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Mountaineers who venture high into the Colorado Rockies have likely spotted medium-sized, brown-and-pink birds rummaging around on snow patches for insects and seeds. These high-elevation specialists are rosy finches, a type of bird that's evolved to survive in some of the most rugged places in North America.
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Birds including swallows and martins—known as aerial insectivores—control insect populations and insect-borne disease and provide hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of pest control for agriculture. But these feathered friends to humanity are declining at an alarming rate, with species in North America declining more than 30% from 1970 to 2017.
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Flocking flamingos in groups of 50 or more may be one key to encouraging successful reproduction, according to a study published this month in Zoo Biology. Researchers used global data shared by zoos and aquariums to study reproductive success and factors such as climate, flock numbers, and an equal sex ratio in four species of flamingo in 540 ex situ populations worldwide. The zoos and aquariums curate data on groups of flamingos using the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) provided by the nonprofit Species360.
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Mammals can become infected with the highly pathogenic (HPAI) avian influenza H5N1 virus when they feed on infected sick or dead wild birds. Studies by Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR) show that there is no spread of the virus between the mammals. However, a zoönotic mutation was found. "That's a sign that the virus is adapting to a new host," says Nancy Beerens, head of the Dutch National Reference Laboratory Avian influenza.
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Birds sold in the pet trade are often colorful and charismatic creatures. Some can even be taught to talk, and they often provide owners with much-needed companionship.
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Bird species that breed with several sexual partners have fewer harmful mutations, according to a study led by the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath. The study, published in Evolution, shows for the first time how polygamy increases the efficiency of natural selection in wild populations.
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It's a long-running Australian detective story. From the 1980s onwards, researchers found eggshell fragments, and on rare occasions whole eggs, exposed in eroding sand dunes within the country's arid zone (which covers most of Australia's landmass).
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The emu is iconically Australian, appearing on cans, coins, cricket bats and our national coat of arms, as well as that of the Tasmanian capital, Hobart. However, most people don't realize emus once also roamed Tasmania but are now extinct there.
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Pheasants are most likely to be killed by predators on unfamiliar ground, new research shows.
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Cypriot authorities have for the first time issued fines for the killing of rare wild birds using poison baits, conservationists on the Mediterranean island said Monday.
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The unique genetics of the Australian black swan leaves the species vulnerable to viral illnesses such as avian flu, University of Queensland research has revealed.
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It is not exactly a surprise that climate affects life on Earth. At least major changes in climate make a difference. We know that not all species thrive everywhere on the planet.
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Satellite mapping technology has discovered another new colony of the highly threatened Emperor penguins in Antarctica, researchers revealed Friday.
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The red junglefowl—the wild ancestor of the chicken—is losing its genetic diversity by interbreeding with domesticated birds, according to a new study led by Frank Rheindt of the National University of Singapore published January 19 in the journal PLOS Genetics.
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More than 40% of all land vertebrates may be subjected to extreme heat events by 2099 under current maximum estimates of future global temperatures, according to a study published in Nature. Prolonged exposure to high temperatures could be dangerous for the future of many species across the globe.
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Alhue and Mailen were born in captivity but conservationists hope to free the chicks soon as part of a project to boost Chile's ailing population of Andean condors.
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Spring is the sweet spot for breeding songbirds in California's Central Valley—not too hot, not too wet. But climate change models indicate the region will experience more rainfall during the breeding season, and days of extreme heat are expected to increase. Both changes threaten the reproductive success of songbirds, according to a study from the University of California, Davis.
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Brains are key organs because they make sense of the world and help us successfully navigate through our lives. While all animals have brains, some species have rather large brains relatively to their body size—and this is very beneficial. A large brain gives species much more flexibility to deal with everyday problems and helps them make better decisions or find innovative solutions. However, brain size (relative to body size) varies tremendously among roughly 10,000 bird species.
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When you hear beautiful birdsong, such as the warbling of the Australasian magpie, you might believe it's a sign of intense competition for territory or showing off to attract a mate.
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Climate change has undisputable global effects on ecosystems and ecological community compositions, but why certain communities are better able to resist the effects of climate change than others remains unclear. In a recent scientific study covering nearly all North American bird species, researchers studied community composition changes and community diversity over half a century. Consistently, bird communities with higher species richness and a larger variety of functional properties changed less radically in their community composition following climate change.
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A study by researchers from the University of Adelaide and other institutions has found that in a population of island tiger snakes, the bones in their jaws increase in length after feeding on large prey, while their mainland counterparts show no change.
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It seems logical enough that bad weather can sometimes cause birds to become disoriented during their annual fall migrations—causing them to wind up in territory they're unaccustomed to. But why, even when weather is not a major factor, do birds travel far away from their usual routes?
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When the U.S. government committed last January to conserving 30% of the United States' natural land and water by the year 2030, the decision was embraced by the majority of Americans. A poll found that 80% of voters supported what's known as the "30 by 30 plan" but questions remain about how to decide which pieces of nature should be protected to reach that goal.
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Hummingbirds, native to North and South America, are among the smallest and most agile birds in the world. Often barely larger than a thumb, they are the only bird species that can fly not only forwards, but also backwards or sideways. Their characteristic hovering flight makes that possible.
Restoring land for livelihoods can have ecological benefits, study suggests
in Bird Research in the Media
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