Postal workers attacked by wild turkeys

While rain and snow may not deter the postal service, wild turkeys are a bird of a different feather.

Mara Wilhite, manager of the Hilldale Station Post Office, said wild turkeys have been pestering postal delivery workers in Parkwood Hills, a neighborhood on Madison 's West Side near Owen Conservation Park and home to a number of the large birds.

Between five and 10 large male turkeys, or toms -- apparently a little giddy with the onset of turkey breeding season -- have been bullying postal workers as they make their rounds, pecking at them and even trying to rough them up with the sharp spurs on their legs. One of the birds launched itself through the open door of a mail truck and scratched the driver.

Eric Lobner, regional wildlife program supervisor for the state Department of Natural Resources, is on the case, investigating the turkey gang...

--Madison.com

Lovesick swan to be reunited with her paddleboat

Petra the swan has a new home and so does her beloved swan-shaped paddleboat.

In 2006, Petra, a black swan, became so attached to the boat — shaped like an outsized white swan — that she refused to leave its side at a lake near a zoo in the German city of Muenster.

Petra and her paddleboat were taken to the zoo.

Zoo officials finally parted bird and boat last week after Petra settled down with a real white swan and the boat was returned to the lake. But the romance was short-lived. The zoo says that, on Saturday, her new beau flew off and sought out the company of other black swans...

--USA Today

Waterfowl wage genital warfare

A sexual arms race waged with twisted genitals has been discovered in waterfowl.

The genitalia of the females of these species have at times apparently evolved to make it harder for males to successfully impregnate them, according to new findings that shed light on the eternal war of the sexes.

Most birds lack phalluses, organs like human penises. Waterfowl are among the just 3 percent of all living bird species that retain the grooved phallus found in their reptilian ancestors.

Male waterfowl are especially unusual in that their phallus length varies greatly among different species, ranging from a half-inch to more than 15 inches long. They also display a remarkable level of diversity how elaborate they are, ranging from smooth to covered with spines and grooves.

Scientists had speculated that male waterfowl evolved longer phalluses to give them a competitive edge over those not as well-endowed when it came to successfully fertilizing females...

--MSNBC

Swan's true love waits at the docks

MUNSTER, March 31 (UPI) -- It looks like it will be another long summer for a swan smitten with a pedal boat in northern Germany.

The lovestruck swan known as Black Petra by the locals around Aasee was apparently "imprinted" with the boat, which is shaped like a swan, and spent last summer swooning after it to the delight of visitors.

Scientists said poor Petra apparently bonded to the first moving object she saw upon hatching, which turned out to be the bobbing boat rather than her mother...

--UPI