“Bird taxonomy is a difficult field because of the severe anatomical constraints imposed by flight. There are only so many ways to design a bird capable, say, of catching insects in mid-air, with the result that birds of similar habitats tend to have very similar anatomies, whatever their ancestry. For example, American vultures look and behave much like Old World vultures, but biologists have come to realize that the former are related to storks, the latter to hawks, and that their resemblances result from their common lifestyle.” WorldWayLooksDifficultRealizingResultsCommonAirExampleDesignFieldsEvolutionCapableBirdLifestyleFlightFormerBehaveRelatedLatterSevereInsectsCatchingConstraintsAncestryAnatomyResemblanceHawksBiologistHabitatOld WorldVultureTaxonomyStorks Author:Jared Diamond
“The flamingoes are the most delicately colored of all the African birds, pink and red like a flying twig of an oleander bush. They have incredibly long legs and bizarre and recherché curves of their necks and bodies, as if from some exquisite traditional prudery they were making all attitudes and movements in life as difficult as possible.” IfsLongBodyDifficultAttitudeMovementBirdRedLegsFlyingTraditionalNecksBizarreCurvesExquisiteTwigsLong LegsOleanders Book:Out of Africa Source: Out of Africa
“New diseases like SARS and bird flu cause anxiety in the community. People get worried, some to the extent that it even affects their health. You feel very sad, and yet you must carry on and maintain your cool in very trying and difficult moments. You have to tough it out.” PeopleFeelsTryingMomentsCausesDifficultCommunityDiseaseAnxietyBirdToughWorriedFluVery SadDifficult MomentsSarsBird Flu Author:Margaret Chan
“It has always been difficult to get Big Bird to be very pretty. Big Bird in England is much more gorgeous.” BigsDifficultBirdEnglandGorgeousBig Bird Author:Jim Henson