/oss/taxonomy/term/2260/all en /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-environment/one-birds <p>Pet birds are very popular and loads of people have bird feeders in their back yards. That makes for birdseed being a huge business! Most people of course don’t give much thought to what it actually is, other than that it’s the stuff you put in your birdfeeder. And I would venture to say that the existence of a major crop called canary grass, grown on close to a third of a million acres in Saskatchewan, would be a surprise to almost everyone. Canary grass looks something like wheat and comes in two major varieties that are described as “itchy” and “itchless.” It isn’t hard to guess why.</p> Fri, 17 Mar 2023 16:43:48 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9437 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-general-science/birds-seem-be-scared-googly-eyes-and-thats-good-thing <p>Every year upwards of <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054133">25 million</a> birds are killed in Canada due to collisions with buildings, communication towers, wind turbines, and as a result of being tangled into marine gillnets. From window decals to flashing lights, humans have tried numerous preventative measures to stop these deaths. Their degree of success depends on the method, the location, and the types of birds in that ecosystem—amongst many other factors—and results are highly variable.</p> Fri, 21 Oct 2022 10:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9264 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/why-poop-brown <p>A certain amount of the muddy colour can be attributed to the different colours of food we eat. Like mixing all the paint colours together, the result is a dull brown. But, much bigger factors for humans' brown poop are bilirubin and bile. Bilirubin is a yellow substance found in the liver, the product of the breakdown of old red blood cells. Bile is dark brown or green and is produced by the liver to help digest fats. Both of these substances are secreted into the small intestine during digestion, and slowly make their way into poop, bringing with them a dark brown hue.</p> Tue, 23 Aug 2022 19:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 9207 at /oss /oss/article/general-science/should-i-attach-bell-my-cats-collar <p> </p> <hr /> <p><em>​</em><em>Reprinted with the permission of <a href="https://animalwellnessmagazine.com/bell-cats-collar/">Animal Wellness Magazine. </a></em></p> <hr /> <p><b>Consider these pros and cons before attaching a bell to your cat’s collar.</b></p> Thu, 26 Sep 2019 21:29:14 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7943 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition/china-birds-nests-are-not-only-birds <p>Believe it or not, some 200 tons of birds’ nests are consumed in the world every year with Hong Kong diners leading the way.  We’re not talking any old birds’ nest here.  These are very special nests constructed by several different species of swiftlets, birds about the size of swallows, found mostly in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Borneo and the Philippines.  The male builds the nest over about 35 days, using, I kid you not, his saliva!  No twigs, no leaves, just the sticky material secreted from the bird’s two sublingual salivary glands.  </p> Wed, 23 Jan 2019 20:07:33 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7556 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/ostriches-do-not-really-stick-their-heads-sand <p>Despite popular misconception, ostriches do not stick their heads in the sand. This myth <a href="https://www.scienceworld.ca/blog/do-ostriches-really-bury-their-heads-sand">originated in ancient Rome</a> and is so pervasive that it’s used as a common metaphor for someone avoiding their problems. It’s thought that this belief began after observing ostriches nesting and being stalked by predators.</p> Sun, 20 Aug 2017 15:07:39 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2604 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-history/stormy-petrel <p>The Shetland Islands are famous for sheep and wool.  But did you know that they are also home to the stormy petrel?  This unusual bird, so-named because it was thought to appear before a storm, has a very high fat content.  Fat of course is an excellent fuel and burns readily to produce carbon dioxide, water, heat and light.  Islanders used to catch the creatures, dry them, fix their feet in clay and thread a wick through their beak.  Then they would light the wick and burn the dried bird for illumination.  The Danes did the same with the “Great Auk,” a bird that has since become extinct.</p> Tue, 30 May 2017 16:56:56 +0000 OSS 2498 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/chaotic-seabirds-seagulls-drugs <p>In August 1961, in Capitola and Santa Cruz, California there was an invasion of what people described as “chaotic seabirds.” These birds were believed to be under the influence of domoic acid, a neurotoxin that is produced by algae and accumulates in shellfish, sardines, and anchovies (aka “filter feeders”) and inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 film, “The Birds.”</p> <hr /> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/joeschwarcz">@JoeSchwarcz</a></p> <p>Want to comment on this? <a href="http://Facebook.com/���ϲ�����OSS">Visit our FB Page!</a></p> Tue, 21 Feb 2017 04:35:13 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1496 at /oss