Cyanistes caeruleus

tags: blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus, extrapair fertilization, genetic benefit hypothesis, genetic similarity, plumage color, birdsong, ornithology, behavioral ecology Blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus. Image: Paul Hillion, 26 April 2008. Even though most bird species form social bonds with their mates, they are not always faithful partners to each other. It's easy to figure out why male birds engage in extrapair copulations: this increases the total number of their offspring -- and this increases their reproductive fitness. But since female birds are physically capable of producing only…
tags: political views, politics, physiology, threat response, psychology, philosophyfight or flight, nature versus nurture Most Americans have been actively engaged in the frustrating sport of arguing about politics, which often leads to the common refrain; "You just don't get it!" So this made me wonder why people who seem to have similar life experiences can end up with such dramatically different personal philosophies -- philosophies that ultimately affect their political views and voting behavior. Apparently, I am not the only one to wonder about such things, because a paper was just…
tags: Eurasian blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus, birds, nature, Image of the Day This Eurasian Blue Tit, Cyanistes caeruleus, is from the photographer's ancestral village of Rintoul, near Kinross, which is north of the Firth of Forth, about 20 miles from Edinburgh, Scotland. Image: Dave Rintoul, August 2008.
tags: researchblogging.org, blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, Parus caeruleus, sexual selection, mate choice, ornithology, female coloration, reproduction, maternal quality, evolution, birds, ornithology In many bird species, the females are brightly colored, just as the males are, but the evolutionary reasons for brightly colored females is unclear. According to one hypothesis, because males and females share the same genome, their traits are similar. However, according to another hypothesis, there may also be selective pressures on females, just as there are on males, to develop brightly…