One bird"s joy is another bird"s sorrow
Ruffs are characterized by three supergene variants that lead to different appearances and courtship behavior in males. Whether these variants affect females was previously unknown. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence,.....»»
Long-awaited Chicago policy doesn"t do enough to protect migrating birds, advocates say
Annette Prince peered between glossy downtown buildings: "There's a bird in that grate.".....»»
CDC, FDA, USDA answer big questions about the growing bird flu outbreak
Representatives with multiple agencies including the CDC, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration on May 1 discussed the latest news about bird flu in the U.S......»»
This Texas veterinarian helped crack the mystery of bird flu in cows
The first calls that Dr. Barb Petersen received in early March were from dairy owners worried about crows, pigeons and other birds dying on their Texas farms. Then came word that barn cats—half of them on one farm—had died suddenly......»»
More than half of cats on farm died after drinking milk from cows infected with bird flu
In yet another sign that bird flu is spreading widely among mammals, a new report finds more than half of cats at the first Texas dairy farm to have cows test positive for bird flu this spring died after drinking raw milk......»»
Texans encouraged to turn off nighttime lights during bird migration
Texas residents who look up at the night sky over the next few weeks might catch a glimpse of an avian superhighway......»»
Research shows baby bird development harmed by sound of cars
A new study by Deakin researchers, published in Science, proves that traffic noise exposure in baby birds directly interferes with their development, which causes severe and long-lasting harm to those chicks......»»
20% of grocery store milk has traces of bird flu, suggesting wider outbreak
The milk is still considered safe, but disease experts are alarmed by the prevalence. Enlarge (credit: Getty | Jeffrey Greenberg) The Food and Drug Administration reported late Thursday that about 20 percent of retail mi.....»»
How worrying is bird flu"s jump to dairy cows? Here"s what experts say
Since 2022, a highly contagious strain of bird flu has spread across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate, resulting in the deaths of more than 90 million birds in commercial and backyard poultry flocks, plus thousands more in the wild......»»
More cows are being tested and tracked for bird flu. Here"s what that means
U.S. health and agriculture officials are ramping up testing and tracking of bird flu in dairy cows in an urgent effort to understand—and stop—the growing outbreak......»»
Evolutionary biologists show that the color variants of female cuckoos are based on ancient mutations
Every cuckoo is an adopted child—raised by foster parents, into whose nest the cuckoo mother smuggled her egg. The cuckoo mother is aided in this subterfuge by her resemblance to a bird of prey. There are two variants of female cuckoos: a gray morp.....»»
Fragments of bird flu virus genome found in pasteurized milk, FDA says
The test cannot tell if the virus is live. The FDA still assess milk supply as safe. Enlarge / Cows being milked (credit: Getty | Edwin Remsberg) The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced that genetic fragmen.....»»
Concern grows as bird flu spreads further in US cows: 32 herds in 8 states
Experts say the US is not sharing as much data on the outbreak as it should. Enlarge / Greylag geese sit on a field and rest while a cow passes by in the background. (credit: Getty | Daniel Bockwoldt) Researchers aroun.....»»
H5N1 strain of bird flu found in milk: WHO
The H5N1 bird flu virus strain has been detected in very high concentrations in raw milk from infected animals, the WHO said Friday, though how long the virus can survive in milk is unknown......»»
Bird flu in cattle: What are the concerns surrounding the newly emerging bovine H5N1 influenza virus?
The confirmed presence of bird flu in American dairy cattle in a March 25 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—and a case in Texas where a human working with cattle was infected—has put Canadian public health experts on high aler.....»»
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......»»
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.....»»
Saturday Citations: Listening to bird dreams, securing qubits, imagining impossible billiards
It's Saturday, which means that in a universe where the arrow of time moves backward, people have to go to work tomorrow. In such a hypothetical universe, Garfield hates Fridays—tough to imagine. This week, we looked at several hundred breaking sci.....»»
Bird Flu Is Spreading in Alarming New Ways
H5N1 has infected cattle across the US and jumped from a mammal to a human for the first time. Experts fear it may someday evolve to spread among humans......»»
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......»»