Greater honeyguide

READ MORE-The Greater Honeyguide (Indicator indicator) is fairly common and widespread, occurring widely in the Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa, except in desert, forest, and grassland; it is found in all but the desert parts of western South Africa. The distribution extends from Senegal and southern Mali south almost to the coast, east to Eritrea and south (around the main forested belt) through east-central Africa (including eastern and southern DRC and much of East Africa), and from Angola, northeastern Namibia, and northern and eastern Botswana to Mozambique and south to the former Cape Province (South Africa).
Greater Honeyguides are found in open woods, woodland edges, bushland, streamside woods, bushes in dry areas, plantations, gardens with trees, thickets, and trees lining suburban streets; they are often seen in the vicinity of bees' nests. They may be found up to 2000 m (occasionally to 3000 m in East Africa).
These birds have an unusual diet, feeding extensively on beeswax (which they digest readily), as well as on honeybee larvae and eggs and a range of other insects (including termites, winged ants, flies, and others). The nestlings, which are raised in the nests of other species (see below), feed on food provided by their host, including fruits. Immatures generally dominate around bees' nests. In some areas, Greater Honeyguides (often immature birds) lead humans to bees' nests. After the human honey gatherers have opened and left the nest, the bird feeds on pieces of honeycomb left behind. From these, it extracts mainly the larvae and the wax to supplement its diet of insects. (For more details on the symbiotic relationship between traditional human honey gatherers and honeyguides, see Isack and Reyer 1989.)
Greater Honeyguides are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of a diverse set of avian host species (mainly from the Coraciiformes and Upupiformes) at any given location. They typically deposit just a single egg per nest (sometimes more), laying up to 20 total. Females typically puncture the host's eggs when laying their own, but in many nests at least one host egg survives. The young honeyguides finish the job. Spottiswoode and Koorevaar (2012) found that hosts always hatched after honeyguide chicks (presumably in part due to an additional period of internal incubation in female honeyguides; Birkhead et al. 2011) and were killed within hours by honeyguide nestlings, which utilize a specialized sharp hook on their bills (this hook is lost after 2 weeks or more). Despite being blind and in total darkness, honeyguide chicks attack host young with sustained biting,

Drongos-/The-bird-impersonates-MEERKAT-steal-food-Drongo-catches-quarter-meals-imitating-creatures.

Among the rolling red dunes of the Kalahari Desert, the song of the fork-tailed drongo provides a warning that predators are lurking close by.
The songbird acts as the desert’s watchdog - always poised and ready to warn its fellow creatures of impending danger.
Or at least that’s what the bird wants you to believe. Scientists claim this tricky African bird is, in fact, a pathological liar in the animal kingdom.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2621584/The-bird-impersonates-MEERKAT-steal-food-Drongo-catches-quarter-meals-imitating-creatures.html#ixzz39FAGY815
Drongos, common in South Africa, have glossy black feathers and red eyes.
These birds usually get meals the honest way, such as capturing insects in mid-air using their incredible aerial skills. But at other times, like on cold mornings when few insects are flitting around, the drongos turn to a life of crime.
When times are hard, the crafty bird can make false alarms to make other animals drop their kill and run from the scene. Meanwhile, the drongo swoops in to pick up the remains.  Researchers classify the drongo as ‘a kleptoparasite' - an animal that steals food from another creature that has caught it.

Talk To The Animals: Witnessing a chimp apology

In addition to being hugely chatty creatures, scent also plays a key role in mongoose life. It actually allows them to identify each other.
They live in tight gangs - extended family units with distinct boundaries between rival territories.
One of the experiments that didn’t make it into the show tested the importance of scent in maintaining these boundaries and involved me standing in a mongoose latrine in the fierce midday sun collecting a bucket of fresh poop.
After a few minutes the mongooses themselves turned up en masse catching me red handed with a scoop of their poop in my hand.
They all stood up and looked at me as if I was nuts. Which was fair enough, I felt decidedly awkward being busted for such a peculiar theft.
I took the mongoose poo and dumped it in the middle of their neighbours’ territory.
The result was a frenzy of sniffing and chattering that suggested that scent is clearly very important for communicating an enemy invasion.
I discovered - READ MORE-     to see clip link- http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04b6982#clips

DINOSAURS HAD BAD LUCK

A new study believes that Dinosaurs were wiped out by asteroid impact at most vulnerable time.This was due to sea level rises,volcanic activity  made  many species susceptible .And the asteroid had hit earlier or later  by a few million tears- JOURNAL BIOLOGICAL-LINK DINOSAURS EXTINCTION BAD LUCK -BBC SCIENCE.

Fears have receded over the fate of a Russian space satellite carrying gecko lizards as part of a sex experiment, after technicians restored control. Russia's space agency re-established the link on Saturday and has since held 17 communication sessions, an update on its website says (in Russian). The Foton-M4 satellite's engine had stopped responding on Thursday. Five geckos are aboard for a study into the effect of weightlessness on their sex lives and development. The six-tonne satellite was launched on 19 July and is set to carry out experiments over two months. Mushrooms, plant seeds and Drosophila fruit flies are also being monitored, while a special vacuum furnace is being used to examine the melting and solidification of metal alloys in low-gravity conditions.

Fears have receded over the fate of a Russian space satellite carrying gecko lizards as part of a sex experiment, after technicians restored control.

Russia's space agency re-established the link on Saturday and has since held 17 communication sessions, an update on its website says (in Russian).
The Foton-M4 satellite's engine had stopped responding on Thursday.
Five geckos are aboard for a study into the effect of weightlessness on their sex lives and development.
The six-tonne satellite was launched on 19 July and is set to carry out experiments over two months.
Mushrooms, plant seeds and Drosophila fruit flies are also being monitored, while a special vacuum furnace is being used to examine the melting and solidification of metal alloys in low-gravity conditions.READ MORE

New Locust species Electrotettix found in old amber - See more at: http://www.theeasterntribune.com/story/6926/new-locust-species-electrotettix-found-in-old-amber/#sthash.iOyh94Z5.dpuf

NEW YORK: Researchers have found out a New Cricket species in hardened amber. The piece of amber was supposed to be 50 years of old. However, there were many similar amber scatter around the place. Researchers of University of Illinois have found out the specimen of the species. The researchers have said that the the Cricket remains were supposed to be 20 million years old. The new species has been connected to the group called Cladonotinae. Most locusts are unable to fly. However, researchers have said that the ancestors of the species might have flown. The new species are called Electrotettix. The researchers have concluded that the species is the transition from the winged to wingless species. The research have said that there is a missing link between the winged species and wingless species. However, the study has revealed the ancestors might have inhabited in such an environment. The specimen in amber in now well preserved and would be used in further reference and study. The new study was first published in the journal called ZooKeys. The research might very well make an impact in the study of the insects and their behaviour. According to the head of the research team, the finding might point to the evolution of many insects and grasshoppers. The environment they used to leave and the present condition may vary. However, the study and the findings of the Electrotettix species might very well found the missing link of the study. Many more research on the same topic would continue in near future - See more at: http://www.theeasterntribune.com/story/6926/new-locust-species-electrotettix-found-in-old-amber/#sthash.iOyh94Z5.dpuf

New Species of Mite Discovered in Puerto Rico, Named after Jennifer Lopez

The reason behind the unusual choice of name for the new species is that Jennifer Lopez’s songs and videos kept the team in a continuous good mood when writing the manuscript and watching World Cup Soccer 2014,” explained Dr Pešić.
Litarachna lopezae represents Pontarachnidae, a widely distributed but still unstudied group of marine animals. Nothing is known about the life cycle of these animals.
The species was collected from nearly 70 m depth, the greatest depth from which pontarachnid mites have been found until now.
Mesophotic coral ecosystems like Bajo de Sico where Litarachna lopezae was found are light-dependent habitats dominated by macroalgae, sponges and scleractinian corals and are found on the insular and continental slopes of Caribbean islands between 30 and 100 m.
Even at the lower depth range (70-100 m), there is enough light for photosynthesis to take place enhancing the growth of several scleractinian coral species and algae.
The description of Litarachna lopezae has been published online in the open-access journal ZooKeys.READ MORE