This discussion has be so enlightening and fun! As we feel some relief from Covid-19 I appreciate all who have contributed. I learned a lot and am a little bit less hostile as I see the brown heads
Myth or truth? Yellow warblers have figured out the difference of the BHC eggs and don’t have to rear them??? Halle On Fri, Apr 23, 2021 at 10:46 AM Laura Erickson < chickadee.erick...@gmail.com> wrote: > The point is, I didn't say the parasitism habit EVOLVED for the bison. I > just said it was darned beneficial to have it for one particular species > that did hang around the bison. NOW we know female cowbirds can be > sedentary as long as possible, but this article, not a scientific > paper, offers no evidence that they did this pre-settlement. > > None of us see and understand the whole elephant. > > Best, Laura > > On Thu, Apr 22, 2021 at 11:06 PM Anthony Hertzel <axhert...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > > For a different perspective, I recommend Dennis Paulson’s essay on the > > topic. < > > > https://www.birdnote.org/explore/field-notes/2015/05/cowbird-story-revisited > > > > > > > I can also recommend a few more scientific papers that say essentially > the > > same thing. > > > > > On Apr 22, 2021, at 10:49 P.M., Laura Erickson < > > chickadee.erick...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > Brood parasitism is indeed found in cowbirds from South America, where > > the > > > genus *Molothrus* probably originated, and so although it follows that > > > brood parasitism almost certainly evolved in that genus in the first > > place > > > for reasons other than because they needed to follow a wandering > mammal, > > > the Brown-headed Cowbird's well-documented dependence on nomadic bison > > > certainly made brood parasitism uniquely valuable for it, at least > until > > we > > > decimated the bison while introducing cattle. > > > > > > It's virtually impossible to know the full story about any > species--we're > > > always finding out more. Learning new information doesn't mean we throw > > out > > > a whole body of old but accurate observations--it means we work out how > > all > > > the pieces of information, including both DNA/evolutionary biology and > > > natural history fit together. Otherwise, we're just like the > blindfolded > > > people each describing one part of the elephant, with nobody getting > the > > > full picture. > > > > > > Best, Laura Erickson > > > Duluth > > > > Anthony Hertzel > > axhert...@gmail.com > > > > > > > > > > ---- > > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > > > > > -- > Laura Erickson > Duluth, MN > she/her/hers > > For the love, understanding, and protection of birds > www.lauraerickson.com > www.patreon.com/lauraerickson > > You were made and set here to give voice to this, your own astonishment. > —Annie Dillard > > Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Sent from Gmail Mobile ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
