Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2020 August 27

= August 27 =

Why do snails come out when it's raining?
I'd guess it's because they evolved from marine molluscs, and they would lose too much water under the sun, another possibility is that there's less predators in the rain. --TZubiri (talk) 03:05, 27 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Some species of snail cannot breath underwater. manya (talk) 04:21, 27 August 2020 (UTC)
 * The Land snail article states that they lay eggs, by digging into soil when it is moist. It would be easier to dig into moist soil, versus dry soil Tribe of Tiger Let's Purrfect!  04:51, 27 August 2020 (UTC)
 * This page, although an enthusiast's website (rather than a scientific study), has a bit of info about snail dormancy during dry conditions. Our article on aestivation also covers this behaviour. PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 07:08, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

What's a top of the field cite count or h-index for a climatologist who's 36, 46, 56 and 66 years old?
Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 04:28, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

Is there a documentation for pegion brood house sparrow?
Is there a documentation for pigeon brood house sparrow or vice versa - in nature? --ThePupil (talk) 12:11, 27 August 2020 (UTC)


 * Are you asking whether pigeons have ever brooded house sparrows (or vice versa) in the manner of, say, cuckoos and their infamous brood parasitism? They're not mentioned at List of brood parasitic passerines, though that list is obviously terribly incomplete. Some basic googling didn't turn up much. If you're asking whether it's possible to do, from the POV of raising orphaned chicks, it likely is with human intervention. I'm just basing that on how successful brood parasitism generally is, though. Matt Deres (talk) 19:44, 27 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Thank you. Basically I forgot to add two important words: in nature. I'm not necessarily talking about brood parasite which is usually refer to those who do it as a method. But I thought maybe it's possible to see a pigeon broods house sparrow eggs (not because the house sparrow is lazy like cuckoos, but because the pigeon found it without its parents for example). --ThePupil (talk) 05:40, 28 August 2020 (UTC)
 * It's impossible. Pigeons nest on cliffs and buildings and wouldn't even be able to access a sparrow's nest, which are generally hidden in trees or under eaves. Even if it chanced upon a sparrow chick it would have no interest in it. Even if someone put a sparrow's egg in with a pigeon it would probably just throw it out.--Shantavira|feed me 07:41, 28 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Feral pigeons and their wild progenitors nest on cliffs and buildings, but that is not true of all other species of pigeon (e.g. Common wood pigeon). Whether a pigeon would incubate a sparrow's egg deposited in its nest by a sparrow or a human is a testable empirical question; I don't think it is helpful just to state your expectation about the outcome without evidence. As the cuckoo demonstrates, birds can be surprisingly "dumb" about rejecting eggs that look to us obviously not theirs. You will find lots of internet hits for eggs of geese and other domesticated birds being successfully brooded under hens. This summary lists studies where scientist-introduced eggs were even reared to fledging by other species in the wild. But these involved much more closely related species than sparrows and pigeons; pigeons feed their chicks a "milk" from their crop, not the diet that young sparrows need. Jmchutchinson (talk) 19:59, 28 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Thank you @Jmchutchinson. It seems it's more likely to see streptopelia broods pigeons eggs (or vice versa). Is there evidence for this thing? --ThePupil (talk) 09:58, 30 August 2020 (UTC)
 * It works in captivity. Here's a quote from . "There are some species such as the Bleeding-heart Pigeon, that are difficult to breed or may abandon their eggs or hatchlings. In this case you can often successfully foster the eggs or young to other birds that are not so particular about breeding and are good parents. This can work if the eggs or hatchlings are within 4 or 5 days of the foster parents own. You must also be sure they eat a similar diet and that they are similar in size. Some very good foster parents include the Barbary Dove, Diamond Dove, Senegal Dove, Spotted Dove and some of the fancy pigeons."
 * In the wild, many species of birds, including some pigeons and doves "egg dump", which means occasionally laying eggs in the nest of another pair. Usually this is intraspecific, but it does not seem completely implausible that very occasionally a mother makes a mistake and dumps an egg in the nest of the wrong species. Jmchutchinson (talk) 12:36, 30 August 2020 (UTC)