ScienceDaily

Wildlife agencies throughout western North America have set increasingly more conservative harvest regulations over the past 25 years to conserve sage grouse, with mixed results for bird numbers.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/_Rs8KBFUjXcView the full article

Scientists have discovered that birds know to avoid the plants where toxic animals dwell.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/gfKz_bvW12sView the full article

The first 3D reconstructions of extinct Cretaceous birds reveal a reptilian tooth replacement pattern.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/HlwVYDXYopEView the full article

Domestic cats that regularly catch wild animals still get most of their nutrition from food provided at home, new research shows.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/tl9MasgVoWEView the full article

A 25-million-year-old eagle fossil found in South Australia adds to the long evolutionary history of raptors in Australia.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/Bzyic5drRd8View the full article

Researchers can predict what syllables a bird will sing -- and when it will sing them -- by reading electrical signals in its brain, reports a new study. The work is an early step toward building vocal prostheses for humans who have lost the ability to speak.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/gzfR6uspf3kView the full article

Before humans made their way to New Zealand, the critically endangered flightless parrot known as the k?k?p? likely numbered in the hundreds of thousands. By 1995, their numbers had dwindled to just 51 birds, including 50 isolated on tiny Stewart Island and a single male, known as Richard Henry, all alone on the mainland. Today, those numbers have grown to about 200 individuals. Now, the first genome sequencing of the species offer some surprisingly good news: despite 10,000 years of island isolation and inbreeding, the k?k?p? appear to have lost potentially deleterious mutations rather than accumulating them. In fact, they now carry fewer deleterious mutations than now-extinct populations on the mainland once did.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/B155abU7-c0 View the full article

Migrating birds choose routes with the best wind and uplift conditions, helping them to fly nonstop for hundreds of kilometers over the sea.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/MgaOfMvhvvk View the full article

Bird species across the globe are suffering and dying from a type of malaria and, while these strains are not infectious to humans, they're spreading quickly through global transmission hotspots.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/hPvg2wD3_t8 View the full article

In less time than it takes to read this sentence, hummingbirds can catch a whiff of potential trouble. That's the result of new research showing, contrary to popular belief, the tiny birds do have an active sense of smell.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/k0aNpmL5wpI View the full article

A training technique that has been practiced by parrot owners for decades is now being applied to establishing new bird flocks in the wild. While many parrot owners clip their birds' wings to reduce their flight abilities, free-flight involves training an intact parrot to come when called, follow basic commands, recognize natural dangers, and otherwise safely fly in open areas.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/sCiT6Pg0E14 View the full article

Bird dispersal movements are thought to depend on complex demographic and genetic factors. Researchers show that there may be a simpler explanation: bird dispersal distances depend on the morphology and flight efficiency of the wings. Bird populations and the capacity of species to move across the landscape can determine which species will thrive and which may become endangered.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/zfT3wpFzSNI View the full article

Knowledge of the detailed accumulation profiles of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and POPs-like contaminants in wild animals is critical for ecological risk assessment. Comprehensive screening of organohalogen compounds in the livers of wild birds from Osaka, Japan using two-dimensional gas chromatography in combination with high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC--HRToFMS) revealed specific accumulation of typically unmonitored POPs-like compounds in raptors.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/Z2LM-BWiKV0 View the full article

Using a novel modelling approach, new research reveals the location and intensity of key threats to biodiversity on land and identifies priority areas across the world to help inform conservation decision making at national and local levels.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/iHTBSZKecxA View the full article

Much like in human society, female hummingbirds have taken it into their own hands to avoid harassment. By watching white-necked Jacobin hummingbirds in Panama, researchers discovered that over a quarter of females have the same brightly colored ornamentation as males, which helps them avoid aggressive male behaviors during feeding, such as pecking and body slamming.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/rw5ppT5V75Y View the full article