This article explores how cardinals perceive their environment, and how they explore their place in it, especially with respect to color.
Do Cardinals Know They Are Red? A Closer Look at a Christmas Icon
Keep Young and Beautiful: A Natural History of Courtship, Vanity, and the Art of Looking Good
Annie Lennox's song "Keep Young and Beautiful" reflects the irony of beauty as a persuasion strategy rooted in evolutionary biology. Various species, from cleaner wrasses to dung beetles, demonstrate deliberate manipulation of appearance and behavior to enhance mating success, revealing shared evolutionary patterns in beauty and attraction across species.
Cognitive Showdown: Crows vs. Toddlers in the Science of Intelligence
Corvids, particularly crows and magpies, exhibit cognitive abilities comparable to human toddlers, including tool use, self-recognition, and social inference. Their intelligence prompts reconsideration of evolutionary assumptions about cognition. Recognizing these advanced mental processes highlights the need for conservation efforts to protect these remarkable birds amidst human threats to their habitats.
The Octopus: Inside an Alien Mind
Years ago, I kept an octopus in a tank for a while. I was able to see, up close, its complex behaviors, problem-solving abilities. Its behavior suggested that it could distinguish me ("The-Guy-Who-Brings-Me-Dinner") from other people("Other-Folks"). Ever since that time, I've been captivated by octopi, and I'm definitely not alone. From their prodigious ability to... Continue Reading →
Jackson Wild, CITES & UNDP – Raising the Profile of Wildlife in Peril
Mother and baby lion-tailed macaque. Image: Nagaraj Papanna 2017 A mother lion-tailed macaque cradles her baby against her, undisturbed by the camera crew in close proximity. Polar bears trudge across sludgy ice floes to find ringed seals in winter. A herd of pronghorn antelope bounds across the screen and condors fly high over herds of... Continue Reading →
Inside the Animal Mind: A Conversation with Richard Louv
Bestselling author, Richard Louv, author of Our Wild Calling Photo: Richard Louv 2016 I recently had the chance fulfill a long-time ambition, to have a chat with the Richard Louv best-selling author of many books, including “Last Child in the Woods” and “The Nature Principle.” Richard is a leader in thinking about nature deficit and... Continue Reading →
ERIC DORFMAN 