Behavior and automations are closely  related.  A useful automation creates a good behavior that saves energy, decreases stress, and it is fun to do it.  Here are some examples of automations that modified behaviors.


Birds, Sesto Fiorentino


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Image 2


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Nest 1

Nest inside kitchen chimneys, notice the cut plastic bottle on left, used as a mattress for the mother to rest in cooler place near the concrete wall while the eggs are placed in the center of chimney for a higher temperature.  The nests were about 60 cm deep. I can say that the smart house is visited by smart birds.

Nest 2

The plastic mattress is gone. One of the chicks is missing.

races 1

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races 2

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Insects, Sesto FIorentino

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macroglossum_stellatarum

Lizards, Cancun

I noticed the lizards climbing on lamp posts and basking on the sun until sunset.  Each lizard fights for their lamp. Larger lizards get posts with a better sea view than posts of smaller lizards. It is a matter of seniority and power. The lamps atract mosquitos and the lizards like to sit in top of the lamp at sunset.

Initially I thought that the lizards were iguanas (as local people called them) hunting for mosquitos, but, after talking to people taking care of iguanas (here in Berkeley), I learnt that iguanas are vegetarian. However, Iguanas need to have two temperatures: one hot around 96 °F, and another cold, not less than 75 °F. Below the cold temperature (75 °F) the iguana's metabolism slows, and therefore, they will use the lamp to keep warm at sunset.

On further thought, since I do not recall the crest that is a charateristic of iguanas, these animals might be another type of lizard (not an iguana) enjoying the extended warm temperatures at sunset provided by the lamps while munching on mosquitos.



Pigeons, Berkeley

This Berkeley traffic light is a curious example of a good automation because it was selected by these pigeons to play a game, I guess, a very important competition because they are playing it every day at sunset. The winner sits in front of the red light while is ON. 

I keep wondering why these Berkeley pigeons selected such a place to stand on a queue.  Waiting in line at a traffic light is a human behavior, but in this case, it applies to pigeons and humans.

The birds sitting in front of the red light, while it is ON, are waiting for the green light as a sign to move.  If the bird inside the red light does not move out, on green, causes all the other birds start to honk. A good automations may be beneficial to humans and animals.


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