Cool science news

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Cool science news

Postby cmsellers » Wed Oct 31, 2018 4:11 pm

I decided that this might merit a thread after seeing this article, which suggests based on the small size of the optic lobe that elephant birds were probably nocturnal or at least crepuscular.

There are fairly few nocturnal birds, and they are usually nocturnal to pursue nocturnal food sources, such as owls and nightjars. A few are nocturnal to avoid predators (many only during nesting season), but that seems unlikely for the elephant bird. Given that the elephant bird's diet probably consisted of fruit, there doesn't seem to be much reason for it to be nocturnal to find food either.

One possibility: its closest relative is the kiwi, which is also nocturnal. Maybe the ancestor of both birds was nocturnal, and there was no pressure on the elephant bird to resume diurnal habits.
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Re: Cool science news

Postby CarrieVS » Wed Oct 31, 2018 8:09 pm

"Details like these not only tell us about what the lives of elephant birds were like, but also what life in general was like on Madagascar in the distant past," Clarke said. "As recently as 500 years ago, very nearly blind, giant flightless birds were crashing around the forests of Madagascar in the dark. No one ever expected that."


I love that description.
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Re: Cool science news

Postby NathanLoiselle » Wed Oct 31, 2018 9:35 pm

This isn't Cool Science News! Well, it is but it should be titled Cool Bird News. Because it doesn't talk about stars or nebulas or blackholes at all!!
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