#the history of the domestic pigeon

[swede1952]

Look! I'm an eagle.

This rock pigeon (Columba livia) looks like it wants to be some country's national emblem.

"Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets and Egyptian hieroglyphics suggest that pigeons were domesticated more than 5,000 years ago. The birds have such a long history with humans that it's impossible to tell where the species' original range was." - allaobutbirds.org

#photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #birds #birdwatching #dove #pigeon #rock doves #rock pigeon #birdsphotography #birds of north america #birdphotography #birdlovers #birds nature #birdingphotography #backyard birds #bird #bird photography #bird watching #birding

[betterbemeta]

Yeah Dinotopia did this to me, I love art that depicts humans living and working with dinosaurs, its so cool

but like. we need to have a talk. there are two options for this scenario and both of them require human beings be a lot braver or more thoughtful than I think we are on average:

the dinosaurs are sapient. But bird intelligence is convergent evolution to mammal intelligence. Meaning that what we're really depicting is a society where humans and 'an alien species' have peacefully integrated: just, aliens separated by time from the same planet and not aliens separated by distance such as from another planet.

the dinosaurs aren't sapient. Human beings have sustained a military loss to emus, it's pretty hard to have a cassowary as your chill friend and most attacks have to do with feeding them, and most human beings tend to be wary or frightened of even middling-large birds such as geese, turkeys, swans, and that's without getting into predatory birds like eagles and condors. Human beings have domesticated birds and kept them as pets for a long time, but we're talking chickens, pigeons... 'exotic birds' kept as companion animals such as parrots aren't domesticated and we should understand how huge a commitment it is to keep them. Are we ready to be pals with a cockatiel the size of a donkey? How about larger than a rhinoceros?

I'm not slamming these as fantasy concepts. People love to depict Amazing Animal Companions and probably always have throughout history. But I think we can keep it fresh by coming at this with a smidge of realism. Your intelligent dinosaur friend may not be a human person in a lizard suit but instead an Extremely Large African Grey Parrot With Fingers. Or your Pet Dinosaur may be, uh, Loud And Broody if you don't put it to bed on time. How do you enforce bedtime and lights out for a creature that can thagomize your walls, and you? Carefully.

#dinosaurs #dinosaur cohabitation #I am sad this is not a larger genre and I always have been

[kats-fic-recs]

Bakudeku Fic Recs <3<3<3<3

(in the best way) you'll be the death of me

Katsuki pinched the bridge of his nose. "Deku. You have compiled ten notebooks on me. You know my medical history better than my mother. And I have it on good authority that when you saw me in that stupid bee suit your face was so disturbingly perverted Mineta cried."

Or:

Izuku finds out there are still things about Kacchan he can learn and grows up in the process.

How Was Your Day?

"Hi Kacchan, how was your day at work?"

“YOU FUCKING PUNCHED ME THROUGH A BUILDING! THAT WAS MY DAY AT WORK!”

happy birthday, kacchan!

“The only thing that didn’t change was Deku.

Deku kept his unreachable dreams, kept the idea that he’d be a hero some day. Kept his notebooks, and his dumb All Might pencil case. Kept his hair the same and kept his stupid freckles and kept getting on Katsuki’s nerves no matter what Katsuki did to try and stop it.

And, every year on April Twentieth, Deku kept on bringing Katsuki gifts.

melodies of a heart unbroken

Gifts, wrapped crudely (though that slowly changed until they suddenly looked almost identical to Auntie Inko’s presents) with notes that would say ‘Happy birthday, Kacchan!’ in Deku’s ugly chicken scratch.”

***

aka a look at katsuki and izuku's relationship throughout the years, told through memories of birthdays.

Midoriya Izuku intends to get to the bottom of why he can't cry about love.

wrinkled oranges, pigeons, and other sweet things to call your significant other

Deku,” he says, suddenly serious. “I’m fucking bored.”

Izuku blinks. “Of me? It’s a bit late for a divorce now, I think.”

In the slow, boring routine of retired life, former Pro Heroes Izuku and Katsuki are growing restless.

Katsuki turns to Izuku, his lifelong lover and precious husband, and says, "I'm fucking bored."

Sure, they're way past seventy years old. But that's not going to stop Izuku from making the last years of their life as memorable as he can.

Saturday

“Hey there, you fucking nerd,” and only Katsuki Bakugou can say something like that and make it sound like a pick up line. “Whatcha got there?”

“Laundry,” Izuku says cooly. “What about you?”

Katsuki turns so Izuku can get a good look at him. Old sweatpants with a hole in the crotch. Loose fitting tank top that hasn’t seen an iron for centuries. His hands are wet, remnants of dish suds on his fingers like sparkling jewelry. “Dishes. They’re dirty. Gotta show em’ who’s boss.”

“Mmmm,” and Izuku is proud of himself for managing to moan like that without bursting into a fit of giggles. “Did I ever tell you how hot Domestic Kacchan is?”

[Or: There's something relaxing about doing housework when your job is to save the world]

Until We Meet Again

Change is the only constant in the world.

It is also the most terrifying ordeal a person has to endure.

With the War won and All For One vanquished, Izuku must prepare for the next chapter in his life: becoming a true Hero by following All Might's footsteps.

But dreams come with a price. Now, he prepares to leave everything he loves behind.

And loving Bakugou Katsuki the most makes it the hardest thing Izuku will ever do.

love meme, hate meme

It's time for the yearly Heroic Achievement Awards where well deserve pro heroes get to claim the honor and accolades that they accumulated in the previous year. This year the Best New Hero category is filled with powerhouses with big fandoms that is willing to do anything for their favorite to claim the honor of rookie of year.

But just as the stage is set for showdown of the century between the biggest named rookie in Japan, Deku and Ground Zero, and their respective fanclubs, one single social media post is about to upheaval everything.

Every Maiden Plays Pretend

“You have to promise not to tell anyone about Flame Heart Hero," says Midoriya. "Because the thing is… When I started drawing the manga, I based the main character off Kacchan.”

“Wh— Bakugo’s the heroine? Bakugo?”

For a second, Ochako thinks she’s entered an alternate universe. There’s no way shouty, stompy Bakugo belongs in a shoujo manga. He especially doesn’t fit as vulnerable, insecure Yurika-chan, who got captured by a villain in the first few chapters, failed her first Hero Class exercise and cried, lost at the Sports Festival and cried again, got kidnapped by villains in front of her whole class, didn’t get her provisional license, then got into a fight after-hours and cried some more…

“Holy shit,” breathes Ochako, “Bakugo’s the heroine.”

Public Displays of Affection

The freckled man hums and sinks lower, his eyes roving to the corner of the room like two huge green marbles rolling into the sides of a glass bowl and sticking there. He earns a sharp bang from the fist of his blonde companion hitting the counter like a gavel.

The dishes rattle with a startled clink, but the drunk man moping over them doesn’t even notice.

“What?!”

“Won’t drink with me,” complains freckles, leaning forward like a wilting sunflower on the end of a collapsing stalk. “Won’t let me look at anyone else, but won’t drink with me. Won’t even take a sip! The beer’s all warm and I can’t even count it as a secondhand kis—”

Across the counter, you choke on your own drink. The blonde does the same on his water - the only difference in poise is how quickly he smacks his freckled companion on the side of the head before he can finish his sentence.

A hero reaches out to touch the hearts of the people through their actions. Sometimes, they do it through heartbreak.

Bakugo and Midoriya as seen through your eyes - the eyes of a local firefighter - in an izakaya a few miles and hours away from tragedy.

Kiss Me?

Years after Katsuki left Izuku in the dust as a kid he's reminded of the gesture of affection that had his palms sweating and heart pounding when Izuku used to do it for him when they'd get scuffed up on the playground: kissing his band aids after patching him up.

Fast forward to the present and the dumb nerd is just going around offering up kisses to any old extra in their class except Katsuki and it's driving him insane. Despite him pushing these feelings within himself as deep as possible, it stings deeper than he could've ever imagined.

-

aka: izuku's love language is kisses

#bkdk #bakudeku #izuku midoriya #bnha #bakugou katsuki #boku no hero acadamia #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia #my hero acadamia #ao3 #fanfiction #fic recs #fanfiction recommendation #fic rec #bnha fic recs #bkdk fic #mha fic recs #mha fic

[nerdy-spooks]

The Lost Boys Headcannons

(This is My First Headcannons list! So enjoy 😁✌️)

David:

•During the Early 1900s he had a Southern accent which he lost by the time the 1920s came around.

•He adores history and will geek out about it, Mostly reads history books.

•Is Mr. Grumpy but will be absolutely soft when he wants to be, He also has a soft spot for animals.

•Considers himself to be a cool gunslinger despite it no longer being the early 1900s, he still thinks he's a cool cowboy.

•He admires Billy Idol and loves his music, that's why his hair is the way it is being Bleach blonde instead of Sandy blonde which is his natural hair color.

•Also He's a Bisexual King.

Dwayne:

•Is Native American, And before joining David's Gang he lived on a reservation with his family.

•Is The Calmest of the group but do not let that fool you he can and will be chaotic when he wants to, especially when it comes to feeding time.

•He was the One that Convinced David to keep Laddie since he's always wanted a family especially a son or a younger brother.

•He's the Smartest out of all the boys, Sometimes when he's not being chaotic he has to be the mom of the group.

•He Adores Classical music but also adores Classical rock from the 50s and 60s.

Marko:

•He's a Bird Dad, Has domesticated his pigeons and he takes pride and joy in raising them.

•Speaking of Birds Marko likes Animals in general, in particular he just really likes birds. He kind of acts like one.

•He's very talented, Can Sew and Paint, he's a real artist he truly has lovely art. Can also cook really good food.

•He's Italian, He Came from Venice Italy to America in the early 1900s, he came from a very rich family (He's not to proud of that since he's a rebel lol.)

•He pretends to Hate Sappy Romance but then proceeds to try to be Super Romantic with His S/O. Expect lots of chaotic yet very romantic beach dates, He loves flirting in Italian.

•He is the most sadistic out of all the boys, is the one who gets in a lot of fights as well, He loves being a feral gremlin when it comes to feeding, loves to tournament his prey.

Paul:

•He's The Rockstar of the Group, no surprise. He loves Guns N Rose's, Twisted Sister, Motley Crue and David Bowie.

•He's Talented with Singing and he Can Drum, he's definitely a rockstar in his own right.

•Loves Music With his whole soul, Loves going to Concerts at the boardwalk. Can and Will stay for hours just jamming, He also Drives the boys mad as he blast's his music.

•Out of all Boys he has the most Humanity, He's definitely the kindest. Of course when it comes to feeding he's probably the scariest.

•He's Definitely a bit of a Himbo, But really he does have his Smarts don't underestimate him.

•Loves Luring his Prey Via flirting or Just being friendly in general, just because he's the nicest out of all boys doesn't mean anything when it comes to his food.

#tlb 1987 #the lost boys #tlb david #tlb dwayne #marko tlb #tlb paul #80s #retro #80s movies #alex winter #brooke mccarter #kiefer sutherland #billy wirth #the lost boys headcanons

[seraphim-soulmate]

So, what's so great about pigeons then?

oh buddy you are in for a TREAT!! I'm answering this earnestly as fuck. we, as humans, have a rich history with them. they were our little pals for years, helping us with mail delivery and tasks!! so we domesticated them- brought them into our lives, our cities, our homes. and once they were no longer useful to us, we abandoned them :( but they still stuck around because WE BROUGHT THEM HERE !!! they were our friends and i will continue to honor the pact that we made many moons ago. I'd definitely recommend you watch or read some pigeon history to better explain this!! it's part of what got me further hyped about pigeons.

but in another aspect, have you considered that they're animals? like they're literally little créatures that you see almost every day!! and they're beautiful!! not even talking about fancy pigeons but have you taken the time to really sit and admire the plumage of a pigeon? they have crazy iridescence and their colors are just plain satisfying. but back to what i was saying, imagine if you saw any other animal randomly in the city, how enamoured with them you'd be. how crazy that would be!! like think about how people react to seeing deer for example-- awestruck ! try to see the pigeon through the lens of the fact that you're interacting with a Real Life Animal and not just like, street NPCs. they have their own little lives and their mating rituals are ridiculous and their nests are laughable, but they continue to survive along with us. i am so pleased every time i see one of these creatures that live along side with us all. I'm tearing up a little bit about pigeons rn im ngl. I just really love nature and I get to see a little bit of it in my city; even if I'm not seeing an entire forest, I get to see wildlife!!

my friend made a really interesting point recently about city animals and how people tend to detest them. i mean rats, pigeons, and even roaming cats/dogs are often seen like the scum of the earth. but those animals manage to live on scraps, to persevere through difficult conditions, living along side us. is it maybe not a reflection of our hatred towards ourselves that we detest that which manages to live alongside us? that which struggles and fights for their space and right to exist. how are we different from them really? pigeons, cats, dogs. brought into the cities to labor, only to be left in horrible conditions to fend for ourselves.

it's okay if you disagree with this last point, it's moreso philosophical. but i hope i could invite you into a world where pigeons are whimsical, beautiful creatures to admire and maybe respect a bit more! I invite you to look around you with curiosity and interest for what you may consider mundane! you will discover many treasures that make life significantly more bearable.

#personal #friends #pigeons #i guess im really into pigeons now #tbh sometimes i am hypnotized by the way the sun reflects light off the leaves of a tree. i just really love nature. #i literally look up at trees and it makes me smile. like im some idiot in love with trees. #if theres a crowd of pigeons. i will earnestly try to walk around them. #i get stressed when they start doing their little run bcs im behind them. i dont want to scare them!!! #unpeuderose

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

if humans thousands of years ago decided to use falconry in order to domesticate some species of raptors, do you think they could have done it?

Probably not just because humans thousands of years ago would have a lot of trouble captive breeding raptors. I would say they’d have best luck with Harris hawks but the tribes native to the regions harris hawks are native to are not known to have practiced falconry, and as far as historians know the only captive raptors they worked with were eagles. It’s hard to know for sure since so many of these groups were victims of genocide and/or ethnocide to the point that very few record of these cultures has remained intact.

Back to the question though, there’s a reason most domestic animals are mammals, and those that aren’t tend to breed easily. A keystone of domestication is selective breeding and to do so with raptors requires a flight cage with material and space for a nest. This was not practical for ancient civilizations, especially since each pair would only produce a clutch of four eggs or so a year since they didn’t have incubators back then to induce double-clutches viably, unless they wanted to try to get a chicken to hatch the eggs out which while funny may not be the best option for success.

To domesticate raptors would mean huge aviaries of raptors separated into pairs, and that would take a lot of food to feed them which would not be practical when you can just set a trap and catch a wild hawk or falcon instead. It would be a massive resource drain that wouldn’t bear real fruit for centuries if not millennia, so while not TECHNICALLY impossible to conceive of, it would be very improbable to occur.

It’s important to remember that with domestication it wasn’t about people pointing to a wild animal and Deciding to domesticate it, it was just a matter of mutual benefit. Wolves and wild cats were drawn to human settlements where they were habituated and young were imprinted and then selectively bred to offspring that were more friendly or had some other desirable trait. Livestock were captured, presumably larger species were taken as young but still weaned individuals who were then introduced to other captured individuals of the same species and allowed to breed until there were a few generations born in captivity to breed to one another without fatal levels of consanguinity. Those that were free range and in regions their parent species was present of course still outcrossed from time to time which helped keep the gene pool open enough to be sustainable.

After a few centuries of breeding people realized that these domesticating animals could be bred for specific phenotypes as well as dispositions, and that is where we got things like owl pigeons, Easter eggers, papillons, and long haired cats, and the rest is history.

All this to say, domestication is a complicated but still very specific process that works great with mammals because a lot of mammals do breed readily in captivity due to heat cycles and groundfowl and waterfowl are also great at breeding in captivity for a similarly high drive to mate at certain times of the year. Raptors will ignore the desire to mate if conditions are not optimal. You can put a cat in heat in proximity to a tom and you’ll have kittens in a few months pretty much every time. But a broody raptor put with a male may just result in the male becoming lunch if she does not fancy him. Raptors are picky and far more fickle. It’s difficult to recreate an environment that allows them to court the way they prefer to.

#domestication #animal behavior #I’m sure this was a lot longer than you needed anon #apologies for the tangent

[chestnutdex]

PIDGEOT

Pidgeot is a Flying- and Normal- type bird Pokémon with a long history of semi-domestication. Pidgeot may be the fastest creatures on the planet, capable of exceeding Mach 2 in flight. Only Dragonite have been confirmed at similar speeds, though unconfirmed reports suggest other dragons may be even faster.

TAXONOMY

Pidgeot are Buzzards (also called Hawks) in the Buteo family. The name Pidgeot derives from the word Pigeon. Though Pigeons are unrelated to Buteo, a young Pidgeot’s cry is distinctly similar to that of a pigeon’s. Young Pidgeot are referred to by the diminutive name Pidgey as chicks and Pidgeotto as adolescents.

Pidgey, a young Pidgeot

DESCRIPTION

Primarily brown with lighter undersides, Pidgeot are most notable for their colorful crests and bright tail feathers. Pidgeot crests and tails are composed of red and yellow feathers, both of which grow continually longer over the Pidgeot’s life. An individual Pidgeot’s crest may grow as long as its body, about 1.5 meters, and its tail may reach half that. These crests exist solely for display. Selective breeding by Kanto’s humans have significantly increased average crest length over time in both male and female Pidgeot.

Pidgeot eyes are surrounded by thick, black stripes that reduce glare. Pidgeot eyesight is accurate enough to spot prey from over 1km up.

Pidgeot have small beaks and talons and instead use their wings as their primary weapons. Young Pidgey discourage predators by creating small gusts to disorient and kick up sand clouds. As they grow, their pectoral muscles gain significant strength, allowing them to fly at over 2,500 km/hr and create sustained winds of over 200 km/hr. When needed, a Pidgeot can deliver powerful strikes with its wings.

Pidgeotto crests and tails are vibrant yellow and red

HABITAT

Pidgeot are common throughout the Kanto-Johto regions, easily found in trees, grasses, and overhead. Pidgey often remain inland while adult Pidgeot often fly over coastal waters while hunting. Pidgeot are non-migratory and are only rarely seen outside these regions.

Young Pidgey are often found in Kalos near Santalune Forest, though Pidgeotto and Pidgeot are not. The source of these Pidgey is unknown, but there is believed to be a supernatural connection between Santalune Forest and Kanto’s Viridian Forest.

Large crests cause considerable drag but greatly increase their chances of finding trainers or mates.

BEHAVIOR

Pidgeot are birds of prey with preferred diets varying with age.

Young Pidgey search tall grasses for small bugs, which make up the majority of their diet. They frequently hunt Caterpie. Pidgey are timid and otherwise docile, fleeing from perceived threats and flapping their wings to create small sand clouds to cover their escape. Pidgey supplement their diet with nuts, seeds, and berries. 

As they grow, Pidgeotto become more aggressive and more territorial as their need for food increases. A Pidgeotto may travel over 100 km away from its nest in search of larger prey, including Magikarp, Poliwag, Goldeen, Spearow, Rattata, Nidoran, Venonat, and Exeggcute. Though Pidgeotto’s talons do not deal significant damage, their strong grip makes it difficult for prey to escape. Pidgeotto may attack other predatory Pokémon or humans to discourage hunting in its territory. Pidgeotto only willingly share territory with siblings, and mated pairs may nest as far as 20km apart. Nests are built as high as possible to avoid predators, but are frequently vulnerable to Ekans.

Fully mature Pidgeot no longer protect territory, instead hunting almost exclusively over water. Pidgeot primarily hunt Magikarp, Krabby, and Horsea, but will continue to attack smaller prey as convenient. 

Pidgey carrying a letter

INTERACTION WITH HUMANS

Pidgeot have been regularly tamed by humans as long as 10,000 years ago and are frequent companions. In addition to battling, Pidgeot can be trained to deliver mail, assist in hunting and fishing, and serve as aerial mounts for women and children.

Pidgey are considerably easier to train than Pidgeotto or Pidgeot, and most tame Pidgeot are caught while young and raised by humans. Pidgeot raised by humans tend to become stronger and healthier, and thus more successful in the wild. Due to the tendency for Pidgeot to carry mail long distances over Kanto and Johto, wild and tame populations frequently interact, resulting in Pidgeot as a species only being partially domesticated. This has resulted in wild populations gaining traits considered desirable by humans, such as larger crests, brighter feathers, and reduced wariness that may be disadvantageous in the wild but increase their chances of being captured by a Trainer. 

Pidgeot raised among humans are often cheerful and friendly

MUTATIONS

Pidgeot can mega evolve into Mega Pidgeot with the Pidgeotite. In addition to increased size and strength, Mega Pidgeot gains blue feathers at the end of its wings and tail. 

NOTABLE PIDGEOT

Trainer Blue of Pallet Town, leader of Alola’s Battle tree, used a Pidgeot in his 1996 Indigo League victory.

Trainer Ethan of New Bark Town used a Pidgeot in his 1999 Indigo League victory.

The Church of Helix venerates a Pidgeot, “Jss,” as a holy figure, believed to be sent by their god to be their savior.

Hamigakimomo’s carving of Jss.

#Pidgey #Pidgeotto #Pidgeot #Kanto #Johto

[pokemonbiologyirlthetabletop]

Magikarp & Gyarados

Magikarp (#129)

Serpiscis miserabilis

General Information: Magikarp is a fish-like Pokémon often seen in many bodies of water. They average in at 2’11 feet long (0.9 M), and 22 pounds (10 kg).

Habitat: Magikarp are actually native to the Old World (and the world’s oceans), found in any body of water large enough to support their diets. With that said, Magikarp were introduced to the New World’s interior water bodies during the Columbian Exchange. Magikarp are not considered invasive, but Gyarados are! Magikarp and Feebas are some of the few fish Pokémon who can naturally thrive in both freshwater and saltwater for extended lengths of time. Additionally, Magikarp and Gyarados are extremely tolerant of pollution.

Life Cycles: The thing is, Magikarp seem like they’d be simple Pokémon, right? Simple behaviors, simple life cycles, all that. Nope. Now, in the wild in general Magikarp are not typically the ones who reproduce because they often evolve into Gyarados before the next breeding season occurs. But, this isn’t true for all Magikarp, as researchers have discovered remote locations where schools of Magikarp will swim upstream and lay their eggs, then return to the ocean. Some Magikarp have even been recorded returning to these sites multiple years in a row! Clutches are typically between 500 and 750 eggs per season. When is the breeding season? Who knows! Different populations of Magikarp seem to have different social patterns on breeding, though there does seem to be a general preference for the breeding season to be in the winter for ocean-bound populations, and spring for the lake-bound. And the number of breeding seasons varies from once or twice a year, depending on the climate and resources available.

Magikarp are predated upon by any predator big enough to eat it, especially Pidgeot, but with the stark exception of Gyarados. Frillish, Jellicent, Tentracruel, and Sharpedo are common ocean predators.

Behavior: Magikarp are highly social Pokémon, and need other Pokémon around to make it happy. Perhaps consider a Feebas for a friend? Magikarp are overwhelmingly good, docile, and relatively harmless Pokémon, who make excellent companions (if incredibly weak) who will love their trainer dearly if treated right!

Diet: Algae, whatever floats into its mouth. Trainers, you can give your Magikarp standard fish Pokémon food and it’ll be quite happy with that.

Conservation: Least Concern

Relationship with Humans: Magikarp and Gyarados have a long and complicated history with humans. Magikarp are treated as food sources (well, not good food sources), pets, nuisances, jumping athletes, and harmless. They are incredibly common in urban water bodies, in large part due to humans bringing them there on purpose. Most urbanites like Magikarp, having the same charm as pigeons (affectionately) but this does mean there are many who dislike Magikarp for no particular reason except that they exist. The Evolutionary family of Magikarp is under much scientific research due to their intrigue, their mystery, and their extreme prevalence to humans, and they make great test subjects in experiments.

There is also a long history of Magikarp domestication, particularly from East Asia, which results in there being many color variants available from breeders

Color Variants: There are canonically 32 color variants of Magikarp + its shiny form (according to Magikarp Jump) and this holds true in this universe. What makes a shiny form different? There’s literally some magical property to shiny Pokémon that causes them to sparkle when they attack or come out of a Pokéball, while color variants are just that, a color variant. Importantly, these variants only exist in domesticated stock, not wild ones, and in the wild these variants tend to be naturally selected against by predators (because they can be singled out in a school). Wild-caught Magikarp will near-invariably look like the Standard pattern.

Note: Whether or not these color variants translate into the Gyarados having variant patterning, is up to the player or Game Master

Classification: Magikarp is in the genus Serpiscis alongside its closest relative, Feebas. For reasons that are unknown to science, Magikarp is natively found in the Old World and Feebas in the New World, but both can be found in the ocean.

Gyarados (#130)

Serpiscis feroces

General Information: Gyarados is a water and flying type Pokémon, known as the Atrocious Pokémon. It’s scales are as hard as steel and its fangs are said to be able to crush stone. When they evolve from Magikarp, something changes in their brain chemistry that triggers aggression and violence, and their rampages have been known to last for up to a month.

Gyarados can Mega Evolve! Mega Gyarados is a Water/Dark type. Both average in at 21’04 feet (6.5 M) tall, and regular Gyarados weighs about 518.1 pounds (235 kg), and Mega Gyarados weighs about 672.4 pounds (305 kg).

Habitat: Magikarp may not be considered invasive, but Gyarados sure are! Well, sort of. They used to be more invasive than they are, but Gyarados have begun to naturalize to the New World, though local and federal agencies will still relocate troublesome ones to the ocean.

Life Cycles: Researchers believe that Gyarados are typically the ones who reproduce in the wild, if nothing else because of numbers. Gyarados lay clutches of Magikarp eggs close to the 1000s each breeding season, and they are in fact actually quite protective of Magikarp. Truly dedicated researchers have found that Gyarados will defend their babies from predators for at least a couple of weeks after hatching. But as different populations have different social patterns on breeding and reproduction, Gyarados are surprisingly enigmatic creatures.

Behavior: Gyarados are extremely temperamental creatures. If a trainer raised it right as a Magikarp (or otherwise won over a wild Gyarados’s loyalty, somehow), then congratulations you have a loving and overly protective sea serpent as your companion! If not, then look out because they will try to hurt you. Wild ones especially are known for being extremely dangerous, not at all helped by the fact that they like to live in herds (also called storms). Like Magikarp, they are highly social Pokémon who benefit greatly for the company of others.

Diet: Gyarados are carnivores that eat other fish.

Conservation: Least Concern

Relationship with Humans: Gyarados’s relationship with humans is not as benign as Magikarp’s. They have historically been treated as dangerous since even ancient times (old cave paintings depict their rampages), on top of being a nuisance, great companions, and sometimes even revered as the deity of destruction. Many legends surround Gyarados, almost exclusively surrounding its violent nature and the forbearance of doom and destruction should they appear. Mega Gyarados is even worse.

In modern times, the prevalence of Magikarps in urban areas does mean that occasionally one of those Magikarp will evolve into a Gyarados in the middle of a big city, like Chicago, and the local Taskforce has to come in and handle it. Urban Gyarados evolutions are an infrequent but persistent danger to urban environments, but they can only really be handled as they occur.

Classification: Gyarados is mostly closely related to Milotic and Feebas, and are members of the O/M/G clade.

#magikarp #gyarados #omg clade #pokemon #pokemon biology irl #pokemon biology #pokemon biology irl tabletop #pokemon biology tabletop #pokemon tabletop #tabletop #homebrew #tabletop homebrew #ttrpg #pokemon gen 1 #Pokemon Red and Blue #Pokemon Red and Green #Pokemon Yellow #Pokemon Scarlet and Violet #Gen 1 #Gen 1 pokemon

[taibhsearachd]

Christ, my unfortunate fascination with the Tartaria/mudflood weirdos has led to The Algorithm granting me knowledge of a forum where people talk about the Mandela Effect, with absolute credulity, and I just...

People who are like "oh, well, I never heard of these animals existing before, so they must be new to this timeline". Said animals include extreme pouter pigeons (A DOMESTIC, HUMAN-DIRECTED CREATURE), muntjac (you know, those weird Asian deer with the inflatable pouches below their eyes), and... saltwater crocodiles? Idk man.

People unironically going "wow, in my timeline, Betty White died in late 2022", as if they couldn't have misremembered the year that happened or the sequence of events. In my timeline no one knew where the Moai came from. In my timeline Pikachu has a black tail tip, and this AI-generated image is "residue" of the timeline shift.

Just a lot of incurious or forgetful people who assume their lack of knowledge or forgetfulness of facts and world events means THE WORLD MUST HAVE CHANGED, because their perception and memory certainly can't be wrong. The level of solipsism is honestly scary to me. Can you really not understand that sometimes your brain will produce thoughts or even memories that are just... not true? No, they had to be true in SOME TIMELINE, so they're a dimensional transfer from a place where they were right. It's honestly freaked me out more than any flat earth or alternate history conspiracy theory I've ever come across, and I feel like I'm having trouble articulating why.

[revols-headcanons]

kageyama tobio

he listens to american rock music from time to time. he finds the guitar strumming comfortable.

oikawa and iwaizumi were his gay awakening unfortunately.

he has a pet bird named zinc who he is incredibly protective over. zinc is the only animal that appreciates him for him.

he is autistic and has a hard time expressing and identifying emotions and societal connotations. his comfort food is yogurt and his special interest is volleyball.

he knows the piano (not by choice) and he has a decent singing voice.

hinata was the first friend he made who actually wanted him to speak about himself.

songs he relates to: anti hero, vigilante shit, all of reputation by taylor swift, mary on a cross, nobody, first love/late spring, francis forever, goodbye my danish sweetheart, class of 2013, and liquid smooth.

he is dense academically, but knows everything about volleyball (duh) and also a lot about birds. he has actively ranted about the domestication of pigeons and how humans have ruined that bird species to tsukishima and yachi before. his favorite types of birds are cardinals and blue jays.

one year, he ate only yogurt for breakfast and miwa had to sit him down and be like “plz get a good diet.” it worked only bc the reasoning she used was “it will help you with volleyball.” he still eats yogurt everyday, but he makes sure to eat eggs or something before yogurt each morning.

he did ballet for 3 years because miwa convinced him that it would help with his footing in volleyball.

he’s better with math than history, english, japanese, and science because the latter courses tend to phrase questions in the most confusing ways possible while math usually is just numbers.

his favorite animated movies are corpse bride, coraline, and ponyo.

#kageyama tobio #haikyuu #tobio kageyama #haikyu #haikyuu!! headcanons #haikyū!! #haikyuu!! #haikyuu headcanons #haikyu headcanons #you can tear autistic tobio from my cold dead hands and I will still fist fight u in hell over this fact #i used purple bc the blue is too oikawa-y for him

[megacross-ground-zero-rated-r]

Do you guys think Nick likes pigeons or does he think they're rats with wings? I say he loves the common birds, sparrows and robins, and corvids 'cause they're eerily smart.

Piper likes pigeons, she definitely knows all about the history tied to their domestication and abandonment. Corvids kinda freak her out, she doesn't like the thought of their human-like intelligence.

#nick valentine #piper wright #birds #fallout 4

[swede1952]

Rock Dove

This rock pigeon (Columba livia) was scouting out the backyard, they do that you know. These birds are around every day, but the colder it gets, the fewer I see. This photo is slightly out of focus, but I like it anyway. I won't be adding it to my gallery on pixels.com.

"Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets and Egyptian hieroglyphics suggest that pigeons were domesticated more than 5,000 years ago. The birds have such a long history with humans that it's impossible to tell where the species' original range was." - allaboutbirds.org

@birdcounter

#photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #bird #birdwatching #birdphotography #pigeon #dove #birds #birdsphotography #birds of north america #birdlovers #birds nature #rock pigeon #rock doves #backyard birds #birdingphotography #birding #bird watching #bird photography

[saltminerising]

Actually yes more animal apparel. Chickens and rabbits and pigeons all deserve as much love as cats and dogs got because they’re long term domestics that have helped mankind through history. Especially pigeons because they’re demonized in the west when they actually have a tragic story of betrayal

#apparel #frd

[mixotrophics]

cities aren’t ecological dead zones. they can totally be Horrible(tm) for critters of all kinds incl. human beings. However they are not Dead per se, just New, and Weird, and Interesting, and they Have a lot going on and Can’t be written off because they’re huge and everywhere.

(Humans are troglofauna, cave critters, we live aboveground but we love caves. Thusly we make “homes” and they are mimetic of the Cave and our building edifices are mimetic of rocks and crags)

^ isle of Skye, rocky cliffs :)

Cities are rocks and crags and their layout (tall buildings, hard ground (concrete), hard surfaces in general, roads that are wind funnels, high amounts of energy inputs) is like a rocky cliffs area. As such, rocky cliffs animals live in cities. City pigeons are rock doves, they live on rocky islands usually. Peregrines, cliff-nesters, like to nest on tall things like church steeples, though theyre not so common as pigeons as pigeons were pets that were transported around the world on purpose. (Peregrines, where they live, love the Tall buildings, for example in Norwich upon the cathedral spire there’s a peregrine, she keeps nesting there, if you go near to it and see the Hawk and Owl ornithologists sitting there, they may have a camera looking at her babies!)

NORWICH CATHEDRAL PEREGRINE NEST FOOTAGE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6zavQvU9wc They have a livestream on their web site. May or may not be up becos they do not nest 24/7.

Norwich Cathedral Peregrine photographed by @ PeregrineSkip on twitter

Another from @ PeregrineSkip thats making me lose my mind because its a gull trying to yoink a pigeon from a peregrine. Its also great because all three of these critters have had their ranges go all funky from cities (rock roosting + domesticated pigeon, cliff nesting peregrine, opportunist scavenger gulls)

Because of a general Lack of water and plants and such, and the cars and engines and Bodies, and heated buildings, the meteorology gets messy. Cities are warmer and than surrounding areas. This is the Urban Heat Island effect. Some species may use these heat islands to overwinter.

Cities are also very disturbed. Nothing can rest, really. Gardens are pruned and dug. Lots are built up and broken down. we step on things. et cetera. BUT ALSO very undisturbed, because sometimes humans take a liking to a woodland or something in/next to their city, and protect it from damage incl. disturbance that would be good for it to endure, actually.

^^ for example this swag habitat (dunes) gets Devoured by plants like gorse & trees (and becomes a shrubland/forest) if it is protected too much, as regular trampling is what kills the gorse & gives the dune plants space to exist. Some places are encouraging pedestrian to walk on dunes, some places are grazing cattle, some (I’ve worked on a place that did this) get diggers and just rip up all the plants down to bare sand.

Anyways in cities: What you get is a very specific environment. Rocky, hot, disturbed and also not, full of people. Some critters love this. hence cities are full of rats, pigeons, similar. And in the case of rats, pigeons, bradford pear, etc, we move species to cities (on accident, on purpose). Ultimately, you get something weird:

Globally, city “biomes” in different locations (VASTLY far apart) are way more similar than comparable biomes of the same distance (in technical terms: lower β diversity). City biota tends to be native species that like city biome characteristics + imported nonnative species. and AND (at least in plants) the profile of “imported nonnative species” that cause cities to be more similar are European ones, carrying a reminder of colonial history. (note that cities in different geographical areas still do have distinct and unique organisms)

,, However, some argue that extirpating some/all of invasives from cities isn’t worthwhile firstly because getting rid of invasives is hard, but secondly because we NEED to interact with plants and animals and the like. We are part of nature and it is part of us. It is good for our mental and physical health, and access to green spaces is overwhelmingly unequal (due to placement in wealthy/white areas, needing to drive there, needing to pay for entry, Not Allowing Gardening bc of HOAs and other control measures, poor & marginalised folks simply not having the time due to working multiple jobs...) that getting rid of things that Can and Do find their niche in cities without systemic changes that fucking Do Something about unequal access to nature would b worsening it.

On the flip side because of fabricated consumerist desire, people upset ecosystems. For example a lot of invasives which Thrive in gardens (which were planted because they’re pretty and usually typical European garden plants) are getting into threatened longleaf pine savannah, and they can’t get in there if there are wildfires with decent frequency.

remember any effects that negatively impact ecologies are not inherent to humanity & are driven by ceos with names and addresses (directly and indirectly) :]c

Anyways cities have a lot to unpack and im not going in depth with anything ive brought up here really but I enjoy pondering them.

#urban ecology #city #ecology #conservation #environmental racism #environmental classism #invasive species #peregrine falcon #biology #zoology #botany #miaow #this may b incomprehensible. and also the tone may read weird and i apologise.

[anotherfagontheinternet]

i’ve been reading a book about the history of pigeons around the world and i cry every time the author mentions:

-how pigeons were our most loyal friends

-saved lives during wwii

-will always return home

-were hunted to extinction in the case of the passenger pigeon

-mate for life

-are gentle and loving towards their human friends

i just get

so emotional about them. people hate them so much and we’re the ones who domesticated and loved them first 😭

#pigeons #i love pigeons so much

[calcified-panglin]

So I bein' the fool I am & somewhat inspired by @prommytheus I was lookin' for ways to own a pigeon in the UK. As one does.

Haven't found much luck outside race or show pigeons but there's ONE particular tidbit I found. On the Wiki article for "Domestic Pigeons";

Aaand the full Wiki article on THAT topic here;

I'm not gettin' over that term.

Fancy Pigeons

Pigeons bred to be fancy and basically - aside from the aforementioned races - nothin' else. Some are even bred purely for their kind of voice.

They do have a history of being pets, so I'll have to look into that one.

#helgi's bone stash