Monday, July 13, 2009

Baby Birds - Photos and Story

Baby vertebrates -- from primates to puppies and geese to geckos -- often look quite different from adults, if only because they have different body proportions. In humans, for example, the ratio of head height to body height is about 1:6, while in neonates the ratio is 1:4; this gives the baby human -- or that just-hatched lizard -- a big-headed look that may evoke an instinctive paternal response.

In other words, adults think baby animals are "cute." Baby birds are also quite different in appearance from their parents, whether it be precocial (ready-to-swim) Wood Ducklings that hatch covered with soft, fluffy down or altricial Eastern Bluebirds coming out of the egg helpless and completely naked. View great photos of baby birds at Hilton Pond along with the article.

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