird: Sex Bias and Success.” Condor 94 (3): 692-698.
https://academic.oup.com/condor/article-abstract/94/3/692/5189490?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Accessed July 10, 2019
[1]POPULATION OF SADDLE-BILLED STORKS IN THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA
The estimate of 20-40 pairs was provided in this book:
Barnes, K. and K. Behrens. 2017. Birds of Kruger National Park. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON HUNTS ROSEATE SPOONBILLS
The text from the illustration of the Roseate Spoonbill in Audubon’s Birds of America can be read here:
Audubon, J. J. 1838. Birds of America In The Audubon Society webpage.
https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america/roseate-spoonbill
(accessed 14 July 2019).
AUDUBON’S MOUNTING TECHNIQUE
The methods used by John James Audubon to mount his specimens for illustration are well described in the following article:
Rhodes, R. 2012. “A Touch of France: John James Audubon: finding life in birds.” Medicographia34(1):116-129.
https://www.medicographia.com/2012/07/john-james-audubon-finding-life-in-birds/
PELICANS IN THE FOSSIL RECORD
A report of a 30-million-year-old pelican-like fossil is here:
Louchart, A., N. Tourment, and J. Carrier. 2011. “The Earliest Known Pelican Reveals 30 million Years of Evolutionary Stasis in Beak Morphology.” Journal of Ornithology 152: 15–20.
MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN
Sir Noël Coward (1899-1973) was a brilliantly witty English songwriter, playwright, actor, and director. His song “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” was part of a 1932 Revue called Words and Music. A sample of the lyrics is below. Coward himself can be heard performing the song here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMlyT_Sb7sg
Accessed 17 July 2019
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
In tropical climes there are certain times of day
When all the citizens retire
To tear their clothes off and perspire
It's one of those rules that the greatest fools obey
Because the sun is much too sultry
And one must avoid its ultra violet ray
………
The native grieve when the white
Men leave their huts, because
They're obviously definitely nuts!
Mad dogs and Englishmen
Go out in the midday sun
The Japanese don't care to
The Chinese wouldn't dare to
Hindoos and Argentines sleep
Firmly from twelve to one
But Englishmen detest a siesta
A LARGE EXTINCT HERON
A following survey of archeological finds in the present-day United Arab Emirates makes a single mention of a “…giant heron? (Ardea bennuides)”.
Potts, D. T. 1997. “Before the Emirates: an Archaeological and Historical Account of Developments in the Region c. 5000 BC to 676 AD.” In E. Ghareeb & I. Al Abed (Eds.), 28-69. Perspectives on the United Arab Emirates, London: Trident Press.
Accessed 18 July 2019
This Bennu Heron is thought to be represented in Egyptian and Greek mythology. Bennu is also the name of an asteroid that has a close pass with Earth on 6-year cycles:
Planetary Science Communications, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 2019. “101955 Bennu.” NASA Science Solar System Exploration. Last updated May 14, 2019.
Accessed 18 July 2019