Saturday 9 August 2014

A Ruddy Shame?


It has been announced that the end for the north American Ruddy duck in the UK is (almost) nigh (http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/aug/08/ruddy-ducks-cull-invasive-species). The duck was inadvertently introduced by Sir Peter Scott via his Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust establishments but male of this species proved irresistible to endangered European White-headed ducks with whom they hybridised. This resulted in the 'over-sexed' aliens being eradicated. Apparently, the last 10 females are due to be shot at £3000 a pop (an expensive business this antipathy to aliens!).

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What's In a Critter's Name? 11. Comma butterfly

The Comma butterfly ( Polygonia c-album) gets its name from the punctuation-like mark, on the underside of its wings.