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.....»»
How evolution has optimized the magnetic sensor in birds
Migratory birds are able to navigate and orientate with astonishing accuracy using various mechanisms, including a magnetic compass. A team led by biologists Dr. Corinna Langebrake and Prof. Dr. Miriam Liedvogel from the University of Oldenburg and t.....»»
The high and mighty Himalayas: A biodiversity hotbed facing significant challenges
The Himalayas are home to a vast diversity of species, consisting of 10,000 vascular plants, 979 birds and 300 mammals, including the snow leopard, the red panda, the Himalayan tahr and the Himalayan monal......»»
East Africa"s "soda lakes" are rising, threatening their iconic flamingos
Huge pink flocks of millions of flamingos—flamboyances of flamingos—are one of nature's great spectacles. But colleagues and I have uncovered worrying trends in the salty and highly-alkaline "soda lakes" of east Africa where most of these birds l.....»»
Wild turkey numbers are falling in some parts of the US—the main reason may be habitat loss
Birdsong is a welcome sign of spring, but robins and cardinals aren't the only birds showing off for breeding season. In many parts of North America, you're likely to encounter male wild turkeys, puffed up like beach balls and with their tails fanned.....»»
Team finds direct evidence of "itinerant breeding" in East Coast shorebird species
Migration and reproduction are two of the most demanding events in a bird's annual cycle, so much so that the vast majority of migratory birds separate the two tasks into different times of the year......»»
Migratory birds are on the move and nature-friendly farms can help them on their way
Every spring, hundreds of thousands of birds leave their winter habitat on Poyang, the largest freshwater lake in China, and fly north over the most densely populated region on Earth to reach their breeding grounds in Siberia. As with any long-distan.....»»
Birds of a feather flocking together: Research shows storks prefer to fly with conspecifics during migration
With long legs and large wings, the white stork is a prominent star of the pageant that is animal migration. Flying from Europe towards Africa in autumn, and then back again in spring, birds can be seen taking to the sky in conspicuous flocks that he.....»»
Researchers find babbling by zebra finch chicks is important step to memorizing songs
When babies learn to talk or birds learn to sing, the same principle applies: listen and then imitate. This is how the first babble becomes the first word or vocalization. Male zebra finch chicks initially memorize the song of an adult bird. Later, t.....»»
Cut light pollution and treat glass to help migrating birds, say researchers
Spring bird migration has begun. Under cover of darkness, 2.5–3.5 billion birds will fly northward to their breeding grounds in the United States and Canada. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, now is one of the most important times of yea.....»»
Tropical forests can"t recover naturally without fruit eating birds, carbon recovery study shows
New research from the Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich illustrates a critical barrier to natural regeneration of tropical forests. Their models—from ground-based data gathered in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil—show that when wild tropical birds move fre.....»»
What do bird dreams sound like?
For more than 20 years, researchers have known that areas of birds' brains dedicated to singing show neural patterns during sleep akin to the ones they use while awake and singing......»»
Scientists find blue light makes buildings more deadly to migrating birds
Bird collisions with buildings are nothing new, but a new study by scientists at The University of New Mexico sheds light on a potential cause......»»
Dog-like Spot robot gets a gig to scare wildlife
An international airport is deploying a dog-like robot to scare birds and other wildlife from encroaching the runway......»»
After 10 years of work, landmark study reveals new "tree of life" for all birds living today
The largest-ever study of bird genomes has produced a remarkably clear picture of the bird family tree. Published in the journal Nature today, our study shows that most of the modern groups of birds first appeared within 5 million years after the ext.....»»
A frozen chunk of genome rewrites our understanding of bird evolution
An enormous meteor spelled doom for most dinosaurs 65 million years ago. But not all. In the aftermath of the extinction event, birds—technically dinosaurs themselves—flourished......»»
Small birds spice up the already diverse diet of spotted hyenas in Namibia
Spotted hyenas are known for hunting (or scavenging) larger mammals such as antelopes and occasionally feed on smaller mammals and reptiles. Being flexible in the choice of prey is a strategy of generalists—and this even extends to small passerine.....»»
The Earth Will Feast on Dead Cicadas
Two cicada broods, XIX and XIII, are emerging in sync for the first time in 221 years. Birds, trees, and dirt are about to get the banquet of a lifetime......»»
Cows in Texas and Kansas test positive for highly pathogenic bird flu
The risk to the public is low, and the milk supply is safe. Enlarge (credit: Getty | Peter Cade) Wild migratory birds likely spread a deadly strain of bird flu to dairy cows in Texas and Kansas, state and federal officia.....»»
Solar eclipse could scramble bird behavior
On April 8, the shadow of a total solar eclipse will race across North America. At the same time, researchers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and partners will be hurrying to measure the impact of daytime darkness on the movements of birds, bats,.....»»
Early spring, earlier nesting birds
Did spring arrive early this year? Some people think so. Apparently, some birds do, too. The NestWatch project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology documents when and where birds are nesting......»»