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53-545: Chicken combs are most commonly red, but may also be black or dark purple in breeds such as the Silkie or the Sebright . In other species the color may vary from light grey to deep blue or red. The comb may be a reliable indicator of health or vigor and is used for mate-assessment in some poultry species. Comb shape varies considerably depending on the breed or species of bird. Of the many types and shapes seen in chicken cocks

106-401: A naturalist or natural historian . Natural history encompasses scientific research but is not limited to it. It involves the systematic study of any category of natural objects or organisms, so while it dates from studies in the ancient Greco-Roman world and the mediaeval Arabic world , through to European Renaissance naturalists working in near isolation, today's natural history

159-618: A cream sauce. In Italian cuisine , cockscombs are an ingredient of cibreo , a traditional sauce which also includes chicken livers , wattles and unlaid eggs . It is used in the pasta dish tagliatelli al cibreo and in the main dish ciambella con cibreo . Combs are prepared by parboiling and skinning, then cooking in court-bouillon . After preparation, they are greyish. They are often served in Chinese dim sum -style dishes. Because of its bright color and distinctive shape, "cockscomb" also describes various plants, including

212-476: A naturalist, studies the world by observing plants and animals directly. Because organisms are functionally inseparable from the environment in which they live and because their structure and function cannot be adequately interpreted without knowing some of their evolutionary history, the study of natural history embraces the study of fossils as well as physiographic and other aspects of the physical environment". A common thread in many definitions of natural history

265-556: A part of science proper. In Victorian Scotland, the study of natural history was believed to contribute to good mental health. Particularly in Britain and the United States, this grew into specialist hobbies such as the study of birds , butterflies, seashells ( malacology / conchology ), beetles, and wildflowers; meanwhile, scientists tried to define a unified discipline of biology (though with only partial success, at least until

318-537: A small walnut-shaped comb , dark wattles , and turquoise-blue earlobes. In addition to these defining characteristics, Silkies have five toes on each foot. Other breeds which exhibit this rare trait include the Dorking , Faverolles , Houdan , and Sultan . All Silkies have black or bluish skin, bones and grayish-black meat; they are in the group of Chinese fowls known by the Chinese language name of wu gu ji (烏骨雞 ), meaning 'black-boned chicken'. More specifically,

371-520: A strong influence, such as Malaysia , may also cook Silkie. As early as the 7th century, traditional Chinese medicine has held that chicken soup made with Silkie meat is a curative food . The usual methods of cooking include using Silkie to make broth , braising , and in curries . Traditional Chinese soup made with Silkie also uses ingredients such as wolfberries , Dioscorea polystachya (mountain yam), aged dried citrus peel , and fresh ginger . A few fusion restaurants in metropolitan areas of

424-470: A type of observation and a subject of study, it can also be defined as a body of knowledge, and as a craft or a practice, in which the emphasis is placed more on the observer than on the observed. Definitions from biologists often focus on the scientific study of individual organisms in their environment, as seen in this definition by Marston Bates: "Natural history is the study of animals and Plants—of organisms. ... I like to think, then, of natural history as

477-647: A writer and naturalist at the University of Bologna , Italy, published a comprehensive treatise on chickens which is still read and admired today. In it, he mentions "wool-bearing chickens" and ones "clothed with hair like that of a black cat". Silkies most likely made their way to the West via the Silk Route and maritime trade . The breed was recognized officially in North America with acceptance into

530-607: Is a cross-discipline umbrella of many specialty sciences; e.g., geobiology has a strong multidisciplinary nature. The meaning of the English term "natural history" (a calque of the Latin historia naturalis ) has narrowed progressively with time, while, by contrast, the meaning of the related term "nature" has widened (see also History below). In antiquity , "natural history" covered essentially anything connected with nature , or used materials drawn from nature, such as Pliny

583-460: Is also echoed by H.W. Greene and J.B. Losos: "Natural history focuses on where organisms are and what they do in their environment, including interactions with other organisms. It encompasses changes in internal states insofar as they pertain to what organisms do". Some definitions go further, focusing on direct observation of organisms in their environments, both past and present, such as this one by G.A. Bartholomew: "A student of natural history, or

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636-463: Is among the most docile of poultry. Hens are also exceptionally broody , and care for young well. Although they are fair layers themselves, laying only about three eggs a week, they are commonly used to hatch eggs from other breeds and bird species due to their broody nature. Silkie chickens have been bred to have a wide variety of colors which include but are not limited to: Black, Blue, Buff, Partridge, Splash, White, Lavender, Paint and Porcelain. It

689-509: Is often exploited by poultry keepers by allowing Silkies to raise the offspring of other birds. The black meat of a Silkie is generally considered an unusual attribute in European and American cuisines. In contrast, several Asian cuisines consider Silkie meat a gourmet food. Chinese cuisine especially values the breed, but it is also a common ingredient in some Japanese, Cambodian, Vietnamese and Korean dishes. Areas where Chinese cuisine has

742-399: Is the inclusion of a descriptive component, as seen in a recent definition by H.W. Greene: "Descriptive ecology and ethology". Several authors have argued for a more expansive view of natural history, including S. Herman, who defines the field as "the scientific study of plants and animals in their natural environments. It is concerned with levels of organization from the individual organism to

795-570: Is unknown exactly where or when these fowl with their singular combination of attributes first appeared, but the most well documented point of origin is ancient China. Other places in Southeast Asia have been named as possibilities, such as India and Java . The earliest surviving Western written account of Silkies comes from Marco Polo , who wrote of a "furry" chicken in the 13th century during his travels in Asia. In 1598, Ulisse Aldrovandi ,

848-697: The SHH gene, called the ZPA Regulatory Sequence (ZRS). This causes ectopic SHH expression in the anterior of the developing limb bud , leading to increased tissue growth and digits. While the feet of the Silkie display polydactyly, the wings have the standard tridactyly (three digit) arrangement. The Japanese Silkie initially develops additional digits in the wing as an embryo, but these are lost prior to hatching. The genetic cause behind Silkie polydactyly differs from those that cause polydactyly in

901-550: The American Society of Naturalists and Polish Copernicus Society of Naturalists . Professional societies have recognized the importance of natural history and have initiated new sections in their journals specifically for natural history observations to support the discipline. These include "Natural History Field Notes" of Biotropica , "The Scientific Naturalist" of Ecology , "From the Field" of Waterbirds , and

954-548: The Chabo , where it is now standardised in Britain and the Netherlands . It has been compared to silk, and to fur. The overall result is a soft, fluffy appearance. Their feathers lack functioning barbicels , and are thus similar to down on other birds . This characteristic leaves Silkies unable to fly . Silkies appear in two distinct varieties: bearded and non-bearded. Bearded Silkies have an extra muff of feathers under

1007-505: The Dorking chicken breed, which is due to ectopic FGF4 expression in the AER , with ectopic SHH a secondary effect. Silkies lay a fair number of eggs, ranging from white to cream or light tan, but production is often interrupted due to their extreme tendency to go broody . A silkie hen can produce 100 eggs in an ideal year. Their capacity for incubation, which has been selectively bred out of most fowl bred especially for egg production,

1060-477: The Industrial Revolution prompted the development of geology to help find useful mineral deposits. Modern definitions of natural history come from a variety of fields and sources, and many of the modern definitions emphasize a particular aspect of the field, creating a plurality of definitions with a number of common themes among them. For example, while natural history is most often defined as

1113-486: The Natural History Society of Northumbria founded in 1829, London Natural History Society (1858), Birmingham Natural History Society (1859), British Entomological and Natural History Society founded in 1872, Glasgow Natural History Society, Manchester Microscopical and Natural History Society established in 1880, Whitby Naturalists' Club founded in 1913, Scarborough Field Naturalists' Society and

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1166-465: The Renaissance , and quickly became a third branch of academic knowledge, itself divided into descriptive natural history and natural philosophy , the analytical study of nature. In modern terms, natural philosophy roughly corresponded to modern physics and chemistry , while natural history included the biological and geological sciences. The two were strongly associated. During the heyday of

1219-472: The Renaissance , making it one of the longest-lasting of all natural history books. From the ancient Greeks until the work of Carl Linnaeus and other 18th-century naturalists, a major concept of natural history was the scala naturae or Great Chain of Being , an arrangement of minerals, vegetables, more primitive forms of animals, and more complex life forms on a linear scale of supposedly increasing perfection, culminating in our species. Natural history

1272-573: The Silky or Chinese silk chicken ) is a Chinese breed of chicken named for its atypically fluffy plumage , which is said to feel like silk and satin . The breed has several other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones , blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot, whereas most chickens have only four. They are often exhibited in poultry shows, and also appear in various colors. In addition to their distinctive physical characteristics, Silkies are well known for their calm and friendly temperament. It

1325-567: The Standard of Perfection in 1874. Once Silkies became more common in the West, many myths were perpetuated about them. Early Dutch breeders told buyers they were the offspring of chickens and rabbits , while sideshows promoted them as having actual mammalian fur . In the 21st century, Silkies are one of the most popular and ubiquitous ornamental breeds of chicken. They are often kept as ornamental fowl or pet chickens by backyard keepers, and are also commonly used to incubate and raise

1378-528: The gentleman scientists , many people contributed to both fields, and early papers in both were commonly read at professional science society meetings such as the Royal Society and the French Academy of Sciences —both founded during the 17th century. Natural history had been encouraged by practical motives, such as Linnaeus' aspiration to improve the economic condition of Sweden. Similarly,

1431-642: The modern evolutionary synthesis ). Still, the traditions of natural history continue to play a part in the study of biology, especially ecology (the study of natural systems involving living organisms and the inorganic components of the Earth's biosphere that support them), ethology (the scientific study of animal behavior), and evolutionary biology (the study of the relationships between life forms over very long periods of time), and re-emerges today as integrative organismal biology. Amateur collectors and natural history entrepreneurs played an important role in building

1484-537: The Elder 's encyclopedia of this title , published c.  77 to 79 AD , which covers astronomy , geography , humans and their technology , medicine , and superstition , as well as animals and plants. Medieval European academics considered knowledge to have two main divisions: the humanities (primarily what is now known as classics ) and divinity , with science studied largely through texts rather than observation or experiment. The study of nature revived in

1537-670: The Natural History Institute (Prescott, Arizona): Natural history – a practice of intentional focused attentiveness and receptivity to the more-than-human world, guided by honesty and accuracy – is the oldest continuous human endeavor. In the evolutionary past of our species, the practice of natural history was essential for our survival, imparting critical information on habits and chronologies of plants and animals that we could eat or that could eat us. Natural history continues to be critical to human survival and thriving. It contributes to our fundamental understanding of how

1590-553: The Silkie breed itself is named Taihe wu ji ( 泰和乌鸡), 'black-boned chicken from Taihe'. Other wu gu ji may not share characteristics of the Taihe breed, such as the mulberry comb, white fur, blue ears, and polydactyly . Melanism which extends beyond the skin into an animal's connective tissue is a rare trait, and in chickens it is caused by fibromelanosis , which is a rare mutation believed to have begun in Asia. The Silkie and several other breeds descended from Asian stock possess

1643-556: The Sorby Natural History Society, Sheffield , founded in 1918. The growth of natural history societies was also spurred due to the growth of British colonies in tropical regions with numerous new species to be discovered. Many civil servants took an interest in their new surroundings, sending specimens back to museums in the Britain . (See also: Indian natural history ) Societies in other countries include

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1696-399: The West have also cooked it as a part of traditional American or French cuisine , such as in confit . Naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms , including animals , fungi , and plants , in their natural environment , leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is called

1749-423: The beak area that covers the earlobes. They also are separated according to color. Colors of Silkie recognized for competitive showing include black, blue, splash, lavender, buff, grey, partridge, and white. Alternative hues, such as cuckoo, mottled, chocolate, mauve, mille fleur, and red, are in various stages of development and/or awaiting official recognition. The standards of perfection call for all Silkies to have

1802-403: The diversity of the natural world. Natural history was understood by Pliny the Elder to cover anything that could be found in the world, including living things, geology, astronomy, technology, art, and humanity. De Materia Medica was written between 50 and 70 AD by Pedanius Dioscorides , a Roman physician of Greek origin. It was widely read for more than 1,500 years until supplanted in

1855-410: The ecosystem, and stresses identification, life history, distribution, abundance, and inter-relationships. It often and appropriately includes an esthetic component", and T. Fleischner, who defines the field even more broadly, as "A practice of intentional, focused attentiveness and receptivity to the more-than-human world, guided by honesty and accuracy". These definitions explicitly include the arts in

1908-710: The emergence of professional biological disciplines and research programs. Particularly in the 19th century, scientists began to use their natural history collections as teaching tools for advanced students and the basis for their own morphological research. The term "natural history" alone, or sometimes together with archaeology, forms the name of many national, regional, and local natural history societies that maintain records for animals (including birds (ornithology), insects ( entomology ) and mammals (mammalogy)), fungi ( mycology ), plants (botany), and other organisms. They may also have geological and microscopical sections. Examples of these societies in Britain include

1961-411: The field of botany, be it as authors, collectors, or illustrators. In modern Europe, professional disciplines such as botany, geology, mycology , palaeontology , physiology , and zoology were formed. Natural history , formerly the main subject taught by college science professors, was increasingly scorned by scientists of a more specialized manner and relegated to an "amateur" activity, rather than

2014-638: The field of natural history, and are aligned with the broad definition outlined by B. Lopez, who defines the field as the "Patient interrogation of a landscape" while referring to the natural history knowledge of the Eskimo ( Inuit ). A slightly different framework for natural history, covering a similar range of themes, is also implied in the scope of work encompassed by many leading natural history museums , which often include elements of anthropology, geology, paleontology, and astronomy along with botany and zoology, or include both cultural and natural components of

2067-439: The florists' plant Celosia cristata , the meadow weed yellow rattle , sainfoin , wild poppy , lousewort , Erythronium and Erythrina crista-galli ; the characteristic jester 's cap ; a shape of pasta ( creste di galli ); and so on. Hyaluronic acid , which is used in skincare and medical treatments to hydrate and maintain moisture in the skin, is extracted from cockscomb. Silkie The Silkie (also known as

2120-539: The mutation. Disregarding color, the breed does not generally produce as much as the more common meat breeds of chicken. In the American Standard of Perfection , the standard male weight for the bantam Silkie is 1 kg (35 oz) and for the female, 900 g (32 oz). The Australian Poultry Standard and British Poultry Standard call for Silkie bantams much smaller; in the Australian,

2173-478: The offspring of other chickens and waterfowl like ducks , geese and game birds such as quail and pheasants . Silkies are considered a bantam breed in some countries, but this varies according to region and many breed standards class them officially as large fowl; the bantam Silkie is actually a separate variety most of the time. Almost all North American strains of the breed are bantam-sized, but in Europe

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2226-683: The principal ones are: In hens, the comb is usually smaller and neater than in the cock. There are three known genes affecting comb shape: Rose-Comb, Pea-Comb, and Duplex-Comb, which has one allele responsible for buttercup combs and another one responsible for V combs. Combs are used in cookery , often in combination with wattles or chicken kidneys . Combs were formerly used in French cuisine as garnishes . They were also used to prepare salpicons served in vol-au-vents , profiteroles , etc. in which they were often combined with other luxury ingredients such as truffles , sweetbreads , or morels in

2279-411: The standard weights are 680 g (25 oz) for males and 570 g (20 oz) for females. The British standard weight for bantam Silkies is 600 g (22 oz) for males, and 500 g for females (18 oz). Silkies are also known for their polydactyly , usually manifesting as an additional 1–2 digits in the foot. The genetic cause of this extra digit formation has been shown to be a SNP in a regulator of

2332-493: The standard-sized is the original version. However, even standard Silkies are relatively small chickens, with the males weighing only 1.8 kilograms (4 pounds), and females weighing 1.4 kg (3 lb). The American Standard of Perfection calls for males that are 1 kg (36 oz), and females that are 900 g (32 oz). Silkie plumage was once unique among chicken breeds , however in recent years silkie feathering has been developed in several breeds, mostly notably

2385-451: The study of life at the level of the individual—of what plants and animals do, how they react to each other and their environment, how they are organized into larger groupings like populations and communities" and this more recent definition by D.S. Wilcove and T. Eisner: "The close observation of organisms—their origins, their evolution, their behavior, and their relationships with other species". This focus on organisms in their environment

2438-524: The system of the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus . The British historian of Chinese science Joseph Needham calls Li Shizhen "the 'uncrowned king' of Chinese naturalists", and his Bencao gangmu "undoubtedly the greatest scientific achievement of the Ming". His works translated to many languages direct or influence many scholars and researchers. A significant contribution to English natural history

2491-475: The world works by providing the empirical foundation of natural sciences, and it contributes directly and indirectly to human emotional and physical health, thereby fostering healthier human communities. It also serves as the basis for all conservation efforts, with natural history both informing the science and inspiring the values that drive these. As a precursor to Western science , natural history began with Aristotle and other ancient philosophers who analyzed

2544-687: The world's large natural history collections, such as the Natural History Museum, London , and the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Three of the greatest English naturalists of the 19th century, Henry Walter Bates , Charles Darwin , and Alfred Russel Wallace —who knew each other—each made natural history travels that took years, collected thousands of specimens, many of them new to science, and by their writings both advanced knowledge of "remote" parts of

2597-564: The world. The plurality of definitions for this field has been recognized as both a weakness and a strength, and a range of definitions has recently been offered by practitioners in a recent collection of views on natural history. Prior to the advent of Western science humans were engaged and highly competent in indigenous ways of understanding the more-than-human world that are now referred to as traditional ecological knowledge . 21st century definitions of natural history are inclusive of this understanding, such as this by Thomas Fleischner of

2650-799: The world—the Amazon basin , the Galápagos Islands , and the Indonesian Archipelago , among others—and in so doing helped to transform biology from a descriptive to a theory-based science. The understanding of "Nature" as "an organism and not as a mechanism" can be traced to the writings of Alexander von Humboldt (Prussia, 1769–1859). Humboldt's copious writings and research were seminal influences for Charles Darwin, Simón Bolívar , Henry David Thoreau , Ernst Haeckel , and John Muir . Natural history museums , which evolved from cabinets of curiosities , played an important role in

2703-801: Was basically static through the Middle Ages in Europe—although in the Arabic and Oriental world, it proceeded at a much brisker pace. From the 13th century, the work of Aristotle was adapted rather rigidly into Christian philosophy , particularly by Thomas Aquinas , forming the basis for natural theology . During the Renaissance, scholars (herbalists and humanists, particularly) returned to direct observation of plants and animals for natural history, and many began to accumulate large collections of exotic specimens and unusual monsters . Leonhart Fuchs

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2756-402: Was made by parson-naturalists such as Gilbert White , William Kirby , John George Wood , and John Ray , who wrote about plants, animals, and other aspects of nature. Many of these men wrote about nature to make the natural theology argument for the existence or goodness of God. Since early modern times, however, a great number of women made contributions to natural history, particularly in

2809-405: Was one of the three founding fathers of botany, along with Otto Brunfels and Hieronymus Bock . Other important contributors to the field were Valerius Cordus , Konrad Gesner ( Historiae animalium ), Frederik Ruysch , and Gaspard Bauhin . The rapid increase in the number of known organisms prompted many attempts at classifying and organizing species into taxonomic groups , culminating in

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