Attribution: Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, does not always get involved in the keeper’s scientific projects, but was unable to resist as the keeper and Phyllis had a serious look at how they might share the exciting ongoing seasonal migration with the birds.
First they checked to note that humans and birds share a lot of DNA with birds—some 60 percent depending on how it is measured. The excitement this generated was tempered by the fact that the bird sharing the most DNA with people was not a mysterious colorful migrator but was the chicken. The DNA investigation also noted the humans’ DNA connection to dogs is at 82 percent, 69 percent with rats and 60 percent with banana trees.
Having established a solid scientific base, the keeper and Phyllis proceeded to the UW Arboretum where Phyllis used her bird-identifying phone ap to record the songs of a dozen birds most of them invisible in the gorgeous greening now transforming the Arboretum and the rest of the state into a summer paradise for birds and humans.
Following the rewarding bird outing, the keeper and Phyllis went out to dinner where both ordered dishes built around chicken.
Comments