■UNITED STATES
Toucan’s bill a cool feature
The toucan’s large, colorful bill turns out to be a radiator the rain forest dweller uses to lose body heat. The bill of the Toco Toucan makes up about one-third of its body length and ornithologists have long wondered about the purpose for the appendage. Could it be a sexual signal, some ask? Maybe a special adaptation to peel fruit, suggest food experts. Perhaps, the defense-minded say, a weapon. Or, at least, a visual warning to other toucans. Researchers led by Glenn Tattersall of Brock University in St Catharines, Ontario, Canada, wondered if the big beak might have yet another use — cooling. After all, elephants use their ears for cooling. The researchers photographed the birds with heat-sensing cameras. They found that “the toucan’s bill is capable of acting as a thermal radiator of body heat,” Tattersall said.
■UNITED STATES
Evangelist in sex trial
Jurors have resumed deliberating the child-sex charges against jailed evangelist Tony Alamo for a second day. They arrived on Friday morning at the Texarkana, Arkansas, federal courthouse where they have already spent eight hours discussing the 10-count federal indictment against the 74-year-old Alamo. Jurors have paused twice to ask the judge questions. Prosecutors allege Alamo took five underage girls across state lines for sex as far back as 1994. They claim one was as young as nine and was “married” to the evangelist. Defense attorneys say the girls traveled on legitimate business for Alamo’s ministry, which espouses an apocalyptic form of Christianity.
RSS