The Jules Pump
the Pump with Jules is an ornithological novel (published in 1999) of Michel Mouze. He tells the memories of a fawn-coloured Vautour .
This book was republished in 2002 pennies the title Of the Wind in the feathers .
The author
Michel Mouze is a biologist born on May 14th, 1945.
The book
The author meets a fawn-coloured vulture, Julio, and this one tells him its life, in particular the reintroduction of sound
species in the Grands Causses (
Massif Central), in France.
There are many scientific anecdotes in this book on various subjects:
There are many comparisons between the flight of the vultures and the
Gliding the fawn-coloured vulture needs ascending drafts to be able to fly. As the majority of these currents occur only day, the fawn-coloured vultures do not steal during the night. (NB: more scientifically, the ascent S thermics disappear the night; on the other hand the dynamic ascents exist of day and night, but occur only at certain particular points of the Relief) a couple of fawn-coloured vulture raises only one small per annum; their nest is made on the side of a cliff It is a bird Charognard, not very quarrelsome; there is not dominating on their premises: when there is carrion to be divided, it is most famished which serves the first and drives out the others. It is one of the rare birds to eat grass; this type of food imposes very awkward constraints for a bird which flies, but for the geese which migrate, that enables them to accumulate a layer of grease which is quite useful for them during the migration it raises 1 to 2 small at the same time; if the couple of parents does not find enough preys, the elder one of let us oisillons devours his/her little brother - Archeopteryx, the ancestor of the birds
- the Bec
-
this structure was selected by evolution to replace the teeth in the birds (chapter 11): a bird with teeth would be unbalanced by the weight of the teeth, whereas a nozzle is an at the same time light and hard structure. Certain birds introduce stones to crush their food. the nozzle indicates the type of food of an electric bird the electric wires are at the same time of good perches for the birds, but also a source of hecatombs (birds electrocuted S or birds which fall inside an electric pole). Michel Mouze takes a clear and clear position on this subject: the majority of the behaviors of the fawn-coloured vulture concern innate, in particular the training of the vol. the behavior of the birds is very stereotyped (see ethology). the birds enormously spend time to maintain their plumage; it is a question of survival for them. The author quotes some their feathers and their roles: Rémige, Alule (chapter 13) For the large migrating birds , the absence of thermal current to the top of the sea imposes particular constraints. The author evokes in particular the crossing of the Straits of Gibraltar.
Related article
References