GrrlScientist: Since today is “Caturday”, I had to share some videos of one of my favourite birds in the world, the diminutive budgerigar named Disco. And because Disco is such a talented mimic, this gives me the opportunity to share the evolutionary reasons why pet parrots mimic people.

GrrlScientist: This week’s books include three scholarly works: one examines the language of science and how it changed from Latin to English; another probes the rise of online universities; and a third discusses the use of Victorian fairy-tales to communicate science to public.

GrrlScientist: Plants capture sunlight and turn it into starch. Scientists are now adapting the photosynthetic process to improve the way we harness solar energy

GrrlScientist: Citizen science is getting a lot of attention these days, which might make you think it is a new social phenomenon. But in fact, nothing is further from the truth: citizen science has been around much longer than any of us.

GrrlScientist: What can be done to increase the numbers of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- the so-called STEM fields? The Royal Society explores this very question in today’s video, which features physicist Dame Athene Donald FRS and cognitive neuroscientist Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore.

GrrlScientist: Today’s “Caturday” video features a large flock of starlings -- a murmuration -- performing their spectacular aerial ballet in the sky over Utrecht, Netherlands. This is likely one of the last such performances until November, so catch it while you can!

GrrlScientist: The first issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society was published 350 years ago today, and established a new model for publishing scientific, medical, academic and scholarly research.

GrrlScientist: Black bird watchers are rare birds themselves, and there are special rules that the black birder must observe to remain safe when out in the field chasing rare birds.

GrrlScientist: Today’s “Museum Monday” video shows how museums are central to the process of shedding new light upon the relationships within the avian Tree of Life.

GrrlScientist: A time-lapse video focuses on a room filled with cats, all of whom are determined to sleep in a narrow sunbeam as it moves across the floor.

GrrlScientist: This week, I share my thoughts about two new books; one that argues for a radical new history of life on Earth, and the other is a newly revised field guide to diving in Antarctica

Octopus versus crab. On land. Who will win? This may be the first time this remarkable octopus behaviour has been captured on video

GrrlScientist: Instead of travelling to remote locations in faraway countries, scientists sometimes discover a new species by looking a little more closely at an old specimen in a museum drawer.

Grrlscientist: A single-celled organism will perform a piano duet with a computer musician at Plymouth University on 1 March 2015. The public is invited

GrrlScientist: How do you preserve a fish so researchers can study it for hundreds of years into the future? This video shows six different methods used by the American Museum of Natural history to preserve its coelacanth specimens for research.

GrrlScientist: This week, I share three books with you; a compelling and engaging exploration of what nature does for Britain, a witty look at the many weird, wonderful and enchanting members of the animal kingdom, and a short history Fairy Tales.

GrrlScientist: A recent study by a research team in Scotland reveals that birds intentionally choose colour-matching materials to camouflage their nests thereby reducing predation risk.

GrrlScientist: Helping you observe “Caturday” and to help you get into the proper mood for the weekend, I must share some short videos of pandas doing what I wish I could do right now: enjoy the snow.

GrrlScientist: This week, I share two books with you; a readable collection of essays written by the foremost authorities in neuroscience about the future of the brain, and a lovely book of poetry and art that captures the spirit of an urban natural area.

GrrlScientist: A rare half male and half female – “halfsider” – bird won the intertööbz over the holidays. This unusual bird is comprised of two genetically distinct individuals – twins – fused into one being. But what is it like to be such an individual? A recently published paper shares observations of the behaviour and social life of one such bird living in the wild