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We report on presumed helpers at Middle Spotted Woodpecker nests in 2021 and 2022 at Tiergarten Hannover and in 2021 at Niderholz in north-eastern Switzerland. In Hanover, in 2021, besides the breeding pair, a third Middle Spotted Woodpecker actively participated in feeding the nestlings, probably even for several days. At another breeding cavity, a third Middle Spotted Woodpecker appeared only briefly. In 2022, a female Middle Spotted Woodpecker appeared several times at a breeding cavity, but did not feed. However, she may have participated to ward off the starlings breeding in the immediate vicinity. In Switzerland, feeding of young Middle Spotted Woodpeckers by three adults (two of which were females) was observed on several days in 2021. The reasons for the unusual occurrence of additional birds feeding more or less regularly in European woodpecker species are not known. In Hanover, forestry work during the breeding season in 2021 and a very high breeding population of the Starling in 2022 may have led to increased breeding failures. The Middle Spotted Woodpeckers, which no longer had a brood to care for, might then have appeared as helpers at the nests of conspecifics. In Switzerland, mate loss and unsuccessful polygyny are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of women exercising power and influence appears to be central, if not fundamental, to gender studies, as it allows an in-depth reflection on both societal norms and the way we perceive them today. The historian’s vision has been biased for a long time by a dichotomic consideration of society, with a clear gendered partition where women would have been confined to the private, domestic sphere. Their actions were thus perceived as inconsequential at best, invisible at worst, for they were perpetually limited to private quarters and familial intimacy, while men’s authority and actions supposedly influenced the public sphere and politics in a larger measure. It would be a mistake, however, to keep considering that politics and familial intimacy should be studied separately. The palace environment in particular proves to be especially favorable to women’s authority, for they often benefit from a specific access to the sovereign that even major dignitaries can be deprived of, seeing as they are generally not received privately by the ruling dynasty. Studying women’s quarters thus brings to light a mosaic of interdependent relationships, of intercessors, factional processes, and intricate political networks. Although women can be, and often are, limited in some specific ways, such as their physical presence within the public space, they can still achieve political relevance and play a key role within the palace hierarchy and court mechanics. In other words, women are not only instrumental in displaying royal authority but can, at times, fully embody it without specifically causing a break with tradition. Merovingian private quarters in particular offer a very meaningful example, in that they are a reflection of the Merovingian matrimonial practice—polygyny. By multiplying the female pole within the palatial structure, power and authority come into play, taking various shapes and influencing many areas of the political and private life of the sovereign.

Faith, ethical-religious imperatives, and religious intuitions evoke intense feelings. They may also enable various ways of distancing from and re-evaluating individual opinions and impulses. Believers may resort to internalized religious norms and principles of faith to evaluate strong feelings, modify them, and/or filter them. In this article, I examine understandings, evaluations and modifications of potentially "protective" or "poisonous" jealousy that I witnessed among Swiss-German Salafis who live in polygynous relationships. I show how religious-moral norms can guide intrapersonal as well as relationship-related emotional management. I thus identify Salafism's capacity to offer evaluative tools for emotional balancing as one of the important yet underestimated motivations for becoming a Salafi Muslim. Strategies for emotional regulation are an important facet of the several negotiations between distance and closeness that are characteristic of Salafism at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zorocrates guerrerensis Gertsch & Davis, 1940 is a Mexican cribellate spider with almost no information about its biology. As the species could potentially be of medical interest, it was decided to study basic aspects of its life history under laboratory conditions. The life cycle lasts a year, with spiders undergoing up to 12 instars to reach maturity. The courtship behaviour includes tactile communication. Copulation consists of two palpal insertions, each with a single haematodochal expansion. Both males and females can mate more than once; components of the first and second copulation do not differ. On average, the total copulation duration lasts for more than five minutes. Some details of the copulation process are discussed and compared with those of other lycosoids.

Klasik İslam hukukunda kabul gören dörde kadar kadınla evlenme ruhsatı günümüz İslam aile hukuku kanunlarında yasaklama ile serbest bırakma arasında çeşitli derecelerde sınırlamalara konu olmuştur. Çok eşliliği meşru, adil ve haklı gösteren husus kanunlarda “meşru gerekçe” veya “şer’î fayda” kavramıyla değerlendirilmiş ve genellikle mevcut evlilikle, evliliğin amaçlarını gerçekleştirme imkânı ortadan kalkmışsa ikinci evliliğe izin verilmiştir. İzin için ülkelere göre değişen bazı şartların hâkim tarafından denetlenmesi ve onaylanması gerekir. Birçok ülkede çok eşliliğin, maddi yeterlilik, adaletli olma ve meşru gerekçesi bulunma gibi şartlar açısından hâkim denetimine bağlanması, ayrıca hâkimin izin için mevcut eşin rızasını ve müstakbel eşin, erkeğin evli olduğunu biliyor olmasını araması, ailede huzur ve adaletin sağlanmasını, kadınların ve çocukların haklarının korunmasını amaçlamaktadır.

Summary: In our study area near Lingen (52.27 N, 7.15 E), NW Germany polygyny among the Pied Flycatcher came to light through participation of males in feeding at 2 or 3 nestboxes (bigyny or trigyny). In the present paper we report a first time proof of paternity via DNA fingerprinting with the offspring of a trigynist. It could be evidenced that one male was the genetic father of all nestlings in all three broods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of polygyny (polygamy) is attested to in many parts of Africa. One reason among many for consolidating this practice in some African cultures is the emphasis families place on having male progeny. For many polygamous men, it serves as a way-out of childlessness and “sonlessness.†But what becomes of the childless wives in such polygamous marriages? In those patriarchal African societies, where men are at the centre of the stage, the plight of childless or “sonless†wives in a polygamous marriage often goes unnoticed or ignored. By using the childless ordeal of Hannah (1 Sam 1) to mirror the plight of childless women in some polyga­mous African families, this article highlights the silent sufferings of such childless women and makes a clarion call for an informed and just response to their plight. In addition,it calls attention to the “silent†ordeal of Hannah in 1 Sam 1; an aspect of the text that until now has received very little attention.

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