ScienceDaily

Did the chicks of dinosaurs from the group oviraptorid hatch from their eggs at the same time? This question can be answered by the length and arrangement of the embryo's bones, which provide information about the stage of development. But how do you look inside fossilized dinosaur eggs? View the full article

New study shows that peach-fronted conures have a surprisingly advanced talent for collaboration when it comes to finding food. This is important knowledge for biologists working with conservation of wild bird populations. View the full article

Few singers reach their sunset years with the same voice they had in younger days. Songbirds are no different. New research reveals that elderly swamp sparrows don't sound quite like they used to -- nor do they strike the same fear in other males who may be listening in. Humans are remarkably good at guessing a person's age by their voice. But this is the first time the phenomenon has been demonstrated in wild animals. View the full article

When nearly one million common murres died at sea and washed ashore from California to Alaska in 2015 and 2016, it was unprecedented -- both for murres, and across all bird species worldwide. Scientists blame an unexpected squeeze on the ecosystem's food supply, brought on by a severe and long-lasting marine heat wave known as 'the blob.' View the full article

Complex learning processes like speaking or singing follow similar patterns. Using the example of zebra finches, researchers have investigated how young birds imitate the courtship songs of their fathers and practice them thousands of times. The study has revealed what aspects of the song are remembered overnight, and that sleep allows the bird to optimally build upon the progress made on the previous day. View the full article

Arriving early in the breeding area is crucial for successful reproduction also in non-migratory birds. View the full article

Gut bacteria help us fight disease and digest food, but not all animals rely on their microbiomes the way we do. A new study comparing the guts of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians shows that birds and bats have unusual microbiomes -- probably because they both can fly. View the full article

The American coot is a somewhat drab water bird with gray and black feathers and a white beak, common in wetlands throughout North America. Coot chicks, however, sport outrageously bright orange and red feathers, skin, and beaks. A new study explains how the bright coloring of coot chicks fits in with the reproductive strategy of their less colorful parents. View the full article

Extremely acute vision and the ability to rapidly process different visual impressions -- these 2 factors are crucial when a peregrine falcon bears down on its prey at a speed that easily matches that of a Formula 1 racing car: Over 350 kilometers per hour. View the full article

The Camargue area in France has considerably fewer grasshopper, cricket, locust, dragonfly, and amphibian species than 40 years ago. On the other hand, there are more birds and vascular plants, some of them considered as new and highly invasive species. View the full article

Researchers have discovered the largest known avian sex chromosome. The giant chromosome was created when four chromosomes fused together into one, and has been found in two species of lark. View the full article

If you took a careful look at the feathers on a chicken, you'd find many different forms within the same bird -- even within a single feather. The diversity of feather shapes and functions expands vastly when you consider the feathers of birds ranging from ostriches to penguins to hummingbirds. Now, researchers have taken a multidisciplinary approach to understanding how all those feathers get made. View the full article

Tufted puffins regulate their body temperature thanks to their large bills, an evolutionary trait that might explain their capacity to fly for long periods in search for food. View the full article

New insight on the extinction history of a flightless seabird that vanished from the shores of the North Atlantic during the 19th century has been published today. View the full article

From mid-November 2015 through February 2016, scientists used GPS transmitters to track the movements of Canada geese near Midway International Airport in Chicago. They discovered that -- in the colder months, at least -- some geese are hanging out on rooftops, in a rail yard and in a canal close to Midway's runways. This behavior increases the danger of collisions between geese and airplanes, the researchers say. View the full article