| The Magazine of the CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES |
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Letters to the Editor Two's company... I love your magazine. Not only are your articles timely and well-written, but the whole magazine is a treasure of useful stuff about California. I often turn first to the Naturalist's Almanac, where I frequently find tidbits of interesting information that I enjoy using in my teaching and writing. In your Winter 2002 issues, however, I found a factoid that is not quite correct. The Yellow-billed Magpie is not the only bird found solely in California. California has two endemic species of bird that I know of. The other is the Island Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma insularis. Not only is the Island Scrub Jay unique to California, but it is found only on Santa Cruz Island, a single island endemic. Allan Schoenherr Pendulum As a member of the California Academy of Sciences, I was deeply disturbed to hear that the Academy is considering the possibility of discarding the Foucault Pendulum. While I realize there are space issues given the recent fire and the upcoming renovation, removing the pendulum would be a grave mistake for both the Academy and its visitors (particularly young people). Not only is the pendulum interesting and fun to watch (and it always seems to generate a crowd of people), it educates people about the rotation of Earth on its polar axis and the Coriolis force. Earth's rotation is vital to maintaining an even distribution of solar energy over the entire Earth, which is absolutely vital to the maintenance of life on our precious planet. In other words, if Earth didn't rotate on its axis, there would be no life on the surface. So there is a profound connection between the pendulum and the life sciences. The Foucault Pendulum is not only a beautiful instrument, it also demonstrates important and interesting scientific principles. Please include it in your museum when you finish the renovations. Robert Naeye Baptista I was dismayed to learn Luis Baptista had died. He was such an amazing character. One time while walking in front of the Academy I spotted Luis looking like a character from Star Wars, wearing his pith-helmet and head phones while carrying his clear acrylic parabolic ray-gun microphone. Of course, I had to see what he was up to. He whispered that he had been watching Joe and Mary, two white-crowned sparrows and Mary's other boyfriend, Harry. He pursed his lips and started whistling and chattering in Sparrowese and little Mary started looking very amorous, preening herself. Then he said that he had a tape of Harry, which makes Joe very upset. When he clicked on his Nagra recorder I noticed Joe's feathers bristling. The little bird, swaying from side-to-side, appeared twice it's normal size. With his mischievous grin, Luis turned to me and said that it could be dangerous doing this! Suddenly, the little bird bounded from its perch and came rocketing right toward our faces. We both hit the ground! Every moment spent with Luis was an adventure. Kevin O'Farrell Errata The photo of Luis Baptista holding a white-crowned sparrow published in the Fall 2001 should have been attributed to Andrea Jesse. The photograph of Baptista at Point Reyes should have been credited to Pepper Trail. The editors regret the errors. |