This week in birds - #591

 A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment:

The American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week is one of the most handsome of the heron/egret family in my opinion. It is the Black-crowned Night Heron, a bird found in wetlands all over North America.

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There have been shark attacks on humans along the southern coast from Florida to Texas recently.

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My favorite visit to the Houston Museum of Natural Science was when we went to see Lucy, the ancient hominin discovered in Ethiopia fifty years ago, when she was on her world tour. Lucy remains one of the most notable discoveries in human paleontology.

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Homosexuality is not something that exists only in humans; it has been widely observed in animal behavior as well.

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Cave paintings found in Indonesia have been dated to 51,200 years ago, making them the oldest known such paintings.

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Flying hippos? Yes, that is really a thing!

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In order to protect endangered Northern Spotted Owls, California is planning to kill Barred Owls that compete with them.

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A Bronze Age shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea offers clues about life and trade in that era.

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Dugongs are endangered everywhere they exist and that includes around the South Pacific islands.

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California's Jurupa Oak is 13,000 years old and may be facing its greatest peril from modern-day business and housing development.

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The Biden Administration has denied access to a portion of the Alaska wilderness for the purpose of mining and drilling.

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Neuston is the name given to sea creatures that make their home on the ocean's surface and we need to know more about them in order to preserve and protect them. 

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Global warming is a well-known phenomenon but it seems that we are also cooling the planet and that needs to be better understood.

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The fossil of a giant salamander that predates the age of dinosaurs has been found in Namibia.

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Carpenter ants have been observed performing amputations on their wounded members in order to save their lives.

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Burrowing Owls, the only North American raptor that lives underground, are coming in conflict with humans over their housing.

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Orphaned elephants are being returned to a Kenyan sanctuary after being raised by humans.

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Gulls as big as turkeys? Apparently Britain has them. 

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The nonprofit Skydog Ranch and Sanctuary adopts wild mustangs and reunites them with their herds.

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Coastline lights are a danger to small fish, luring them to shallow coastal waters and making them easy targets for predators. 

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Researchers have found that Egyptian scribes suffered work-related injuries.

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Yes, there are veterinarians that specialize in diseases of aquarium fish.

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A fossil bed in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco is yielding new insights into arthropods that lived a half-billion years ago.

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Our Supreme Court in its present makeup has proved itself not a friend of the environment.

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There is evidence that Anglo-Saxon warriors traveled very far afield to fight with other armies.

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Protecting the Peregrine Falcons of Scotland can be a hazardous job.

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Cat tours? In Minneapolis that is a yearly event!

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In California, Diesel the donkey is living his best life with a herd of elk.

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Here are The Guardian's pictures of the week in wildlife.