Path: ...!weretis.net!feeder9.news.weretis.net!feeder8.news.weretis.net!newsfeed.xs3.de!nntp-feed.chiark.greenend.org.uk!ewrotcd!news.eyrie.org!beagle.ediacara.org!.POSTED.beagle.ediacara.org!not-for-mail From: DB Cates Newsgroups: talk.origins Subject: feathers (and one bird) Date: Sat, 11 May 2024 12:21:59 -0500 Organization: University of Ediacara Sender: to%beagle.ediacara.org Approved: moderator@beagle.ediacara.org Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Info: beagle.ediacara.org; posting-host="beagle.ediacara.org:3.132.105.89"; logging-data="89032"; mail-complaints-to="usenet@beagle.ediacara.org" User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird To: talk-origins@moderators.isc.org Cancel-Lock: sha1:CtXtJEmfx+in873I7TEYGZM0ZJ0= Return-Path: X-Original-To: talk-origins@ediacara.org Delivered-To: talk-origins@ediacara.org id 789BB229786; Sat, 11 May 2024 13:22:08 -0400 (EDT) by beagle.ediacara.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 3E378229767 for ; Sat, 11 May 2024 13:22:06 -0400 (EDT) by moderators.individual.net (Exim 4.97) for talk-origins@moderators.isc.org with esmtps (TLS1.3) tls TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 (envelope-from ) id 1s5qQG-00000002fmj-1lBd; Sat, 11 May 2024 19:22:12 +0200 (using TLSv1.3 with cipher TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 (256/256 bits) key-exchange X25519 server-signature RSA-PSS (2048 bits) server-digest SHA256) (No client certificate requested) by pmx.weretis.net (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 634713E87D for ; Sat, 11 May 2024 19:21:59 +0200 (CEST) id 2C4373E869; Sat, 11 May 2024 19:21:59 +0200 (CEST) X-User-ID: eJwFwQEBACAIA7BK6P2ROALaP4IboaHyJWrx8eWxg7XvTjbKSjgJty5nDMSY2bdhytCN+fgBI4QRKQ== Content-Language: en-CA Bytes: 3096 Lines: 18 I just started reading an article in the latest SciAm about feathers, including their evolution. The first paragraph gave me a WOW moment that i thought I would share (below). I haven't read much beyond that yet.' "In October 2022 a bird with the code name B6 set a new world record that few people outside the field of ornithology noticed. Over the course of 11 days, B6, a young Bar-tailed Godwit, flew from its hatching ground in Alaska to its wintering ground in Tasmania, covering 8,425 miles without taking a single break. For comparison, there is only one commercial aircraft that can fly that far nonstop, a Boeing 777 with a 213-foot wingspan and one of the most powerful jet engines in the world. During its journey, B6—an animal that could perch comfortably on your shoulder—did not land, did not eat, did not drink and did not stop flapping, sustaining an average ground speed of 30 miles per hour 24 hours a day as it winged its way to the other end of the world. -- -- Don Cates ("he's a cunning rascal" PN)