Some species of seabirds plunge-dive at speeds greater than 50 miles per hour to surprise their prey. In the first study on the biomechanics of this diving behavior, researchers show how the birds pull of this feat safely.
University of Washington biologist Dee Boersma and her colleagues combed through 28 years' worth of data on Magellanic penguins to search for signs that natural selection — one of the main drivers of evolution — may be acting on certain penguin traits.
In order to discover the true colors of ancient animals, scientists are using X-rays to closely examine the chemical details of modern bird feathers. The researchers were able to map elements that make up pigments responsible for red and black colors in feathers. They hope to use this information to find traces of the same pigments in fossil specimens of extinct animals, such as dinosaurs. This latest discovery means that scientists may be able to go beyond monochrome in their depictions of fossilized creatures, and make steps towards portraying their colors more accurately.
A University of Oklahoma study demonstrates for the first time that remote sensing data from weather surveillance radar and on-the-ground data from the eBird citizen science database both yield robust indices of migration timing, also known as migration phenology.
A University of Oklahoma study demonstrates for the first time that remote sensing data from weather surveillance radar and on-the-ground data from the eBird citizen science database both yield robust indices of migration timing, also known as migration phenology. These indices can now be used to address the critical gap in our knowledge regarding the cues that migrants use for fine tuning their migration timing in response to climate.
New research from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program shows that, genetically speaking, blue-winged and golden-winged warblers are almost identical. Scientists behind the research say the main differences between the two species are in feather color and pattern, in some cases just a simple matter of dominant or recessive pairings of gene variants, or alleles.
Conservation of intertidal habitat— 65 percent of which has been lost over the last 50 years— is critical to the survival of countless birds during migration on the East Asian Australasian Flyway. In an effort to understand the threats and inform conservation of these areas, scientists from The Institute of Biological Problems of the North (Russian Academy of Sciences) and WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) have collaborated to identify vital stopover areas for the dunlin, a shorebird known to migrate up to 7500 km (4700 miles) to reach its destination.
Biodiversity Research Institute will participate at the 2016 North American Ornithological Conference, in Washington, D.C., August 16-20. BRI biologists will present current avian research in presentations and poster sessions. BRI’s executive director, David Evers, Ph.D., will participate in a symposium on birds as indicators of ecosystem health and environmental change.
A study published in eLife provides new insights on how bats recognise their surroundings to help them build mental maps.
A DNA analysis of living and extinct species of mysterious New Zealand wrens may change theories around the country’s geological and evolutionary past.
Northern Michigan University students who participated in a recent field ornithology class recorded interactions with more than 175 bird species in various habitats. They saw raptors pepper the sky over Brockway Mountain during the spring migration, owls being banded by researchers at the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory and barn swallows nesting beneath the bridge where the AuTrain River spills into Lake Superior. Some were surprised to spot American white pelicans this far north.
Climate change could make much of the Arctic unsuitable for millions of migratory birds that travel north to breed each year, according to a new international study published today in Global Change Biology.
Research is shedding new light on the causes of divorce in monogamous year-round territorial birds. A Monash University study of the endangered Purple-crowned Fairy-wren has discovered the females are calling the shots when it comes to breaking up.
Research is shedding new light on the causes of divorce in monogamous year-round territorial birds. A Monash University study of the endangered Purple-crowned Fairy-wren has discovered the females are calling the shots when it comes to breaking up.
Research by post-doctoral fellow Alexander Dececchi challenges long-held hypotheses about how flight first developed in birds. Furthermore, his findings raise the question of why certain species developed wings long before they could fly.
Peregrine Falcons, in their normal habitat on isolated cliffs, mate for life. But some 25 pairs now nest on Chicago skyscrapers and bridges, and city living has them in much closer quarters than they used before humans dominated the landscape. A group of Field Museum and University of Illinois, Chicago scientists investigated whether typical breeding patterns hold true for these new city-dwellers and, in a paper published in PLOS ONE, confirmed that even in the big city, the birds that prey together, stay together.
The researchers' observations shed light on the effects of human population expansion on wildlife.
Crows are performing a useful function and keeping our environment free from rotting carcasses, research carried out at the University of Exeter in Cornwall has discovered.
WCS reports that the groundbreaking Bolivian scientific expedition, Identidad Madidi, has confirmed the 1,000th bird species in Madidi National Park, one of the world’s most biodiverse protected areas and a mecca of bird life.
– The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Land Trust Alliance are partnering to help protect birds on private lands. The goal of the new Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative and associated website is to improve conservation for declining species by pairing the bird conservation community with land trusts, which collectively protect more than 24 million acres of private land nationwide.
“Our study shows that we need to learn more about their habits and impacts in the park so the Florida Park Service can make science-based decisions on how to manage these non-native monkeys,” said Steve Johnson, a UF/IFAS associate professor of wildlife ecology and conservation.
Thousands of remarkable fossil birds from the time of the dinosaurs have been uncovered in China. However, most of these fossils are flattened in the rock, even though they commonly preserve fossils.
Sparrows form pair bonds that are normally monogamous, but many females are unfaithful to their partner and have offspring with other males.
Experts from WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) have made a surprising discovery that could subvert the significance of traditional criteria used for species classification.
With the help of University of Alberta scientists, a newly described pterosaur has finally flown home. This spectacular fossil material was discovered in a private Lebanese limestone quarry more than a decade ago and has led to what UAlberta paleontologist Michael Caldwell calls “priceless scientific findings.”
Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) presents a mid-point progress report of the largest Common Loon conservation study ever conducted. Funded in 2013 by the Ricketts Conservation Foundation, Restore the Call is a five-year science-based initiative to strengthen and restore loon populations within their existing and former range. Research efforts are focusing in three key U.S. breeding population centers from the western mountains to the Atlantic seaboard.
A pair of studies led by Indiana University researchers provide new evidence that when it comes to evolution, the testes may play a key role. The research, led by Kimberly Rosvall, assistant professor in the IU College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Biology, finds that the testes -- or gonads -- have a greater impact than previously thought in evolution.
The first study to systematically measure the number of neurons in the brains of birds has found that they have significantly more neurons packed into their small brains than are stuffed into mammalian and even primate brains of the same mass.
Nesting birds time their escape from an approaching predator depending on how well camouflaged their eggs and their own bodies are, researchers from the University of Exeter and the University of Cambridge have discovered.
Scientists at the University of York have led the first full-scale national assessment of metal contamination in bats, showing that many bats in the UK contain levels of metals high enough to cause toxic effects.
Class is in session for a group of chickadees at their temporary quarters inside an aviary in Lehigh’s department of biological sciences.
Sperm with specific 'looks' are selected to fertilise bird eggs, say scientists from the University of Sheffield.
Owls exposed to noise equivalent to that of a natural gas compressor station experienced an 8 percent drop in hunting success per decibel increase in noise.
Seabirds exposed to even a dime-sized amount of oil can die of hypothermia in cold-water regions, but despite repeated requests by Environment Canada, offshore oil operators are failing when it comes to self-monitoring of small oil spills, says new research out of York University.
Male birds with redder feathers win more mates. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and colleagues have discovered the gene for red plumage. The gene codes for an enzyme that converts a yellow molecule, which the birds obtain from their diets, into a red one.
Unlike panting, dilating blood vessels in beaks to cool off conserves water in arid habitats.
The findings mean that inbreeding could be linked to a shorter lifespan. The team also found that the effect spanned generations – with the young of inbred mothers also being negatively affected.
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While analyzing and untangling multiple environmental sounds is an important tool for humans and animals, and humans and animals use similar cues to make sense of their acoustic worlds, according to new research from the University at Buffalo.
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Northern cardinals and tufted titmice are two abundant bird species in the woods of eastern North America. Many bird and mammal species rely on information from tufted titmice calls to detect and respond to dangerous predators. This causes important information networks to form around tufted titmouse communication. Normally, northern cardinals listen to tufted titmouse predator alarm calls and will typically respond by fleeing or freezing until the danger passes.
How did birds get their wings? Bacteria may provide a clue, say scientists.
The primary threat to vultures is the presence of toxins in the carrion they consume. Losses of vultures can allow other scavengers to flourish. Proliferation of such scavengers could bring bacteria and viruses from carcasses into human cities.
How birds' beaks evolved characteristic shapes to eat different food is a classic example of evolution by natural selection.
A UD research team is studying the Atlantic brant goose in Canada’s Hudson Bay region. The bird's population has been on a moderate decline, and the team is looking to seen if limitations during the summer breeding season have accelerated that trend.
Researchers from Vetmeduni Vienna for the first time collected quantified data on hybrid forms of two species of the northern house mosquito in eastern Austria. The reproductive hybrid feeds – in contrast to the two known species of house mosquito – on the blood of both birds and humans. Hybrid mosquitoes could therefore serve as a vector for the transmission of avian diseases to people. Identification of the three forms is only possible through molecular biology. Morphologically they are indistinct. The study was published in the journal
Multiple dispersals of penguins reached Australia after the continent split from Antarctica, including 'giant penguins' that may have lived there after they went extinct elsewhere, according to a study published April 26, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Travis Park from Monash University, Australia, and colleagues.
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