View allAll Photos Tagged Behaviour
Image of of two goannas (Lace monitor, Varanus varius) engaged in domination behaviour ('combat') and quite oblivious to the world.
LOcation: Near Culcairn, NSW, Australia
For the rest of the series see here
© Dirk HR Spennemann, Albury 2007
All Rights Reserved
Quadra St., at Rockland Greenway, in downtown Victoria, BC.
Desirable cycling route lacks for treatments to facilitate movements through complex connections.
Bates, Marcia J. (1989). "The Design of Browsing and Berrypicking Techniques for the Online Search Interface." Online Review, 13(5): 407-424. Available here: www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/bates/berrypicking.html
Stummbled on these 3 hares in a field and had a great couple of hours filming and photgraphing these guys.
The Gilly suit was on for this as I didn't know how tolerant they would be of me. ISO was between 500-800 and F stop 4 - 5.6 on AV
Wondered if this might be the female, but film of it getting up next night... well, not so sure now!
Sept. 18, CR3, 11:00am. Matic Meglic presents "Web and Mobile Process Support for Management of Patients with Depression: Preliminary Results of the Improvehealth.eu Randomized Controlled Trial"
Offering choice to build trust
The most important aspect of training I have learned in the past week is to always offer a horse a choice. Not to force the right behaviour, but to encourage the right behaviour and make it worth their while. By allowing a horse a chance to think through their options, and then subsequently be rewarded for making the right choice; you give the horse confidence. And positive encouragement to do that action again willingly, by their own accord.
An interesting example was with Rema, a client's Icelandic pony whom Lindsey is starting. She is a pokey little pony, and can be hard to motivate around the ring on the rail. So Lindsey offered her a rewarding rest in each corner of the arena when they passed by them. Rema learned that corners were comfortable, so she became excited to get to them. When Lindsey then moved her away from a corner, Rema had the choice of how fast she would move towards the next corner. And since Rema wanted the comfort in the corners, she decided going fast would be the best option! Here Lindsey has given Rema the choice to her own speed; and Rema has chosen to work harder for the reward in the corner. Without having to whip or kick this pokey pony around the ring, and Rema has learned she can make choices with Lindsey as a partner.
Another example of choice would be when we were teaching Shania how to canter under saddle. When asked to canter she would race around at a very speedy trot, rather than switch her gait to everyone's comfort. So we offered her the choice to follow another horse at the canter, to encourage her gait change; or she could choose to continue to trot. When she would pick up a canter for a few strides, we would immediately stop and give her reward. If she didn't, we would continue to trot and ask for transitions. In this way she learned the reward came after she tried to canter, and more work came when she continued to trot. From here we also took her on a trail ride, to allow her some room to run and the choice to run (canter) with the other horses on the trails. She took to this method extremely well; and by the end of the ride she was offering canter transitions off of a simple voice cue.
Choice is a very important part of a partnership, and it invokes the need to trust each other. Offering choice therefore builds confidence in both horse and handler, for their own workings and for working together. When you continue to offer a choice to a horse, and they continue to enjoy the outcome of the right choice; they become more likely to trust you and begin to follow your leadership without question. If you force a horse; you break that trust and they are weary to follow you. Force invokes fear, and fear can lead to all kinds of nasty attitudes. A good example of this happened just today with a horse named Angel. We hadn't expected any issues with her, and had pulled her out to ride as a leading horse to pony another horse we were starting. But when I got on Angel, we discovered some sour attitude. She would stop unexpectedly, and stand with pinned ears. Even with no leg pressure, and no rein contact; she would stand angrily. When urged forward, she would threaten to rear and pin her ears further. After some long thought on the matter, we concluded that after a lesson with another student, Angel had become sour to leg aids, as the other student had been too firm with her squeezes and kicks. By pushing Angel constantly, this rider had taken away her choice. And had doing so had made her sour to wanting to do anything at all. Together Lindsey and I reaffirmed Angel that all we wanted was for her to walk on, and that we would not kick or push her too hard. By positively reinforcing her tries to work for us, and by only asking her to move with our voice; Angel learned once more that she had a choice. And so again, she trusted us as her leaders and was able to walk/trot around the ring easily again.
By Jesse - a student with Partridge Horse Hill from Guelph
(Pictured is Jesse with her horse Johnny at a 2012 Partridge Horse Hill clinic)
Courting Behaviour of Pied Stilts (Image 10 of 10), NZ…
Enjoy the larger version of this image here: 500px.com/photo/145417699/pied-stilt-20-by-kurien-yohannan
Very interesting behaviour from this male roe deer. He kept knocking over and snapping plants with his antlers to lick at the stump. It was clearly very tasty!
It is able to hang upside down, twist its body, and peer into holes and under bark looking for reptiles and invertebrates such as insects and scorpions. It can even walk down a tree branch at a nearly vertical angle. It can do this because it has a 'double jointed' ankle which allows it to flex backward and even a bit sideways. It also has a behavioural adaptation, in that it can use its tail and wings, as well as its legs to brace itself in position as it seeks its prey.
This whole neighbourhood is sick of the driver and the friends who use this vehicle - they like to turn up the music with all the doors open - have a bit of a street party around the car whether 10pm or 2am. To hell with the neighbours.
No respect. That is shit Britain
! watched this Blackbird returning to a specific spot on the grass and lying spread eagled with beak open. A second blackbird arrived and lay on the same place. It looked like some kind of mating ritual. Any ideas?
underwater,marine creatures
mating pair of mandarinfish-dragonets
Lembeh Straits, north Sulawesi
Kungkungan Bay Resort
©Geoff Spiby/iAfrika Photos
TINTIN'S STEPFATHER As you can guess, Tintin and his new stepfather Nick Rodwell argue a lot and quarrel often, which can lead to real nasty fights. Rumor has it that the young man has been grounded quite often lately, even that he has been taken prisoner and is now incarcerated in the East Wing of Moulinsart's castle.
These photos are of a single kotuku in the small mudflat and bay of the Hutt river near its confluence with the sea at Petone, neighbouring the Hikoikoi Reserve. As well as watching it stalk prey through the shallow waters of the bay, I was intrigued by its behaviour playing with sticks, as if contemplating nesting. Perhaps it was a young male practicing (males build a preliminary nest platform in the breeding season).
Kotuku - white heron or great egret
A cosmopolitan bird found worldwide in tropical and temperate regions. Of the four or more subspecies, the range of the largest, Egretta alba modesta is found in India, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Geographically and climatically New Zealand is near the extreme limits of its range.
In New Zealand it is a rare bird, and probably always has been. However the species was almost exterminated to satisfy the demand for feathers for women’s hats after its only breeding site on the banks of the Waitangiroto Stream, near Okarito in South Westland was discovered in 1865. By 1941 there were only four nests when it was declared a reserve and patrolled at breeding time. The numbers have now stabilised with a permanent population of around 100 to 120.
Outside of the breeding season these birds disperse widely throughout the country, frequenting shallow waters along the margins of rivers, inland lakes, swamps and coastal estuaries. Its long legs, bare of feathers well above the ankle joint, and long spreading toes fit it especially for wading on a muddy bottom. They are solitary feeders. At night when not feeding they roost in trees. Their voice is the typical heron croak in flight or when disturbed.
Kotuku food consists of mainly small fishes, including eels. Standing in water as deep as its long legs will allow without wetting its feathers, it remains perfectly still until a fish comes within reach, then with lightning like rapidity it strikes and at once swallows its prey. In addition to fish, its food includes, frogs, tadpoles, insects and even birds. I have witnessed a kotuku break a hole in the roof of an aviary and snatch out several canaries.
Their only nesting site in New Zealand on the banks of the Waitangituna Stream. White heron tours are now a major eco tourism industry for the nearby town of Whataroa.
Adult birds start arriving from all over the country around August and take part in elaborate courtship displays. Males build small platforms from which they advertise themselves to females. Displays of the male include a spectacular raising of the nuptial plumes, with the neck erect, the bill snapping and the wing feathers flicking. Once a female is attracted, the pair preen each other and intertwine their long necks, wings and bill. The female builds the real nest platform. The nests are placed in trees or in the crowns of tree ferns near to or overhanging water and at various heights from three to thirteen metres. The nests are well built of sticks and fern fronds. Three to five eggs are laid in September or October and the young are ready to fly in December and January.
The feathers of Kotuku, like the Huia, were highly prized by Maori and were used to adorn the heads of chiefs both in life and after death. The feathers were kept, as were Huia feathers, in elaborately carved boxes.
In Maori oratory, the most telling compliment is to liken someone to Kotuku. It symbolizes everything rare and beautiful. It was said that Kotuku is an inhabitant of the nether world, the spirit land of Reinga, and that an old funeral chant ends with these words to the departed: “Ko to kotuku to tapui, e Tama e – Kotuku is now thy sole companion, O my son!”. So seldom does Kotuku appear in any locality that “rare as the Kotuku” has passed into a proverb among Maori.
Details: Length 92 cm., weight 900 g., entirely white in non-breeding plumage, iris and bill yellow, legs and feet black. In August the adult birds undergo a change, growing long white feathers of loose texture which lie over the back, wings, and tail like a bridal train. These are the nuptial or breeding plumes. The bill becomes black and the facial skin green.