A Little Known Fact about Carl Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus is known as the father of modern taxonomy. There are no arguments about it. Recently I was surprised to get to know about another fascinating facet of Carl Linnaeus that is not known to many.

Carl Linnaeus is the inventor of the index card. The pioneering scientist had to deal with vast amount of data. It was at times very perplexing. To overcome the problems presented by this gargantuan data he came up with the revolutionary invention: the index card.

Index cards solved many of the problems faced by researchers. They could be shuffled around and retrieved for updating and comparing information. An unheralded invention that was way ahead of his time.

Tahrcountry is glad to share this fascinating information about this pioneer of information retrieval with the readers.

Bugs and the Art of Fooling The Ants

Mutualism exhibited by Acacia plants and ants is a well known phenomenon. The plants provide the ants with shelter and food in the form of nectar and protein. As a quid pro quo the ants defend the tree against anything that comes near the trees in the form of insects, birds and small mammals.

One species of bug, in the family Coreidae, is an exception. These bugs exploit the plants without giving anything in return. They cleverly outwit the defending ants. Scientists have been long puzzled by this phenomenon.

Susan Whitehead of the University of Colorado decided to have a closer look at this phenomenon of how the bugs fool the ants.

Ants use pheromones to communicate with one another. Whitehead presumed the bugs were mimicking the scent of the ants. When the bugs were immobilized the ants still did not attack them. But when the researchers washed the bugs in a chemical solvent and returned them to the plants, the ants immediately attacked the bugs.

The key to this puzzle was the removal of chemicals on the bugs' exoskeleton. Resorting to chromatography and spectrometry, the researchers compared the bugs' exoskeletal chemicals with that of the ants. The scientists were bang on target. The chemicals in the bugs' cuticle matched that of the ants. The bugs were mimicking the hydrocarbons that the ants produce and the ants don't recognize them as something foreign.


Details of this interesting piece of research work is published in the current issue of journal PloS One

Why flamingos stand on one leg

Have you ever wondered why flamingos stand on one leg? I have pondered over this many a time. Several hypotheses have been offered in the past, but none of them were very convincing.

Here comes a convincing explanation. Scientists Matthew Anderson and Sarah Williams from Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia think they have the answer. Their studies indicate that Flamingos stand on one leg to regulate their body temperature
The research began by seeing whether the birds show any preference over which side of their bodies they use for various tasks. They found that flamingos prefer to rest with their heads on one side more than the other. Which side a flamingo rests its head is determined by how aggressive it is toward others in the flock. This led the researchers to investigate whether flamingos also prefer to stand on one leg more than the other, and why they stand on one leg. They spent several months observing the habits of captive Caribbean flamingoes (Phoenicopterus ruber) at Philadelphia Zoo, Pennsylvania.

The researchers found that flamingos prefer to stand on one leg far more often when they are standing in water than when standing on land. As water invariably draws away more body heat, this result supports the thermoregulation hypothesis. In other words birds stand on one leg to conserve body heat. The birds also switch their legs to avoid one leg becoming too cold.

The scientists do not rule out the possibility that there may be added benefits as well as conserving body heat.

Details appear in the latest issue of journal Zoo Biology

Giant Panda Update - China Celebrates 140th Anniversary of the Discovery of Giant Panda

It was Pere Jean Pierre Armand David, a French Catholic missionary, who introduced Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca )to the western world 140 years back. He took the first photograph of the animal in 1869 in Sichuan.

To commemorate the event twenty hikers from various provinces of China have started climbing the mountain trails covering 350-km followed by Pere David. They are expected to reach the Ya’an Bifengxia Giant Panda Protection and Research Centre on Aug 25th.

China plans to make the event an awareness creation venture and hopes to attract more people to join the protection programme of the endangered giant pandas.
It is estimated that about 1,590 pandas live in the wild in China in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. The first giant panda protection zone was established in the 1950s.China currently has 27 giant panda protection zones. Pandas once used to roam the mountains in central and south China, and in Myanmar and Vietnam. Now they live precariously in limited pockets in China. China has artificially-bred giant pandas in an effort to give a boost to its protection.

May 12th earthquake last year had devastated the panda protection centre in Wolong Nature Reserve. This was subsequently moved to Bifengxia, about 130 km northwest of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. A new breeding center is coming up at Wolong to replace the quake-damaged centre.

Pandas are solitary animals. They come together only during the mating season. Pandas are usually vegetarian, with bamboo forming 99% of their diet. Occasionally they consume meat. They reach sexual maturity between ages 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 years and mate during March, April, and May. A single cub is born five months after the mating. The new baby is born in a nest constructed of bamboo. The cubs are weaned after nine months, but often stay with their mothers for about two years. Wild pandas are estimated to have longevity of 15 to 25 years. Captive pandas have been known to live over 30 years.

Chinese scientists were recently successful in sequencing of the giant panda genome. Giant panda genome sequence will enable more detailed studies of giant panda populations in the wild

Environmentalists round the world are happy about the enthusiasm shown by China for the protection the iconic Giant Panda. Tahrcountry joins them in wishing the Chinese Godspeed on this 140th Anniversary.

Birds that have a Penchant for Aromatherapy

The mysteries of nature are always a source of wonder. Think of cleansing your home. You thought only humans do it? Wrong. Scientists have discovered that birds also do it.

The information came from observations of Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) nests. Blue tits use medicinal plants to disinfect their nests. The birds line their nests with aromatic plants to kill bacteria. Plants such as mint (Mentha suaveolens) and lavender (Lavandula stoechas), are used. Scientists observed significant change in the composition of bacterial communities living on blue tit nestlings after the aromatic plants were introduced by the birds in the nests.

According to scientists different birds prefer different aromatics, regardless of their local availability.

There is mystery surrounding the selection of aromatic plants. For example, in a territory with big bushes of lavender, for some unknown reason blue tits collect mint that can only be found far away from their nests. Scientists are keen to find out the reasons behind these personal preferences.

Adele Mennerat and colleagues from France's National Centre of Scientific Research, based in Montpellier, and the University of Toulouse were behind this fascinating investigation.

The details of the research appear in the journal Oecologia.

Excellent Use for Throwaway Mango Seeds Discovered

Mango seeds are thrown away without a second thought after relishing the pulp. Here is a surprise discovery. Christina Engels from the University of Alberta has found a way to turn the throwaway mango kernels in mangoes into a natural food preservative that could help prevent food poisoning caused by various bacteria. Listeriosis outbreaks originating from contaminated preserved meat had killed 21 Canadians last year.

Ms Engels extracted pure tannins from the mango kernels and found that they have proven inhibitory effects against various strains of bacteria. She did the work to earn her master's degree from the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science at the University of Alberta

Mango is ranked fifth in world production among the major fruit crops. So the scope for commercial utilization of the discovery of Ms Engels is enormous. The discovery also underlines the need to preserve out biodiversity. Multifarious benefits are yet to be fully tapped. We have only scratched the surface of this cornucopia. A gold mine is waiting to be tapped. But man is destroying the biodiversity for short term benefits.

Details of the research are published in the latest issue of Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

New standards for Graphically Representing Biological Information

Till now, biology lacked a standardized notation for describing biological interactions. This was a big drawback in pursuing biological research. The vacuum was clearly felt by many scientists. This has just been overcome by dedicated research and development.

Scientists from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and their colleagues from 30 labs round the world worldwide have devised a new set of standards for graphically representing biological information. The innovators have described it as biology equivalent of the circuit diagram in electronics.

The project which was initiated by Hiroaki Kitano of the Systems Biology Institute in Tokyo, Japan, is coordinated by Nicolas Le Novère of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory's European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge, England, and senior research fellow Michael Hucka, co-director of the Biological Network Modeling Center at Caltech's Beckman Institute.

The new standard is called the Systems Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN). SBGN will make it easier for biologists to understand each other's models. This will also help them share network diagrams effectively. SBGN is bound to act as a facilitator for the emergence of new industries devoted to the creation of software tools for working with SBGN, and its teaching and publication. SBGN combines an intuitive notation with the rigorous style of engineering and math

To ensure that the newly developed system does not become too vast and complicated, the researchers decided to define three separate types of diagram, which defines molecular process, relationships between entities, and links among biochemical activities. These different types of diagrams complement each other by representing different "views" of the same information, presented in different ways for different purposes. This approach reduces the complexity of any one type of diagram while broadening the range of what can be expressed about a given biological system.

The new standard was published in the August 8 issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology.

Dogs are Smarter than We Thought

Leading canine researcher Dr Stanley Coren of the University of British Columbia has come up with some new surprising information about dogs. The researcher says dogs have the ability to solve complex problems and are more like humans and other higher primates than previously thought. They understand more than 150 words and have the ability to intentionally deceive other dogs and people to get treats. According to Dr Coren, dogs' mental abilities are close to a human child age 2 to 2.5 years.

Dr Coren says. "There are three types of dog intelligence: instinctive (what the dog is bred to do), adaptive (how well the dog learns from its environment to solve problems) and working and obedience (the equivalent of 'school learning')." The average dog can easily learn 165 words, including signals. Dogs can also count up to four or five. Impressively dogs can learn the location of valued items (treats), better routes in the environment (the fastest way to a favorite chair), and how to operate mechanisms (such as latches and simple machines). Dr coran says dogs are as successful in deceiving humans as humans are in deceiving dogs.

Dr Coran gave the new insights when he spoke at the American Psychological Association's 117th Annual Convention

Environmentally Responsible Traps for Pest Hornets are Round the Corner

Hornets are a nuisance. They raid beehives and ravages fruit crops. This makes them a serious pest to man. Thanks to new research, a way out is round the corner. The cue comes from nature itself. Read on.

Orchids usually have nothing of value to offer their pollinators. To overcome this drawback nature has devised ingenious ways. Orchids lure the pollinators with the scents of more rewarding flowers or potential mates.

Scientists have now discovered that a species of orchid, which lives on the Chinese island of Hainan, Dendrobium sinense, fools its hornet pollinator (Vespa bicolor) by issuing a chemical that honeybees use to send an alarm. Hornets capture honeybees to serve as food for their larvae. The deception by the dendrobium by secreting this particular chemical makes the hornets pounce on orchid flowers as though they were attacking prey. Result is pollination by proxy.

Scientists have identified the chemical responsible for this aggressive behavior by the hornets. It is Z-11-eicosen-1-ol. The chemical is a major compound of honeybees' alarm pheromone. Here comes the clue for making an environmentally responsible trap for Pest Hornets. Details of the study have been published online on August 6th in Current Biology.

Here is yet another reason for conserving our biodiversity. For many of our headaches there are remedies in nature. We do not have to run after toxic chemicals. Humans are concerned about short term gains only and plunder the nature without blinking an eyelid. We tend to forget the big picture in nature. It is high time we realized our follies and start paying more attention to holistic conservation.

Rhinos- WWF Rings Alarm Bells

According to WWF sources Rhinos are in a desperate situation. Poaching driven by demands from some Asian countries is casting a shadow on the very existence of rhinos. Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai nationals are mainly behind this racket of poaching.

Between 2000 and 2005 an estimated two to three Rhinos were killed a week. The total population worldwide is around 18,000 only. At least 12 rhinoceroses are being poached each month in South Africa and Zimbabwe alone. About 10 rhinos have been poached in India and at least seven in Nepal since January 2009. The combined population of India and Nepal is only 2,400.

According to WWF lack of adequate law enforcement and a low level of prosecutions for poachers are the main reasons for the plight of rhinos. Many Governments are lackadaisical in their ways of administering wildlife reserves.

WWF has exhorted the Governments concerned to crack the whip and come down on organized criminal elements responsible for this trade. Only tough actions can ensure future survival of rhinos

Back on the Net

Hi Guys,
I am back on the net. Sorry about this inordinate delay in posting. I was hamstrung by a lack of access to the internet during my sojourn

No Upadates for 2 Weeks

For the coming two weeks I will be travelling to places where I have no access to the internet. So there won't be any updates to the blog during this period

Danger List of World Heritage Sites Needs Radical Change – IUCN

IUCN considers that the Danger List of World Heritage Sites needs radical change if it is to remain an effective conservation tool. Many nations do not realize the fact that it is intended to be a constructive conservation tool, which mobilizes the international community to support national efforts.

Putting a site on the danger list is often seen by Governments as criticism and opposition follows from the unenlightened quarters.Taking umbrage shows a poor understanding of the whole concept. IUCN strongly opines that the list of World Heritage in Danger needs to be re-established as a way to ensure and maintain credible standards for protecting the world’s natural and cultural treasures.

According to Tim Badman,IUCN's Special Advisor on World Heritage,the World Heritage List in Danger is not working as it was intended and it needs an overhaul. The danger list is intended to turn international concern in to real conservation results. The World Heritage Committee which met in Seville last week added two natural sites to the danger list; Los Katios National Park and the Belize Barrier Reef. A third threatened site was not included.

The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra was not added to the List of World Heritage in Danger, despite IUCN’s recommendation.Road construction, illegal logging, poaching, uncontrolled tourism, as well as insufficient support from the government, are among the threats facing the site. Survival of key species, such as the Sumatran tiger, rhino, orangutan and elephant is hanging in balance.

Posted with inputs from IUCN

To read the full report, please click here

For more information please contact:

* Borjana Pervan, IUCN Media Relations Officer, m +41 79 857 4072, e
borjana.pervan@iucn.org
* Sarah Horsley, IUCN Media Relations Officer, m +41 79 528 3486, e
sarah.horsley@iucn.org

Photos and audio material available here

Extinction crisis Looms Large Over Open Ocean (pelagic) Sharks and Rays

Overfishing and bycatch of Open Ocean (pelagic) Sharks and Rays is driving them to the brink of extinction. A recent study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Shark Specialist Group, has set the alarm bells ringing. The study found that 32 percent of the species are threatened with extinction. They are now more threatened than birds (12 percent), mammals (20 percent), and even amphibians (31 percent).

The demand for shark meat and fins are on the rise. Shark fin soup is considered a delicacy in many areas. In finning the crudely is abhorrent. The fins are sliced off the shark and the body tossed overboard. Sharks take many years to mature and have relatively few young. So the effect of overfishing is profound.

IUCN has requested all countries to strictly enforce laws and protect the species considered Critically Endangered and Endangered. 24 percent of the species are Near Threatened and 25 percent Data Deficient.

Here is a list of the shark species.

Endangered, 4 species

Ornate eagle ray Aetomylaeus vespertilio; Giant devilray Mobula mobular ; Scalloped hammerhead Sphyrna lewini ; Great hammerhead Sphyrna mokarran.

Vulnerable, 16 species

Whale shark Rhincodon typus; Smalltooth sand tiger Odontaspis ferox; Pelagic thresher Alopias pelagicus; Bigeye thresher Alopias superciliosus; Thresher shark Alopias vulpinus; Basking shark Cetorhinus maximus; Great white Carcharodon carcharias; Shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus; Longfin mako Isurus paucus; Porbeagle shark Lamna nasus; Tope shark Galeorhinus galeus; Oceanic whitetip shark Carcharhinus longimanus; Dusky shark Carcharhinus obscurus; Sandbar shark Carcharhinus plumbeus; Night shark Carcharhinus signatus; Smooth hammerhead Sphyrna zygaena.

Near threatened, 15 species

Frilled shark Chlamydoselachus anguineus; Bluntnose sixgill shark Hexanchus griseus; Spotted eagle ray Aetobatus narinari; Manta Oceanic Manta birostris; Spinetail devilray Mobula japanica; Crocodile shark Pseudocarcharias kamoharai; Silvertip shark Carcharhinus albimarginatus; Bronze whaler Carcharhinus brachyurus; Spinner shark Carcharhinus brevipinna; Silky shark Oceanic Carcharhinus falciformis; Galapagos shark Carcharhinus galapagensis; Bull shark Carcharhinus leucas; Blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus; Tiger shark Semipelagic Galeocerdo cuvier; Blue shark Prionace glauca.

For more information please contact:
• Sarah Horsley, IUCN Media Relations Officer, t +41 22 999 0127, m +41 79 528 3486, e sarah.horsley@iucn.org
• Rob McNeil, International Media Director, Conservation International, t +1 703 341 2561, e rmcneil@conservation.org
• Mona Samari, Shark Alliance, t +44 (0) 7515 828 939, e mona@communicationsinc.co.uk

Sweden Plumbs for Climate-friendly Food Choices

Swedish authorities have devised guidelines entitled 'Environmentally-smart Food Choices', for climate-friendly food choices. The authorities have recommended to the citizens to reduce their meat and rice consumption to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to the report meat is the food group that has the greatest impact on the environment.

Meat consumption in Sweden has grown by an average ten kilos per person over the past ten years and now totals 65 kilos

One kilo of beef contributes up to 15-25 kilos of greenhouse gases. This is ten times more than the carbon footprint of the equivalent amount of chicken.

The authorities recommend that eating less meat, and making careful choices about what is eaten, is the smartest environmental choice the citizens can make.

Further recommendations include eating seasonal, locally-produced fruits, vegetables and berries, avoiding bottled water, soda and palm oil and limiting rice consumption as its cultivation produces methane.

The Swedish authorities are the first in Europe to develop such recommendations. They will be sent out to other EU countries for a broader discussion before it is implemented in Sweden.

Tracking Animals-Combining Indigenous Skills and Modern DNA Analysis

Inuits of Canada have the uncanny ability to identify a Polar Bear's sex, age and size from its foot prints in the snow. Hunters have been utilizing these skills for a long time. Now scientists are utilizing the skills along with modern technology to survey Polar Bears that are becoming scarce.

Polar bears across the Arctic are imperiled due to overharvesting and climate change. Reproductive and survival rates have declined due to changes in the sea ice. There are currently 19 populations of polar bears in the Arctic, in Canada, Alaska, Russia, Norway and Greenland. Thirteen of these populations live wholly or partially in Canada.

The new project is headed by Biologists Peter V.C. de Groot and Peter Boag. In the new method a number of "hair traps," (fenced enclosures baited with meat) will be set up about 15 kilometers apart across a 600 kilometer stretch of wilderness. Bits of hair left behind by the bears as they attempt to grab the meat are sent to Dr. Boag's lab, where the number and sex of the animals are determined using DNA markers. As adjunct to the experiment samples of bear feces are collected and genetically screened at the Laboratory of Wildlife Diseases at the San Diego Zoo for the presence of pathogens that may infect polar bears. Analysis of Polar bear footprints is part of Dr. de Groot's tracking method where Inuits’ skills come in handy. The new method is cheaper and much easier than the current tracking practice, in which the bears are spotted from helicopters, tranquilized and marked.

The efforts of Canadian scientists are laudable. The skills of indigenous communities are utilized in the research and management of wildlife. The communities stand to benefit economically also. It is worthy of emulation by other nations.

Humans are Much Closer to Orangutans than Chimpanzees – New Evidences

Path breaking research by scientists from the University of Pittsburgh and the Buffalo Museum of Science, headed by Dr Jeffrey H. Schwartz and Dr John R. Grehan, based on DNA analysis, indicates that humans are much closer to orangutans than chimpanzees. Till now the belief was that humans are closely related to chimpanzees. But this has never been supported by fossil evidence.

The new report says humans, orangutans, and early apes belong to a group separate from chimpanzees and gorillas. Schwartz and Grehan analysed hundreds of physical characteristics cited as evidence of evolutionary relationships among humans and other great apes, the chimps, gorillas, and orangutan. They selected 63 that could be verified as unique within this group. The rider was that they should not appear in other primates. Analysis of these features found that humans shared 28 unique physical characteristics with orangutans, compared to only two features with chimpanzees.

Schwartz and Grehan then examined 56 features uniquely shared among modern humans, fossil hominid and fossil apes. They found that orangutans shared eight features with early humans. Chimpanzees and gorillas were found to share only those features found in all great apes. Schwartz and Grehan have classified humans, orangutans, and the fossil apes into a new group called "dental hominoids," named after their similarly thick-enameled teeth.

One conundrum in the midst of all these evidences was that early human and ape fossils are largely found in Africa, whereas modern orangutans are found only in Southeast Asia. As an explanation they propose that the last common human-orangutan ancestor migrated between Africa, Europe, and Asia at some point that ended 12 million to 13 million years ago. Plant fossils indicate that forests once extended from southern Europe, through Central Asia, and into China prior to the formation of the Himalayas. Schwartz and Grehan say the ancestral dental hominoid lived and roamed throughout this vast area. As the Earth's surface and local ecosystems changed, descendants of dental hominoids became geographically isolated from one another.

The fascinating details of the study appears in the latest issue of Journal of Biogeography

Whisky and wildlife Conservation

Whisky and wildlife conservation sounds a wee bit awry. But Scotland’s Famous Grouse Whisky and RSPB (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) have a fantastic ongoing programme worthy of emulation by others.

Money donated by Famous Grouse Whisky is utilized for conservation of endangered iconic bird of Scotland the Grouse. This partnership was recently given the ‘Best Partnership’ award at the Scottish Charity Awards (hosted by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations - SCVO). Famous Grouse is launching a new whisky which will benefit the threatened black grouse. 50p per bottle will be donated from sales to the RSPB.

RSPB's uses the money for habitat restoration work for the threatened species. The deal has raised £30 000 so far. Gregg Wilkie, Senior Marketing Officer with RSPB Scotland, who initiated the Partnership, says “What better excuse is there to enjoy a dram of Scotland's national drink?"

Tahrcountry exhorts other business houses to follow this wonderful example.

Nature’s Delicate Tightrope Walk

We still have not fully understood the intricacies of working of nature. We fiddle with it sometimes with good intentions but end up getting counterproductive results. Here is an example of how overzealous conservation efforts drove a species of butterfly, Large Blue Butterflies’ (Maculinea arion), to extinction in UK but was brought back from the brink after careful study and understanding of the ecosystem processes. The whole scenario was the culmination of 40-year research effort by Dr Jeremy Thomas of the University of Oxford in Oxford, UK.

The butterflies disappeared from Britain in 1979. Butterfly collectors were generally blamed for the decline of this butterfly. This was far from the truth. The study throws light on how the large blue butterflies’ dependence on a single species of ant led to the butterflies' disappearance.

Adult females of Large Blue butterflies lay their eggs on Thyme flowers in the summer. The caterpillars secrete chemicals that attract red ants and fool them into thinking the caterpillars are ant grubs. The ants carry the caterpillars into their underground nests. Caterpillars that have been taken to the nest of one particular ant species, Myrmica sabuleti, will survive to adulthood. The caterpillars' secretions are a close match to those of M. sabuleti grubs. Ants never discover that they have been fooled, and continue to protect the caterpillars for 10 months even though they feed on the ants' own brood. In early June, the caterpillars form a chrysalis and crawl above ground. Two weeks later they become full-fledged butterflies.

In their overzealous attitude to conservation the authorities initially fenced off the habitat of the butterflies to prevent entry and give total protection to the butterflies. The scientists soon realized that the grass in the butterflies' habitat had grown too long, as grazing had been completely stopped with the formation of fences. The soil characteristics also changed. It was now too cool to support adequate numbers of M. sabuleti ants. Without enough ants to raise their young, the large blue butterflies dwindled.

In the late 1970s, after 40 years of trying to save the large blue by preventing entry of butterfly collectors, conservationists followed Dr Thomas' recommendations, They restored the butterfly' habitat by clearing scrub and reintroducing grazing animals. Grazing was intimately associated with the ecological processes.

Starting in 1983, Thomas and his colleagues began introducing large blue butterflies imported from Sweden, into the restored habitat. The butterflies started establishing. The butterflies now occupy 30 percent more colonies than they had in the 1950s. The large blue is now one of three butterflies on course to meet the Convention of Biological Diversity's target to reverse species' declines by 2010. In the 1970s, the International Union for Conservation of Nature selected three butterflies, the Large Blue, Queen Alexandra's Birdwing of Papua New Guinea and the monarch butterfly of North America as global flagships for the cause of lepidopteran conservation.

The research paper is entitled, "Successful Conservation of a Threatened Maculinea Butterfly." It is slated to appear in Science, at the Science Express website, on 18 June 2009.

A Bird that is faster than Jets

A bird that outpaces a Jet sounds unbelievable and has the feel of a leaf out of science fiction. But it is true. During courtship flights, male Anna's hummingbirds sustain accelerations that would put to shame a fighter pilot.

Chris Clark, a biologist at the University of California used high-speed video footage to study the bird’s flight. His cameras were able to capture 500 frames per second. He has shown that, relative to their body size, Anna's hummingbirds are the fastest moving vertebrates.

And why does the bird push itself to such acrobatic displays? It is to impress the females during courtship. To impress the females, the males drop out of the sky in U-shaped flights and as they dive they travel nearly 400 times their body length each second. It is greater than the top speed of a fighter jet with its afterburners on, 885 metres per second, or the space shuttle during atmospheric re-entry, 7,700metres per second. . Centripetal accelerations reach 10 g, a force equivalent to 10 times the gravitational pull of Earth. Fighter jet pilots can pass out at accelerations above 7 g.

Clark used decoy stuffed models of female birds for his experiment. The males readily responded to the decoys.

Personally I am humbled by these mysteries of nature that is surfacing. We know so little about nature and still we are going all out to damage our environment. We have only scratched the surface.

The details of the amazing findings are reported in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.