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When birds see a predator in their midst, one strategy is to call out loudly, attracting other birds to do the same. Sometimes individuals within this 'mobbing flock' will fly over the predator or attack it directly. Now, researchers have found that male superb lyrebirds do something rather unexpected: they imitate a mobbing flock in courtship and even in the act of mating with a female.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/dGJ8BGsXCA0 View the full article -
Converting the ground under electrical transmission towers into spaces for wildlife can enable fragmented populations to connect with one another, increasing local biodiversity and providing animals around the globe an important tool for adapting to climate change, a new study found.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/7LEt5VyHOng View the full article
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The fossil of a bird that lived alongside the dinosaurs was found with some sort of rocks in its stomach. Previously, researchers thought that these rocks were swallowed on purpose to help clean its stomach, like modern birds of prey do, giving a hint at its diet. But in a new study, scientists discovered that these rocks are quartz crystals that likely formed after the bird died -- its diet is still a mystery.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/hGWK2TlXFJM View the full article
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A study recently completed in Europe and North America indicates that the composition of wintering and breeding bird communities changes in line with global warming. However, wintering bird communities are considerably faster at tracking the changing climate compared to breeding communities.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/mDNz4lWcg3k View the full article
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A new study examines feathers across 249 species of Himalayan songbirds, finding that birds at higher elevations have more of fluffy down than lower elevation birds. Finding such a clear pattern across many species underscores how important feathers are to birds' ability to adapt to their environments. Furthermore, finding that birds from colder environments tend to have more down may one day help predict which birds are vulnerable to climate change simply by studying feathers.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/73xu5TwND2Q View the full article
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Bird species that live in their natural habitats can help zoos learn how to manage those in captivity, according to a new review.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/dnMAyXryQ70 View the full article
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In the Mojave Desert, small mammals are weathering the hotter conditions triggered by climate change much better than birds, finds a new study. Using computer models, the study team showed that small mammals' resilience is likely due to their ability to escape the sun in underground burrows and their tendency to be more active at night. This gives small mammals lower 'cooling costs' than birds, which have less capacity to escape the heat.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/EXnHMVlBHI0 View the full article
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Muscle structure and body size predict the athletic performance of Olympic athletes, such as sprinters. The same, it appears, is true of wild seabirds that can commute hundreds of kilometers a day to find food, according to a recent article.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/VMEde1K7acI View the full article
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Oahu's ecosystems have been so affected by species extinctions and invasions that most of the seeds dispersed on the island belong to nonnative plants, and most of them are dispersed by nonnative birds.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/6Jt9byVsDDc View the full article
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Three studies uncovered the unusual sex chromosomes of platypus, emu and Pekin duck. Platypus have five pairs of sex chromosomes forming an unusual chain shape, while the sex chromosomes of emu and duck are not as different between sexes as those of human. View the full article
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Bird diets provide a real treasure for research into the distribution and conservation of their prey, conclude scientists after studying the Eurasian Eagle Owl in southeastern Bulgaria. View the full article
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Competition for mates leads to a deeper voice than expected based on size. View the full article
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Animals can fall into an 'ecological trap' by altering their behavior in the 'wrong direction' in response to climate change, researchers say. View the full article
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A comprehensive new study into the key user groups in Indonesia's bird trade offers hope for protecting species through behavioural change. Novel research has identified three main groups within the Indonesian songbird owner community: 'hobbyist', 'contestant' and 'breeder'. View the full article
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Researchers argue that tropical species form faster in harsh species-poor areas but accumulate in climatically moderate areas to form hotspots of species diversity. Drawing on decades of expeditions and research in the tropics and the scientists' own knowledge and sampling of tropical bird diversity, the team assembled a large and complete phylogenomic dataset for a detailed investigation of tropical diversification. View the full article
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Climate change contributes to gradually warming Aprils in southern Illinois, and at least one migratory bird species, the prothonotary warbler, is taking advantage of the heat. A new study analyzing 20 years of data found that the warblers start their egg-laying in southern Illinois significantly earlier in warmer springs. This increases the chances that the birds can raise two broods of offspring during the nesting season, researchers found. View the full article
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Molting is thought to be unorganized in the first feathered dinosaurs because they had yet to evolve flight, so determining how molting evolved can lead to better understanding of flight origins. Recently researchers discovered that the earliest record of feather molting from the famous early fossil bird Archaeopteryx found in southern Germany in rocks that used to be tropical lagoons ~150 million years ago. View the full article
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Bird species that have lost the ability to fly through evolution have become extinct more often than birds that have retained their ability to fly, according to new research. View the full article
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New research sheds light on the production of an 800-year-old turkey feather blanket and explores the economic and cultural aspects of raising turkeys to supply feathers in the ancient Southwest.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/sciencedaily/plants_animals/birds/~4/UX0XotCEukM View the full article
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Researchers reveals how the microstructure of small finlets on owl feathers enable silent flight. View the full article
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A team of scientists collaborated to analyze breeding bird data gathered by citizen scientists. They found that the abundance of invertebrates such as insects or spiders as prey is a key factor affecting bird diversity in the city. The more prey is available, the more diverse the urban bird communities are. View the full article
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Fossil bones collected in the early 1990s on Henderson Island, part of the Pitcairn Group, have revealed a new species of Polynesian sandpiper. The Henderson Sandpiper, a small wading bird that has been extinct for centuries, is formally named Prosobonia sauli after Cook Islands-based ornithologist and conservationist Edward K Saul. View the full article
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We don't know precisely how hot things will get as climate change marches on, but animals in the tropics may not fare as well as their temperate relatives. Many scientists think tropical animals, because they're accustomed to a more stable thermal environment, may be pushed beyond their limits quickly as temperatures soar. Yet researchers show both temperate and tropical birds can handle acute heat stress better than expected. View the full article
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Scientists report on the genomes of 363 species of birds, including 267 that have been sequenced for the first time. The studied species represent more than 92 percent of the world's avian families. The data from the study will advance research on the evolution of birds and the conservation of threatened bird species. View the full article
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By analyzing nesting data from across the contiguous US, the authors found widespread impacts of noise and light pollution on bird nesting habits and success. Birds that live in forests were most sensitive to noise pollution, as were those with low frequency songs. Sensitivity to light pollution was strongly linked to variation in low light vision. The results reveal traits and contexts indicative of sensitivities to these stimuli that can be used for conservation planning. View the full article
