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Pigeons and Horses at the Intersection of Oppressions

While there are enough nests for each bird to have his or her own, they often choose to pair up.

The cruel “sports” of pigeon racing and horse fighting reflect both sexism and speciesism, says author Mark Hawthorne, who calls on animal advocates to challenge all systems of domination and control. . . . → Read More: Pigeons and Horses at the Intersection of Oppressions

Queer Birds

Oystercatcher

“Queer bird” is an old-timey expression for “someone regarded as eccentric or crazy and standing out from a group.” Back in the day, we certainly would have been regarded as eccentric or crazy, not to mention standing out from the scientific crowd, for suggesting that the birds and the bees might sometimes be “queer” in . . . → Read More: Queer Birds

Meet Tiki and Breeze

breezehead

Before coming to VINE Sanctuary, emus Tiki and Breeze spent several years sharing a small pen with another emu, never having the opportunity to exercise their legs or break the monotony by ranging freely. One day, their female companion escaped and became locally famous before dying while being recaptured. The retired dairyman who had bought . . . → Read More: Meet Tiki and Breeze

The Latest Craze: Crowboarding

For once, the world wide web brings us some non-intrusive, non-exploitative evidence of avian capabilities: Here’s a video of a crow playing on a rooftop, using a circular object as a sled. Tool use has been widely documented among crows, who often both express and develop their intelligence in play. But it’s rare to have . . . → Read More: The Latest Craze: Crowboarding

Bye Bye Blackbirds

This just in:

“Thousands of dead blackbirds rained down on a town in central Arkansas last New Year’s Eve after revelers set off fireworks that spooked them from their roost, and officials were reporting a similar occurrence Saturday as 2012 approached.”

That’s right: After finding thousands of dead bird bodies in the street . . . → Read More: Bye Bye Blackbirds

Other Kinds of Bird Cages

Rats. Cats. Rabbits. Dogs.

Monkeys.

These are the animals we imagine locked up in vivisection labs, subjected to hurtful and often perverse experiments the purpose of which — beyond the satisfaction of abstract curiosity — is often unclear. Cats and rabbits burned by noxious poisons. Rats purposely starved to death. Dogs trapped in cages with . . . → Read More: Other Kinds of Bird Cages