Mockingbirds Can Remember Faces of People to Attack (Links)

This entry was posted by owl and bear staff on Sunday, May 24th, 2009 at 10:59 am.

Cost of Cigarette Litter May Fall on San Fran’s Smokers A proposed fee would add 33 cents to the cost of a pack of cigarettes, helping offset the estimated $10.7 million a year spent cleaning up discarded butts.  Styrofoam Ban Grows in CA Palo Alto joins 21 other California towns in prohibition of polystyrene takeout containers. Yosemite’s Giant Trees Disappearing Data collected over 60 years by forest ecologists show that the oldest and largest trees in Yosemite National Park are disappearing. Climate change appears to be a major cause of the loss. Summer Haze Cooling SE United States Some local cooling is one effect of climate change. Marine Pleads Guilty in Wildfire A Marine was sentenced to a year in prison for horseplay that started a wildfire that burned a section of California’s Camp Pendleton, prompted widespread evacuations, and caused $2 million in damage. Cactus Wren Gets Another Chance in Culver City In an effort to bring the cactus wren back to a Culver City state park, Dorsey High students are restoring the coastal sage scrub preferred by the bird. Hollywood and the Flush Factor “If it’s yellow leave it mellow; if it’s brown flush it down,” said actor Cameron Diaz.  EPA Approves Most Outstanding Mountaintop Removal Permits Environmental leaders criticized the EPA for not taking a stronger stand agains the highly destructive and polluting form of mining. Where Are All the Fish? Fisheries can’t keep up with the rate of seafood consumption by humans.  New Study Provides Insight into Evolution of First Flowers Charles Darwin described the origin of flowering plants about 130 million years ago as an abominable mystery, one that scientists have yet to solve. Taking Back the Catalytic Converter A new bill would allow independent repair shops to compete for the business now guaranteed only to dealer-controlled establishments. Monkeys Found To Wonder What Might Have Been Monkeys register missed opportunities and learn from their mistakes.  Intoxication May Not Always Be Visible It is difficult for even trained observers to fully identify “intoxication,” given that so many factors contribute to it. Some People Really Never Forget A Face “Super-recognizers” have an extraordinary ability to recognize faces, and can easily recognize someone they met in passing, even many years later. Mockingbirds Can Remember Faces of People to Attack Scientists find that the grey and white birds common in cities can distinguish between different people and will swoop to attack those they perceive as a danger.