… are what the the old falconers called the Gyr- Saker crosses of the high deserts and lost mountains of Central Asia. Another common name, probably Turkic, is “Shunkar”. From her (enormous) size and color this female in the breeding center outside of Almaty has Gyr genes, but her head shape and long tail, like …
New Bird
Another male Gyr X Saker, but this one rather than a stout Gyr resembles a long, lean, long- tailed Saker. He weighs virtually the same. He is looking a bit nervous and indeed is wild for an imprint, but I suspect he’ll come around shortly. Update: Our friend Patrick “Terrierman” Burns asked some good questions …
Provocative Quote of the day
“The human race is the new Chicxulub meteor.” (Janeen of Smartdogs in comments at Atomic Nerds.)
Links
The mammoth genome has been sequenced from hair (I have some!) Real Pleistocene Park stuff. Actually you should scroll down Paleoblog for all manner of good things, from a Mongolian fiesta at Bozeman to new finds at the Deinocheirus site in Mongolia to the evolution–!– of minerals. At least some frogs are able to learn …
News and…
Been busy but not blogging. Some good news: the eagle book that occupied me (and drove me crazy) last year looks to have a new publisher. And another publisher in the same state is interested in doing a new edition of rage for falcons. I’ll keep you posted. And I have a new Gyr- Saker …
Checking Out the Neighborhood
This fellow decided to amble through the neighborhood at about 9:30 this morning, taking his time and checking out the happenings. He is the boss buck around here, and I’ve been trying to get a clear picture of him for some time. He has evidently already located the “invisible fence” line we have up for …
A Great Moment in Architecture
Smells Like Money
This is utterly trivial, but I saw this image and couldn’t let it go. This is interior decor at Stinkers, a new nightspot in LA (Silver Lake, of course). The article says Stinkers truck stop theme is post-post ironic, which is too sophisticated for me. I think. Click though to the pic of skunks drinking …
Web Miscellany
I’ve often said that making excellent gravy doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Here are some recipes to get you going for next week. “Indian Navy Says It Sank Pirate Ship” doesn’t sound like a 21st century headline, does it? A lawsuit attacking the city of Aurora, CO ban on pitbulls is going to US …
Bravo, Lino Dossi!
Anne found this UPI story about an Italian falconer refusing to surrender his Harris’ hawks under a state law banning the keeping of non-native species. The man, Lino Dossie of Trento province, is quoted as saying: “I’m too attached to my falcons [sic] and I won’t give them to anyone, no matter what they do …