How Do Birds Know When to Migrate?
Lengthening days set off a cascade of events in migratory birds that culminates in the birth of a clutch of chicks.....»»
City birds are changing their tune
Many urban-dwelling birds have modified their songs in response to human-generated noise. Enlarge / The wren is a small brown bird found throughout the Americas. A study conducted in Costa Rica revealed that these birds change th.....»»
Fort McKay: where Canada"s boreal forest gave way to oil sands
The acrid stench of gasoline permeates the air. And the soot coats everything in sight: the trees, the bushes, even the snow in winter. And all day long, explosions send the birds soaring to safety......»»
Climate reshapes life for tenacious gannets on Quebec isle
On Quebec's Bonaventure Island, the ghosts of human habitation from years past and the birds that breed there now in extraordinary numbers tell the same story: of lives lived hard in a place of fairy-tale beauty......»»
Dead white pelican found on grounds of San Diego Safari Park tests positive for bird flu
A wild bird found dead on the grounds of San Diego Zoo Safari Park has tested positive for a bird flu that has swept across the country, sickening millions of wild birds and commercial poultry since the beginning of the year......»»
Plastic ingestion widespread in Welsh seabirds, study suggests
Researchers examined the stomach and gut contents of 34 adult and fledgling birds which had been found dead on Skomer Island in Wales......»»
Their lagoons languishing, precious Spanish wetlands go dry
Flamingos, herons and fish once filled a freshwater lagoon in southern Spain. Today, it's a fetid brown splotch. The whisper of wind in the grass is a sad substitute for the cacophony of migratory birds......»»
Bird steals a reporter"s AirPod live on air
A television journalist in Chile was reporting live about rising crime in the area, when a bird perched on his shoulder — and stole one of his AirPods.Apparently birds in Chile have comic timing — and are attracted to AirPods. Not a lot of backgr.....»»
Ian ruins man-made reefs, brings algae bloom to Florida
Hurricane Ian not only ravaged southwest Florida on land but was destructive underwater as well. It destroyed man-made reefs and brought along red tide, the harmful algae blooms that kill fish and birds, according to marine researchers who returned l.....»»
UK orders all England"s poultry kept in to fight bird flu
British authorities said Monday that all poultry and other captive birds in England must be kept indoors from next week after bird flu was detected in dozens of farms across the country, as well as in wild birds......»»
Birds getting smaller, "wingier" as planet warms, research finds
A UCLA-led study published today reveals that migratory birds across North America are getting smaller, a change the researchers attribute to the rapidly warming climate......»»
Alaska-Australia flight could place bird in record books
A young bar-tailed godwit appears to have set a non-stop distance record for migratory birds by flying at least 13,560 kilometers (8,435 miles) from Alaska to the Australian state of Tasmania, a bird expert said Friday......»»
Migrating birds drawn by light face higher chemical exposure
Birds attracted by the glow of artificial light at night are drawn into areas where they are also exposed to higher concentrations of airborne toxic chemicals, according to a new study......»»
Nestling birds recognize their local song "dialect"
A recent study, published in Current Biology, led by researchers at Stockholm University and Uppsala University, has shown that juvenile songbirds react to hearing the songs they will eventually produce as adults, even when they are as young as 12 da.....»»
Mexican Pacific islands are safe havens for seabirds thanks to conservation and restoration actions
Seabirds are the most threatened group of birds and the one with the greatest and fastest decline globally. A study published on October 7th in PLOS ONE shows that a holistic conservation approach, including the creation of protected areas, the eradi.....»»
Fossil bird"s skull reconstruction reveals a brain made for smelling and eyes made for daylight
Jeholornis was a raven-sized bird that lived 120 million years ago, among the earliest examples of dinosaurs evolving into birds, in what's now China. The fossils that have been found are finely preserved but smashed flat, the result of layers of sed.....»»
These Hawks Have Figured Out How to See the Bat in the Swarm
New research shows that birds of prey attempting to grab a bat from a roiling mass of the flying mammals have developed a way to cope with the confusion......»»
3D techniques shed light on what makes a bird"s lungs so efficient
Birds are profoundly important animals. As predators, pollinators, seed dispersers, scavengers and ecosystem bioengineers, the world's 11,000 species of birds play critical roles in the food chain and therefore the existence of animal life......»»
Endangered birds can be protected from predators with chemical camouflage
Researchers used artificial nests to test two methods for reducing the nest predation of vulnerable and endangered ground-nesting birds. The study showed that red foxes can be more easily deceived into not eating bird eggs than raccoon dogs. The meth.....»»
Dutch cull 300,000 chickens after bird flu outbreak
Dutch health authorities said Thursday they had culled around 300,000 chickens after the largest outbreak of highly contagious bird flu this year, saying almost six million birds have been killed so far in the ongoing epidemic......»»
2022 US State of the Birds report reveals widespread losses of birds in all habitats—except for one
A newly released State of the Birds report for the United States reveals a tale of two trends, one hopeful, one dire. Long-term trends of waterfowl show strong increases where investments in wetland conservation have improved conditions for birds and.....»»