This Family . . .

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Here we have the modern spinster family. Clockwise: Boo; Spike; Blue; and Lucy & Henry wrestling. It's a busy, active, conversational family, with the usual jealousies and affections. Yesterday the New York Times had an editorial, My Little Chickadee:

A team of Dutch scientists, testing a European relative of the chickadee, has found that some birds are shy and others are bold, broad personality differences that have a genetic foundation. . .

We take the range of personalities among individuals in our species for granted, yet it seems surprising to think of similar diversity in other species. Many people find the implications of that genuinely shocking. If bird personalities have a strong genetic and evolutionary basis, there is good reason to suspect that human personalities do, too. . .

Humans do not like to think of themselves as animals. Nor do they like to think that their behavior may have genetic or evolutionary roots. But the richer perspective - morally and intellectually - lies in examining and coming to terms with the kinship of all life. There's a certain tragic isolation in believing that humans stand apart in every way from the creatures that surround them . . .

My great hope is that we are moving past this isolation; that as we learn more we will be better able to recognize how our relatives, near and far, are, and are not, like us; how we are all  part of this family that is part of this planet that is part of . . .

Well, I don't know what we are part of, that's the mystery, isn't it?

MetaFilter discusses animal consciousness; Tool Use in Corvids; Animal Cognition & Learning; Tool Use in Animals.

This week's Carnival of the Cats; Carnival of the Dogs; Friday Ark.

ADDED 13 March: Strangechord has kindly posted the NYT piece, which is now archived.

Comments

[deb]

Your little dog is just cute as a bug!

[mj]

What a beautiful family! I think our dogs would get along wonderfully. (Can't answer for the cats.)

What you write (and quote) here really resonates for me. I have been feeling for some time the disjunction of eating meat yet loving animal companions. It's not yet resolved, but I'm thinking on it.

[skippy]

hello,

mrs. skippy and i own 6 cockatiels, (used to have 8 but two have died). they all have individual personalities, and beyond that, they all have individual moods.

some are shy, some are macho, some are demure, some are curious, some are happy go lucky, some are grumpy...

just like people! go figure!

[jenni russell]

Your budgie looks exactly like Shelley! Wow, you take great photos, i suck at photos!

[SB]

Oh, Jenni, it's not the photographer, it's the lovely Fujifilm 3800 digital camera, and taking 50 shots to get one that's decent. Sometimes 100.

[Karen]

I don't feed the birds seeds here - the farmer gets upset with sunflowers in the crops. About two months ago, I bought this sock looking thing - really a net bag - filed with peanuts. I hung it on a tree, and it has been there all this time. Well, yesterday the black capped chickadees discovered it. We're all having the time of our lives. They're feasting, I'm a voyeur!

Your photos are always wonderful.

All the animals I've had the honor of knowing have had distinct personalities. Human ones included...

[Anne]

They're all indeed adorable, SB, but i cannot get over how intensely beautiful Blue is. Really lives up to his name, doesn't he?

[Miss O'Hara]

How charming! Reminds me of my house when I was younger - we had dogs, birds, fish, a hamster..lol

[Karen]

SB -I'd love to add a bird to my clan, but I'm not sure how the others would react. Are there any problems keeping Blue protected?

[SB]

Blue lives in the sunroom, which is where I spend most of my day, and which can be closed off from the rest of the house -- and the cats. The dogs are trained to leave birds alone, inside or out, since garden birds often land on the garden pavers when we are out enjoying the day.

Blue also has two cages -- one big one, and a smaller one that can be carried into the living room. A few shots with the water sprayer have convinced my two, somewhat aging, cats to leave that cage alone. This means Blue can come into the living room with me in the evenings, though I don't always do this.

The sunroom is off the kitchen, which is not ideal, as I have to be especially careful about little bird hazards, and always remember to close the door when he is free so he doesn't fly into the cat-inhabited rooms.

But I did have my other parakeets for several years in this situation with no disasters. So it can be done.

[Karen]

Thank You!