On 12/20/23 07:58, John Harshman wrote:
On 12/20/23 6:56 AM, Trolidan7 wrote:
On 12/19/23 15:40, John Harshman wrote:
On 12/19/23 3:19 PM, Peter Nyikos wrote:
Bing keeps changing my "wallpaper" [a.k.a. screen saver] every few
days.
One of them linked to a short message accompanied by a photo of the
bird
perched on the head of one of the hippos. It's about a symbiosis whose >>>> fitness benefits, in comparison with possible competitors, is easily
seen.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=united+nations+international+friendship+day&filters=BTEPKey:%22Encyclo_HPBS_20200730_0700%22+IsConversation:%22true%22&trivia=1&form=BTCAR4&crslsl=0&first=1
International Day of Friendship
Who better to embody the spirit of International Friendship Day than
these two buddies of different species? Here in Zimbabwe's Mana
Pools National Park, the hamerkop,
a wading bird, catches a ride from a hippo into deeper waters, where
it can access fish and insects it otherwise couldn't reach.
In 2011, the United Nations declared July 30 as International
Friendship Day, but individual countries have long set aside various
dates to celebrate that special bond
between friends. In India and parts of South America, Friendship Day
is more widely celebrated than here in the United States. And how
does one celebrate this day?
It can be as simple as letting your pals know that you appreciate
their friendship, no matter where they happen to be, either
physically or in the biological taxonomy.
I've seen many other birds perching on hippos, though never a
hamerkop. Cattle egrets, squacco herons, oxpeckers, and possibly (if
I'm remembering right) a goliath heron.
What does the word 'seen' mean to you?
You know, using eyes to sense one's surroundings.
Well you know, if there is a television set or
video monitor in one's surroundings, some times
some people confuse the images on the monitor
or set with the actual surroundings. Just
double checking.
Have you been to Africa before?
Yes.
If so how often?
Just the once, to Botswana. Plenty of hippos in the Okavango Delta and
the Chobe area.
Around here, friendship between coyotes and badgers is well-known.
There are videos if you google a bit.
[end of caption]
The last two words may read like a *non* *sequitur*, but they are
right down our alley
here in sci.bio.paleontology.
Peter Nyikos
Professor, Dept. of Mathematics -- standard disclaimer--
University of South Carolina
https://people.math.sc.edu/nyikos
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)