Starship Asterisk*

When Leslie Carper glanced out the window of her Mount Vernon home Thursday morning, she saw something she said she had never seen in her suburban neighborhood: a bird of prey sitting on the sidewalk.

The chance sighting was one of many that would help save the starving barred owl, but the rescue would take four days, a host of concerned neighbors, a cherry picker and — perhaps most improbably — a set of towels.

'You Lookin' at Me?'

The satanic leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus) is the smallest of 12 species of bizarre-looking leaf-tailed geckos. The nocturnal creature has extremely cryptic camouflage so it can hide out in forests in Madagascar. This group of geckos is found only in primary, undisturbed forests, so their populations are very sensitive to habitat destruction. Large Uroplatus species have more teeth than any other living terrestrial vertebrate species.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect wrote:

<<The bystander effect or Genovese syndrome is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases where individuals do not offer any means of help in an emergency situation to the victim when other people are present. The probability of help has often appeared to be inversely related to the number of bystanders; in other words, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help. The mere presence of other bystanders greatly decreases intervention. In general, this is believed to happen because as the number of bystanders increases, any given bystander is less likely to notice the situation, interpret the incident as a problem, and less likely to assume responsibility for taking action.

There are many reasons why bystanders in groups fail to act in emergency situations, but social psychologists have focused most of their attention on three main processes. In order for a person to help, they must first notice the situation, interpret it as an emergency, and take responsibility for helping. Based on early research, subsequent research looked at the ways in which each of these three decisions might be influenced by the presence of bystanders.>>

The probability of help has often appeared to be inversely related to the number of bystanders; in other words, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help.

Beyond wrote:Perhaps we should all 'chip-in' and get bystander a good set of cushioned foot pads to put in his shoes, so he won't get tired of standing by, in case help is needed

Beyond wrote:
Owlice, when she spots a 'spamer' in the Asterisk*.

MargaritaMc wrote:I saw my first Tenerifean owl a few months back whilst I was beginning early-morning star gazing. I was head-back, trying to see which star was directly above me when a silently gliding bird slipped across my line of view. A bit magic. I hadn't known before then that there were owls on Tenerife, as I think of them as a northern bird.
Margarita

MargaritaMc wrote:Gold star (or galaxy) for knowing that Tenerife is one of the Canary Isles! Lots of birds, including local subspecies, but I've not seen canaries. Wikipedia says: "Contrary to its name, the islands have little to nothing to do with the canary bird. Rather, it is the bird that is named after the islands, not the converse. The name Islas Canarias is likely derived from the Latin name Canariae Insulae, meaning "Island of the Dogs", a name applied originally only to Gran Canaria. According to the historian Pliny the Elder, the Mauritanian king Juba II named the island Canaria because it contained "vast multitudes of dogs of very large size". [19]" (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Islands)

Actually, we are a bit of a birders' paradise - and I'd guess that Owlice would be in 7th heaven! There are marvellous dark skies, I am told, on Mount Teide - where there is an observatory. When I get my wheelchair adapted vehicle, THAT is where I am a'headin'!
Margarita

geckzilla wrote:Meanwhile, in Florida.... *dramatic chord*

makc wrote:meh