Tootfinder

Went for a wander through the woods and heathland around Eyeworth pond in the New Forest yesterday. Even at 10 in the morning the birdsong was stunning: mostly song thrush, wren, blackcap, chaffinch. A single common redstart was my 1st of the year (male, singing), and at least 2 cuckoos, 1 seen in flight. Also 2 common lizards darted away into the bracken. Crab apples in bloom and alive with droning bees.

"What birds can teach us about repurposing waste"
#Birds #Animals
https://phys.org/news/2025-06-birds-r…

What birds can teach us about repurposing waste
Modern cities are evolution engines. Urban snails in the Netherlands and lizards in Los Angeles have developed lighter shells and larger scales to cope with the heat island effect, where temperatures can be several degrees above the surrounding area.

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #SonicReducer
Lot Lizards:
🎵 Great Escapes
#LotLizards
https://lotlizardsfl.bandcamp.com/track/great-escapes
https://open.spotify.com/track/0vCGgY95xOQKGNNFuhT1WB

Preserved reptile scales retain microscopic features, revealing a new instance of convergent evolution
Calvin A. Riiska, Gordon W. Schuett, Joseph R. Mendelson III, Jennifer M. Rieser
https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.24827

Preserved reptile scales retain microscopic features, revealing a new instance of convergent evolution
Small-scale structures on biological surfaces can profoundly impact how animals move, appear, and interact with their environments. Such textures may be especially important for limbless reptiles, such as snakes and legless lizards, because their skin serves as the primary interface with the world around them. Here, we examine ventral microstructures of several limbless reptiles, which are hypothesized to be highly specialized to aid locomotion via frictional interactions. Inspired by prior stu…