Meet Testudo hermanni hermanni, a Mediterranean tortoise present in Italy, France and Spain. Its captive breeding was made necessary by the destruction of its native habitat. The challenge for current breeders, unlike most of the species bred as pets, is to maintain as much as possible the purity of the species, subspecies and, if possible,…
Author: The Ethogram
The official blog of the UC Davis Animal Behavior Graduate Group.
Sunday Sketch: Bashful Bunnies
Check out this fun fact about bunnies!
Creature Feature: Domestic Chicken
Learn more about the latest and greatest fowl to cross our desk!
Sunday Sketch: The Great Gorilla
Check out this fun fact about gorillas!
Field Frame Friday: This is how I show my love – QUAIL
A California Quail (Callipepla californica) poses majestically on a shrub. California Quail participate in brood-mixing, where multiple female quail will raise multiple offspring (related and not-related) in communal family groups. It is suggested that females involved in communal family groups also live longer than those in single family groups. There are benefits of being a…
Sunday Sketch: Anatomy of a Narwhal
Check out this fun fact about narwhals!
Creature Feature: American black bear
We’re about to finish checking our bird traps at Tioga Pass when I spot it– a moving black lump in the upper right hand corner of my eye. We freeze. “Holy–” I say. “Is that…?” I slowly raise my binoculars. It is. Standing on a boulder, huffing its huge steaming snout in the morning air,…
Sunday Sketch: The Southern carmine bee-eater
Check out this fun fact about The Southern Carmine Bee-eater!
Field Notes: Four Field Perspectives
Field biology is almost always a team endeavor. Field crews often include people with different levels of experience and biological backgrounds—and each member brings something valuable to the team, from budding young scientists to experienced researchers. Going into the Summer of 2022, my second field season researching Spotted Sandpipers (Actitis macularius), I was nervous ….
Field Frame Friday: Where’s the beef? Being social!
Beef cattle are social creatures! They form complex social groups and hierarchies made up of close companions and individual acquaintances. Next time you are observing cattle grazing or driving through some pastures, check out their herd structures! [Photo and caption by Alycia Drwencke] Sowell, B. F., Mosley, J. C., & Bowman, J. G. P. (1999,…
