Birds Can Thrive in Urban Environments With Either Big Brains or Frequent Breeding
Researchers have found that birds can thrive in cities either by having larger brains or by breeding more often. A new study in Frontiers in…
Birds
“Wonderchicken” – Origin of Modern Birds Revealed by Fossil From the Age of Dinosaurs
The oldest fossil of a modern bird yet found, dating from the age of dinosaurs, has been identified by an international team of paleontologists. The…
Seagulls Favor Food They’ve Seen People Holding
Seagulls favor food that has been handled by humans, new research shows. Herring gulls were presented with two identical food items — one of which…
Scientists Make Birds Watch TV – Here’s What They Learned
By watching videos of each other eating, blue tits and great tits can learn to avoid foods that taste disgusting and are potentially toxic, a…
New Changes in Bird Migration Discovered After Examining 50 Years of Data
A growing body of research shows that birds’ spring migration has been getting earlier and earlier in recent decades. New research from The Auk: Ornithological Advances on…
Feeding Bluebirds in Your Backyard Helps Fend Off Parasites
If you feed the birds in your backyard, you may be doing more than just making sure they have a source of food: you may…
One-of-a-Kind Dinosaur Specimen Discovered in China Offers View Into Dinosaur-Bird Evolution
San Diego Natural History Museum paleontologist describes a dinosaur that is new to science, shows dinosaurs grew up differently from birds. A new species of…
Pancake-Shaped Structures in Hummingbird Feathers Produce Their Iridescent Rainbow Colors
Hummingbirds are some of the most brightly-colored things in the entire world. Their feathers are iridescent—light bounces off them like a soap bubble, resulting in…
Coordinated Behavior: Birds of a Feather Flock Together, but How Do They Decide Where to Go?
Researchers propose a new method of studying coordinated behavior in biological systems, which they use to study pigeon flights. Coordinated behavior is common in a…
Birds and Bats Have Strange Gut Microbiomes — Why? Scientists Have a Theory
At a time when kombucha is commonplace on cafe menus and “probiotic-fortified” has become the newest health buzzword, our guts have never been more relevant….
Falcons See Prey at Over 200 MPH – Speed of a Formula 1 Race Car
Extremely acute vision and the ability to rapidly process different visual impressions – these two factors are crucial when a peregrine falcon bears down on…
Scientists Identified a New Bird Species: It Looks Identical to Another With Very Different Genes
Scientists have identified a new bird species from the Southern coast of China, that diverged from its Northern relatives around half a million years ago….
Puffins Large Beak Helps Them Stay Cool
Seabirds with large bills may be capable of longer flights. Tufted puffins regulate their body temperature thanks to their large bills, an evolutionary trait that…
How Flight Feathers Evolved: Study of Chickens, Ostriches, Penguins, Ducks and Eagles
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….
Using GPS, Researchers Discovered This Small Seabird Can Fly More Than 1,100 Miles Over Ocean Waters to Find Food
The migratory routes of a small seabird: Bulwer’s petrel can fly more than 1,800 kilometers over ocean waters to find food. The Bulwer’s petrel reaches…
Record Shattered for Loudest Bird Call Ever Measured by White Bellbirds in Amazon [Video]
Researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on October 21, 2019, have captured the loudest bird calls yet documented. The calls are the mating songs…
Wind Turbines Harm Birds – These Design and Placement Rules Could Minimize the Impact
Wind energy is increasingly seen as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, as it contributes to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated…
GPS Tracking Reveals Rare ‘Itinerant Breeding’ Behavior in California Bird
Reproduction and migration are the two most demanding tasks in a bird’s life, and the vast majority of species separate them into different times of…