# evol: Megalopta genalis, the bee that flies in the dark with dorsal landmark navigation

<< People -- who get lost easily in the extraordinary darkness of a tropical forest -- have much to learn from a bee that can find its way home in conditions 10 times dimmer than starlight. >>

AA << reveal that sweat bees (Megalopta genalis), find their way home based on patterns in the canopy overhead using dorsal vision. >>️️

<< For a human observer, the most obvious visual cues in the forest at night are gaps in the canopy when we look straight up because the sky is much brighter than the forest below, (..) We see a quite complex pattern of criss-crossing branches, but the bees'-eye-view is much less complex. They see broad blobs of light that vary in shape and position. We knew that ants could use canopy patterns to navigate as they walk through the forest, and we wondered if maybe bees were doing the same thing. >> Eric Warrant.

Dorsal navigation found in a flying insect. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Jun 17, 2021. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210617101221.htm

Sandra Chaib, Marie Dacke, et al. 

Dorsal Landmark Navigation in a Neotropical Nocturnal Bee.  doi: 10.2139/ ssrn.3805162. Mar 15, 2021.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3805162

# life: Occam's razor revisited, miss opportunities to improve through subtraction

<< A new study explains why people rarely look at a situation, object or idea that needs improving -- in all kinds of contexts -- and think to remove something as a solution. Instead, we almost always add some element, whether it helps or not. >>️

<< It happens in engineering design, which is my main interest, (..) But it also happens in writing, cooking and everything else -- just think about your own work and you will see it. The first thing that comes to our minds is, what can we add to make it better. Our paper shows we do this to our detriment, even when the only right answer is to subtract. Even with financial incentive, we still don't think to take away. >> Leidy Klotz.️

Why our brains miss opportunities to improve through subtraction. University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science. Apr 7, 2021. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210407135801.htm

Adams GS, Converse BA, et al. People systematically overlook subtractive changes. Nature 592, 258–261. doi: 10.1038/ s41586-021-03380-y. Apr 7,  2021.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03380-y

Also

keyword 'occam' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=occam

keyword 'occam' in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry)

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=occam

# behav: a case of extreme human-proto-bot love

TUKO.co.ke << has learnt Yuri Tolochko married his beautiful doll fiancee Margo in a traditional ceremony to mark their 18-month relationship. According to The Sun, the 'wedding' was official as it had a celebrant and a dozen of excited guests who could not keep calm after watching Yuri's romantic first dance with his doll. TUKO.co.ke accessed a video from the event which was posted on Instagram and it showed how stunning Yuri looked in his smart black dinner suit and bow tie, with his 'bride' rocking a lacy white wedding gown. >> 

Tuko. Yuri Tolochko: Bodybuilder marries doll after months of romance.

https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/yuri-tolochko-bodybuilder-marries-doll-after-months-of-romance/ar-BB1bwl4f

Magda Ibrahim. LOVE ISN'T DEAD. Bizarre moment bodybuilder MARRIES sex doll in creepy ceremony saying she’s a ‘tender soul inside’. Nov 25, 2020.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13297608/bizarre-moment-bodybuilder-marries-sex-doll-creepy-ceremony

Hannah Frishberg. Bodybuilder proposes to sex doll after getting it plastic surgery. Dec10, 2019. 

https://nypost.com/2019/12/10/bodybuilder-proposes-to-sex-doll-after-getting-it-plastic-surgery

Also

All things have a bit of soul. FonT. Apr 26, 2018.

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2018/04/zen-all-things-have-bit-of-soul.html

Gabe Ibáñez. Autómata. Movie. (2014).

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1971325/

# gst: apropos of transitions among granular entities, the behavior of silicone-coated sand mixtures (the 'magic sand')

<< Sand is a fascinating material. It can flow and be poured like a liquid, but retains many of the properties of solids, clogging pipes or forming sand dunes. (..) Grains interact via simple, Newtonian mechanics, but because so many particles are interacting at once, there is an emergent complexity of flow behavior that cannot yet be explained by simple equations. Scientists are thus not only looking for better theoretical models to explain granular behavior, but convenient "model systems" that can be handled and tuned in the lab to give insights into how the microscopic structure of granular materials gives rise to their macroscopic properties. >>️️

<< A team (..) has studied the properties of mixtures of silicone-coated "magic sand," a popular kids' toy, and normal sand. Silicone-coated sand particles were found to interact only with each other and not with other sand particles. The team discovered that adding silicone-coated sand beyond a certain threshold leads to an abrupt change in clustering and rigidity, a potential way to tune the flow of granular materials for industry.>>️

<< Using three independent methods involving sieving, measuring density and forming stable mounds of sand, they found that the mechanical properties of the mixture changes drastically when the fraction of magic sand to normal sand exceeds 20%. This agreed with findings from percolation theory, which governs how connections between particles span space without any breakages, letting the sand mixture behave in a significantly more solid-like way and bear its own weight. This behavior is known for polymer gels, and helps unify theoretical approaches applied to completely different materials. The team's mixtures also exhibits mechanical properties that can be easily modified. Importantly, the method provides a new, convenient, accurate and informative way to explore granular physics, >>️

️

'Magic sand' might help us understand the physics of granular matter. Tokyo Metropolitan University. Mar 08, 2021.

https://phys.org/news/2021-03-magic-sand-physics-granular.html

️

Marie Tani, Honoka Fujio, Rei Kurita. Transition Behavior in Silicone-coated Sand Mixtures. Journal of the Physical Society of Japan. 90 (3): 033801. doi: 10.7566/ JPSJ.90.033801.

https://journals.jps.jp/doi/10.7566/JPSJ.90.033801

Also

keyword 'grain' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=grain

keyword 'sand' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=sand

keyword 'sand' in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry)

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=sand

keyword 'sabbia' in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry)

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=sabbia

keyword 'grani' in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry)

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=grani

# life: even a slime mold takes smart decisions about the future (Physarum polycephalum)

<< The slime mold Physarum polycephalum has been puzzling researchers for many decades. Existing at the crossroads between the kingdoms of animals, plants and fungi, this unique organism provides insight into the early evolutionary history of eukaryotes. Its body is a giant single cell made up of interconnected tubes that form intricate networks. This single amoeba-like cell may stretch several centimeters or even meters, featuring as the largest cell on earth in the Guinness Book of World Records. >>

<< The striking abilities of the slime mold to solve complex problems such as finding the shortest path through a maze earned it the attribute "intelligent," intrigued the research community and kindled questions about decision making on the most basic levels of life. >> 

<<  The decision-making ability of Physarum is especially fascinating given that its tubular network constantly undergoes fast reorganization—growing and disintegrating its tubes—while completely lacking an organizing center. The researchers discovered that the organism weaves memories of food encounters directly into the architecture of the network-like body and uses the stored information when making future decisions. >>

Researchers find a single-celled slime mold with no nervous system that remembers food locations. Max Planck Society. Feb 23, 2021.  

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-single-celled-slime-mold-nervous-food.html

Mirna Kramar, Karen Alim. Encoding memory in tube diameter hierarchy of living flow network. PNAS. 118 (10).  e2007815118. doi: 10.1073/ pnas.2007815118

https://www.pnas.org/content/118/10/e2007815118 

# behav: a viral marketing generated by low levels of advertising

<< What they discovered refutes Gladwell's (Malcolm Gladwell) concept that network position is always paramount. They found that in instances where there is even a small amount of advertising—even when it is just a quarter of a percent as strong as word-of-mouth—there's virtually no difference between the influence of the person at the center of a network and those further out on the string. >> 

 << It's not that word-of-mouth doesn't matter—it's that nobody is particularly important for the word-of-mouth process, (..) What we saw is that when advertising doesn't exist, when advertising is exactly zero, it looks like whoever is Mr. Popular, whoever has the most central connections, really matters. And in that scenario, if you start with that person at the center of the network, like the leader of an organization or company, rather than the intern, then whatever you're selling gets an uptick. >> Gabriel Rossman. 

Jessica Wolf. Forget what you think you know about viral marketing, study suggests. University of California, Los Angeles. Feb 25, 2021.

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-viral.html  

Gabriel Rossman,  Jacob C. Fisher. Network hubs cease to be influential in the presence of low levels of advertising. PNAS. 118 (7) e2013391118. doi: 10.1073/ pnas.2013391118. Feb 16, 2021. 

https://www.pnas.org/content/118/7/e2013391118

FonT

this could also occur in the generation of fake news ...

keyword "fake" in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=fake

# life: apropos of tricks, 'torpor', a survival strategy not as rare as previously thought

<< Life is hard for small animals in the wild, but they have many solutions to the challenges of their environment. One of the most fascinating of these strategies is torpor. Not, to be confused with sleep or Sunday afternoon lethargy, torpor is a complex response to the costs of living. >>

<<  Once thought to occur only in birds and mammals in the Northern Hemisphere where winters are more pronounced, (AA) now know torpor is widespread in small Australian mammals, and has also been observed in many small Australian bird species. >>

<<  The question people often ask about torpor, is "can humans do it?" Interestingly, some small primates have been observed using torpor. While it is technically possible to induce torpor in humans chemically, torpor is a very complex physiological process, and there are many aspects of it scientists still don't fully understand. >>

Chris Wacker. Torpor: a neat survival trick once thought rare in Australian animals is actually widespread. The Conversation. Dec 29, 2020. 

https://theconversation.com/torpor-a-neat-survival-trick-once-thought-rare-in-australian-animals-is-actually-widespread-146409

https://phys.org/news/2020-12-torpor-neat-survival-thought-rare.html    

Also

Hrvatin S., Sun S., Wilcox OF et al. Neurons that regulate mouse torpor. Nature 583, 115–121. doi: 10.1038/ s41586-020-2387-5. Jun 11, 2020.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2387-5

Takahashi TM, Sunagawa GA, et al. A discrete neuronal circuit induces a hibernation-like state in rodents. Nature 583, 109–114. doi: 10.1038/ s41586-020-2163-6. Jun 11, 2020.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2163-6

# life: to eat each other's wings within mating pairs (among wood-feeding cockroaches Salganea taiwanensis)

 << The behavior of eating their mates or a part of their mate's body has been studied in sexual cannibalism or nuptial feeding. In these behaviors, only one sex eats the other unilaterally. Within mating pairs of a wood‐feeding cockroach (Salganea taiwanensis), males and females eat the mate's wings each other, which is the first “mutual” case in these behaviors. Because the evolution of sexual cannibalism and nuptial feeding has been explained based on unilaterality, this mutual eating should have a new significance of reproduction. >> 

Haruka Osaki, Eiiti Kasuya. Mutual wing-eating between female and male within mating pairs in wood‐feeding cockroach. doi: 10.1111/eth.13133. Jan 25, 2021.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eth.13133

Bob Yirka. Wood-eating cockroach couples take turns eating each other's wings after mating. Feb 15, 2021.

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-wood-eating-cockroach-couples-wings.html  

Also

the beetle Carabaeus lamarcki, dancer and sky analyzer. May 14, 2016.

http://flashontrack.blogspot.it/2016/05/s-behav-beetle-carabaeus-lamarcki.html

2022 - si risvegliano stercorari. Notes. June 17, 2006. (quasi-stochastic poetry)

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/2006/06/2022-si-risvegliano-stercorari.html

keyword 'cockroach' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=cockroach

# behav: chaotic (jazz) music generated by songbirds during non-mating seasons for opioid reward

<< when songbirds sing during non-mating seasons, it's because singing releases an opioid naturally produced in their brain —that's right, a compound with the same biological makeup of the highly addictive painkillers. >> 

<< Animals—including birds, including humans—we produce our own endogenous opioids, and they reward behaviors naturally, like sexual behavior or feeding behavior, (..) Studies show that endogenous opioids also make play rewarding. Songbirds learn their songs, and must practice. When we listened to birds practicing in flocks, it almost sounded as if they were playing around with the notes. Darwin even suggested that birds in flocks may be singing for 'their own amusement.' So, we thought if singing is a playful behavior, it should involve opioids. >> Lauren Riters. 

<< in starlings, endogenous opioid-prompted song is evolutionarily advantageous, because singing in flocks allows them an opportunity to practice their song to prepare for the mating season. It might not be the most beautiful to listen to—Riters likened their chaotic song to freeform jazz—but that's okay. To them, it's just a warm-up for when they start looking for a mate. >> 

Songbirds sing, like humans flock, for opioid reward. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Oct 02, 2020. 

https://phys.org/news/2020-10-songbirds-humans-flock-opioid-reward.html

Stevenson, S.A., Piepenburg, A., et al. Endogenous opioids facilitate intrinsically-rewarded birdsong. Sci Rep 10, 11083. doi: 10.1038/ s41598-020-67684-1. Jul 6, 2020.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-67684-1

# behav: pheromones to bamboozle bark beetles

<< While the trees are suffering due to the heat and the drought, the pests are proliferating rampantly in the warm weather: A pair of European spruce bark beetles, for example, can produce up to 30,000 offspring. >>

<< The method involves treating raw wood, i.e. harvested wood, with substances that were originally extracted from the bark beetles' pheromones. These messenger substances are not only used as a means of communication between the bark beetles themselves, they also attract predators, for example the ant beetle. >>

<< The foreign messenger substances are therefore selective: The enemies of the bark beetles are attracted by these substances, but other bark beetles are not. In the best-case scenario, the foreign substance acts as a deterrent. As larvae, the ant beetles eat the early stages of the bark beetle that burrow into the wood. These predatory beetles also patrol the bark, where they catch and eat approaching bark beetles. In this way, they can prevent or reduce the infestation. >>

<< The forest owners will no longer be buying insecticides in specialist shops, but natural substances that they can attach to stacks of raw wood, >> Michael Muller. 

Bamboozling the bark beetles. Dresden University of Technology. Aug 31, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-bamboozling-bark-beetles.html

Also

keyword 'beetle' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=beetle

# behav: a single gene can drive aggression (in wild songbird)

<< In 2014, the lab (Donna Maney lab) identified a hormone receptor—estrogen receptor alpha (ER-alpha)—that appeared connected to the differences in the sparrows' aggression and parenting behaviors in the wild. The white-striped birds express this receptor at much higher levels than the tan-striped birds, and the more the expression, the more aggressive the bird. >>

In the recent work << results showed that when expression of that one gene was blocked, the aggression of the white-striped birds went down so they behaved like the tan-striped ones. >>

Carol Clark. Study shows how a single gene drives aggression in wild songbird.  Emory University. Aug 18, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-08-gene-aggression-wild-songbird.html   

Jennifer R. Merritt, Kathleen E. Grogan, et al. A supergene-linked estrogen receptor drives alternative phenotypes in a polymorphic songbird. PNAS doi: 10.1073/ pnas.2011347117 Aug 17, 2020.

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/08/14/2011347117

# GST: the behavior of motile active self-propelling matter

<< From starling aberrations to self-turbulent fluids, 'active systems' encompass a wide family of phenomena in which individual objects propel themselves forward, allowing them to display intriguing collective behaviors. (..) these objects collectively spend most of their time in one of two states, between which some intriguing behaviors can emerge. (..) these collective behaviors are determined by the ability of the self-propelling objects to swim upwards against the gravitational force, and their degrees of bottom-heaviness. For lower values of these quantities, groups of swimmers will sink to the bottom of their container just like inactive dust grains; but higher values will instead collect at the top. In between these states, smaller clusters of swimmers group at the bottom, which are fed by plumes of sinking particles. Also, porous clusters of swimmers can form, which allow individual particles to escape. >>

'Bottom-heavy squirmers' adopt characteristic group behaviours. Springer. May 28, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-05-bottom-heavy-squirmers-characteristic-group-behaviours.html 

Ruhle F., Stark H. Emergent collective dynamics of bottom-heavy squirmers under gravity. Eur. Phys. J. E 43, 26 (2020). doi: 10.1140/epje/ i2020-11949-8. May 25, 2020.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1140/epje/i2020-11949-8  

# behav: persistent neuronal firing during flight in flies, like a pulsating gambler who has to decide quickly

<< A general principle of sensory systems is that they adapt to prolonged stimulation by reducing their response over time. >>

<< as opposed to most sensory and visual neurons, and in particular to the motion vision sensitive neurons in the brains of both flies and mammals, the descending neurons show little adaption during stimulus motion. (..) the optic-flow-sensitive descending neurons display persistent firing, or an after-effect, following the cessation of visual stimulation, consistent with the lingering calcium signal hypothesis. >>

AA results << show a combination of adaptation and persistent firing in the neurons that project to the thoracic ganglia and thereby control behavioral output. >>

Sarah Nicholas, Karin Nordstrom. Persistent Firing and Adaptation in Optic-Flow-Sensitive Descending Neurons. Curr Biol. doi: 10.1016/ j.cub.2020.05.019. May 28, 2020.

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)30658-8

Revealing how flies make decisions on the fly to survive. Flinders University. May 28, 2020

https://phys.org/news/2020-05-revealing-flies-decisions-survive.html

Also

the flexible mental maps of flies. FonT. Nov 21, 2019. 

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2019/11/brain-flexible-mental-maps-of-flies.html

<< Considerando invece l' immagine classica della "mosca nella bottiglia", >>  in: 2066 - voli a casaccio. Notes. (quasi-stochastic poetry). Oct 01, 2006.

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/2006/10/2066-voli-casaccio.html

# behav: nomadic impulse, they return to Death Valley

<< More than a century after railroads, ranchers and hunters vanquished their ancestors, pronghorn antelope are returning to this unforgiving expanse of desert along the California-Nevada border. >>

<< the American pronghorn, North America's land speed champion, may be extending its migratory range into the Mojave Desert once again from cooler seas of sage nearly 100 miles to the north and east. >>

Louis Sahagun. Desert mystery: Why have pronghorn antelope returned to Death Valley? May 13, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-05-mystery-pronghorn-antelope-death-valley.html

# behav: the smart sleep of flies (Drosophila melanogaster)

<< Flies that cannot take to the air respond by sleeping more as they learn to adapt to their flightlessness, (..) The findings, (..) suggest that sleep may be an evolutionary tool that helps animals adapt to challenging new situations. >>

<< Fruit flies' sleep looks a lot like people's. Baby flies need a lot of sleep, but as they get older, their need for sleep diminishes. Flies become more alert with caffeine and drowsier with antihistamines. And if you keep a fly awake one day, it will sleep more the next. >>

Flies sleep when need arises to adapt to new situations. Washington University School of Medicine. May 8, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-05-flies-situations.html

K. Melnattur, B. Zhang, P. J. Shaw. Disrupting flight increases sleep and identifies a novel sleep-promoting pathway in Drosophila. Sci Adv 

Vol. 6, no. 19, eaaz2166. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz2166. May 8, 2020.

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/19/eaaz2166.full

Also

keyword 'Drosophila' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=drosophila

keyword 'mosca' in Notes (quasi- stochastic poetry)

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=mosca

# gst: how a virus could cause context-dependent manipulation in host social behavior

<< Honey bees that guard hive entrances are twice as likely to allow in trespassers from other hives if the intruders are infected with the Israeli acute paralysis virus, a deadly pathogen of bees, >>

<< It seems that the virus is changing how the bees smell, and perhaps the infected bees also are behaving in a way that is meant to appease the guards by engaging more in trophallaxis (a process by which honey bees exchange regurgitated food and other liquids), >> Adam Dolezal

Diana Yates. Virus-infected honey bees more likely to gain entrance to healthy hives. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. April 27, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-04-virus-infected-honey-bees-gain-entrance.html

Amy C. Geffre, Tim Gernat, et al. Honey bee virus causes context-dependent changes in host social behavior. PNAS  doi: 10.1073/pnas.2002268117. Apr 27, 2020.

https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/04/21/2002268117

keyword 'trophallaxis' in Britannica

https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Trophallaxis

# life: Snake Plissken movies revisited, the chaotic escape from Milan, Paris, ...

 "Call me Snake",  the furious chaotic escape of probably conscious "guests",  'cause of 1,2 initial long-range Wuhan sneezing.

<< Everyone we know in Paris who was able to leave the city have done so. >>  

Henry Samuel. Parisian mother on 

escaping the coronavirus lockdown.  Mar 17, 2020

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/17/dont-know-would-have-done-parisian-mother-escaping-coronavirus/

Also 

"Call me Snake", by Snake Plissken

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_Plissken

Also

keyword 'snake' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=snake

keyword 'snake' in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry)

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=snake

# behav: the pulsating, probabilistic approach among parrots (Nestor notabilis)

<< Parrots can learn to choose based on probability, making them the first animal outside of the great ape family that uses statistical modelling in their decision-making process, >>

<< What was most surprising is that they can integrate social or physical information into their probabilistic judgements, >> Amalia Bastos.

Parrots get probability, use stats to make choices: study.  Mar 3, 2020.

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-03-parrots-probability-stats-choices.html

Amalia P. M. Bastos, Alex H. Taylor. Kea show three signatures of domain-general statistical inference. Nature Communication. Volume 11, Article number: 828. Mar 3, 2020.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14695-1

Also 

<< Insects are able to solve basic numerical cognition tasks >>

Hannes Rapp, Martin Paul Nawrot, Merav Stern. Numerical Cognition Based on Precise Counting with a Single Spiking Neuron. iScience. Volume 23, Issue 2, 100852. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.100852. Jan 21, 2020.

https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(20)30035-3

Quantifying objects: Bees recognize that six is more than four.  University of Cologne. Mar 2, 2020.

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-03-quantifying-bees.html

# lang: information management (encoding reliability) in bird communications (among wild redbreasted nuthatches, Sitta canadensis)

<< Every social network has its fake news. And in animal communication networks, even birds discern the trustworthiness of their neighbors, >>

<< This is the first time people have shown that nuthatches are paying attention to the source of information, and that influences the signal they produce and send along, (..) Everybody is listening to everybody else in the woods, >> Erick Greene.

Courtney Brockman. Researchers study how birds retweet news. University of Montana. Feb 14, 2020. 

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-02-birds-retweet-news.html

<< nuthatches discriminate between direct and indirect, or public information, and this is reflected in the acoustic structure of their alarm calls. >>

Nora V Carlson, Erick Greene,  Christopher N Templeton. Nuthatches vary their alarm calls based upon the source of the eavesdropped signals. 

Nat Commun 11, 526. Jan 27, 2020.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14414-w

Also

the question is: Humans vs Woodstock, who is the smarter? Jun 26, 2016.

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2016/06/s-brain-question-is-humans-vs-parrots.html

keyword 'bird' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=bird

# behav: how (and when) multiple bird species fly and feed together, like a K-pop band

<< Birds of a feather don't always flock together: Peer into a forest canopy, and you will likely spot multiple bird species flying and feeding together, a phenomenon most spectacular in the Amazon where 50 species may travel as a unit. But are birds in these mixed flocks cooperating with one another or competing?  A new study suggests both. >>

<< Species kept competition within the flock low, however, by differentiating their foraging technique, their choice of hunting spot or the general distance they kept from a tree trunk. >>

Natalie Van Hoose. How bird flocks with multiple species behave like K-pop groups. Florida Museum of Natural History.  Feb 12, 2020

https://m.phys.org/news/2020-02-bird-flocks-multiple-species-k-pop.html

Harrison H Jones, Mitchell J Walters, Scott K Robinson. Do similar foragers flock together? Nonbreeding foraging behavior and its impact on mixed-species flocking associations in a subtropical region.  The Auk, ukz079.  doi: 10.1093/auk/ukz079. Feb 12, 2020.

https://academic.oup.com/auk/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/auk/ukz079/5731484

k-pop band  

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-pop