The other day I was looking out the window into my backyard at a decorative birdhouse that is in the yard. Some finches have made a home in it. I know how mammals and fish make babies, but how do birds make babies?
- Cara, Portland OR
That is a good question Cara. Unlike cats, people and dolphins birds don’t, generally, make a lot of noise when they are making babies — so it is easy to miss the moment of joy even if you are looking right at them.
The first thing that you should know about birds is that they are built like sea cucumbers, one in-hole and one out hole. The “in” port is commonly called a beak and the exit, in your case the egg hole, is called a cloaca.
The act of mating in birds is very similar to the act in humans. A male in close proximity to a female leaps on to her back and begins to flail his arms. The flapping distracts the female from the fact that the male is pressing his expulsion unit against her egg retainer. As demonstrated in this video:
Jones soda makes a Hanukkah pack that contains latke, applesauce, chocolate coin, and jelly doughnut. What exactly do doughnuts have to do with Jews?
-Virginia
Well I asked one of my neighbors what jelly doughnuts have to do with Jewish holidays. He believes that in one of the apocryphal books of the New Testament there are references to crisp breads that are the meat of Christ and the sweet redemption of his blood. So the jelly doughnut represents the sacrifice of JC, as long as it contains traditional Middle Eastern fruits, like dates.
I also asked one of my Jewish friends the answer to this question. She tells me that according to the Jewish Book of Why doughnuts, like latkes, are part of the Hanukkah tradition because they are cooked in oil, and thus support the miracle of the holiday.
I apologize about graupel:
Dear Cass,
I would like to apologize for teasing you over the past year for your use of the word “graupel.” I learned this weekend that graupel is a real weather phenomena, sometimes called embryonic hail or pellet hail. When hailstones do not experience sufficient updraft to grow beyond 5 millimeters they are called grauples. If you are watching you will see that graupels bounce very well, while full grown hail tends to dent.
To learn more about graupel and other lesser-known weather phenomena visit: Avalanche.org
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