Poll of the Day > I got cooties!

(+) Yeah! (+)

Today's nature walk the nest I been following finally hatched!! Look at the little cooties!

https://i.imgur.com/KzXMWRz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/tfDNcOn.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/2rPHIVN.jpg

The way they wiggle their little insufficient pipecleaner of a wing is ADORABLE

Here's the rest of the walk: https://imgur.com/a/RDUGG1G

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I never knew before what baby coot looked like

ReggieTheReckless posted...

I never knew before what baby coot looked like

They're bright and colourful to attract predators to help cull the nest for only the strongest chick!

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Nice pictures lok.

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Such damsel!

https://i.imgur.com/gXvcmmd.jpeg

I just wish it wasn't so hot out or I could spend more time in ideal lighting conditions.

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Lokarin posted...

They're bright and colourful to attract predators to help cull the nest for only the strongest chick!

Don't spread misinformation.

https://www.tellerreport.com/tech/2020-01-05---coot-chicks-are-brightly-colored-so-that-their-parents-do-not-let-them-starve-.HkllLTF1gI.html

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Accrovideogames posted...

Don't spread misinformation.

https://www.tellerreport.com/tech/2020-01-05---coot-chicks-are-brightly-colored-so-that-their-parents-do-not-let-them-starve-.HkllLTF1gI.html

I've heard both, honestly.

edit: I know! I'll ask reddit

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Ah, there's a couple of theories

https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/604234/

https://www.pnas.org/content/117/4/2056.short

Basically it's a deathmatch for the first week and then the parents pick favoured children based on their brightness

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yaknow... I haven't eaten anything extra, so you'd think a week of 2 hours in scorching weather per day would have made me lose weight, but NOPE!

...

Either there's calories in Coke Zero or I'm a dang anomaly

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Baby coots remind me of moorhens. Great photos!

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Lokarin posted...

Ah, there's a couple of theories

https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/604234/

https://www.pnas.org/content/117/4/2056.short

Basically it's a deathmatch for the first week and then the parents pick favoured children based on their brightness

What a bunch of bullshit. It has nothing to do with parasites and predators. The younger the chick, the more colorful it is. Coots hatch too many chicks in quick succession. Since the chicks range from babies to teenagers, they don't get to be equal in terms of strength. Just imagine human parents constantly breeding and finding yourself as the youngest sibling in a family of ten children. Each sibling is never more than one year older than the next. Now imagine the amount of food being limited and your parents being incapable of distinguishing the age of their children. Imagine having to fight against your older siblings to get your share of the food. Obviously, the fact that you're only a week old and you have siblings much older than you can only mean on thing: you're going to starve to death.

Thankfully, evolution made it so the younger you are, the more colorful you are. Your parents actually favor their colorful children more than those that aren't. They will fight for you, they will give more food to you. If your older siblings even dare to try stealing your bigger share, your parents will move them away, essentially fighting for you. This allows you to grow up and catch up with your older siblings. As you become older, you will eventually lose your colors and your parents will start liking you less, favoring your younger siblings because they're more colorful than you. But at this point, you're strong and capable. Once you're strong enough to live on your own, you'll just leave the nest and found your own family.

The whole parasitic thing makes no sense, because other species of chicks tend to be even less colorful than real coots. In other words, they'll look like the older true chicks but be as weak as the youngest true ones. So now you have the parent favoring its younger and more colorful chicks and actively preventing the parasites from eating enough food because they're seen as being older and more capable. Since they're too young and weak to fight for their share of the food, they die. No parasite birds in their right mind would think about laying their eggs in coot nests.

And your suggestion that the colors are meant to attract predators is absurd. It goes against all the laws of evolution. It makes absolutely no sense to work against your own species' survival and best interests. Although some scientists have wrongly believed the parasite theory to be true, none of them is dumb enough to suggest what you're saying.

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Accrovideogames posted...

Thankfully, evolution made it so the younger you are, the more colorful you are. Your parents actually favor their colorful children more than those that aren't. They will fight for you, they will give more food to you. If your older siblings even dare to try stealing your bigger share, your parents will move them away, essentially fighting for you. This allows you to grow up and catch up with your older siblings. As you become older, you will eventually lose your colors and your parents will start liking you less, favoring your younger siblings because they're more colorful than you. But at this point, you're strong and capable. Once you're strong enough to live on your own, you'll just leave the nest and found your own family.

Everything is grey
His hair, his smoke, his dreams
And now he's so devoid of color
He don't know what it means

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Accrovideogames posted...

And your suggestion that the colors are meant to attract predators is absurd. It goes against all the laws of evolution.

Not necessarily; animals with volatile nesting grounds can test the area for predators with more disposable offspring. If the bright chicks are not attacked, then the nest is likely safe for the long term.

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Shouldn't have let the girls touch you.

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Lokarin posted...

yaknow... I haven't eaten anything extra, so you'd think a week of 2 hours in scorching weather per day would have made me lose weight, but NOPE!

That's not how weight loss works.

Lokarin posted...

Either there's calories in Coke Zero or I'm a dang anomaly

And there are calories in Coke Zero. The label is a lie, but it's legal thanks to a loophole that allows you to inaccurately count calories as long as the difference isn't greater than four. But there's a second loophole that allows manufacturers to label something as having zero calories even if the amount is higher than four. If the label says zero calories per serving and one serving is a fourth of the can, then you can safely assume that the drink contains 16 calories. And what are those calories of? Sugar, yes, it's pure sugar mixed with water. They can legally label something as not having sugar due to stupid loopholes. Thanks to lobbying and bribes, the government isn't willing to fix this.

Another problem with sugar "free" drinks is the fact that they also contain artificial sweeteners that aren't actually sugar but that your body treats as actual sugar. In other words, your body reacts the same way and so the fake sugar is no different than real sugar. Both cause the same problems in your body and can make you gain weight and/or cause various health problems such as cardiac arrest, hypertension and diabetes.

Lokarin posted...

Not necessarily; animals with volatile nesting grounds can test the area for predators with more disposable offspring. If the bright chicks are not attacked, then the nest is likely safe for the long term.

Huh no, colors have nothing to do with this. When a nest fails, parents learn from their mistakes and start over, making sure not to repeat the same mistakes. Making your chicks easier to see for your predators is counterproductive.

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All I know is Lok is right.

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wwinterj25 posted...

All I know is Lok is right.

Well, I accept his hypothesis... we have 3 papers with different ideas

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