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<p>BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — What began as bizarre bird behavior has turned into something out of a horror film for threatened whales in Argentina, where seagulls have learned that pecking at the whales' backs can get them a regular seafood dinner.</p>

The attacks around Peninsula Valdes were first noted about 35 years ago but systematic studies have only recently begun. The proportion of whales attacked annually has soared from 1% in 1974 to 78% today.

Nobel prizewinner took short cuts to show that the way gulls feed is instinctive. Herring gull chicks instinctively peck at red spots on their parents' bills to beg for food.Imagebroker / Alamy One of the most famous experiments in biology isn't the solid piece of work it's usually portrayed as, say Dutch researchers who have replicated the study. Instead, it's more like an anecdote that became slightly more legendary each time its author retold the story.The work in question was done in 1947 by the Dutch researcher Niko Tinbergen on the begging behaviour of herring-gull chicks. At the time, the...

Once I got done aggravating pinheaded rentacops I did take a few pictures! BTW, you can't take a camera into a Social Security office either. It's on the list with Swiss Army knives and cellphones.

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — A rare gull that apparently tried to eat a couple's ice cream was euthanized after the man beat the bird with a stick. Dragan Djuric, 50, of Wichita, Kansas, and his wife were eating ice cream New Year's Eve on the boardwalk at Main Beach when a flock of birds attacked them, Laguna Beach police Sgt. Jeff Calvert said. One bird hit Djuric's wife in the head and tried to take the ice cream. Djuric was defecated on. The couple dropped the frozen food and Djuric began hitting the birds with a stick, Calvert said. One...

In the summer of 2004 I woke up one night, couldn't go back to sleep, rode out to Walmart, and bought a new camera. It was an Olympus C4000Z, only 4MP, but twice as big as the little Kodak I had. The auto focus was super, auto exposure and white balance were excellent, I took 10s of thousands of pics with it. It is still going, I passed it on to a beginner, no point in keeping it in a drawer. These pics are from November, 2004.

High-rise window washer Christopher Guay spent 20 hours in jail waiting for his wife to raise the $1,040 the state demanded to free him after he struck and killed a sea gull he says repeatedly dive-bombed at him as he was attempting to clean office windows. Speaking exclusively to the Herald, Guay, 40 - who shares a home with his wife, 14 finches, two parakeets and several other species of birds - said he now fears the job he loves, hanging high above the Hub, is in jeopardy thanks to an overzealous MSPCA police officer. [...] He will be arraigned...

Nothing spoils a day at the beach like these two dreaded words: swim ban. Summer only officially started last week, and the Chicago Park District already has hoisted the red flag that renders beaches off limits for swimming 23 times. Trying to pinpoint the source of these bans often turns into an environmental whodunit. We know the weapon is E. coli, bacteria that are typically harmless but serve as a clue that fecal contamination — and the disease-causing microorganisms that go along with it — might be lurking nearby. When E. coli levels get too high, the "No Swimming" signs...