Noise and Light Pollution Changes Which Species of Birds Visit Our Backyards
A new study reports that birds across the continental U.S. tend to avoid backyard feeders in louder areas. When light and noise pollution were both…
Ornithology
Falcons Have Natural “Eye Makeup” to Improve Hunting Ability
Dark ‘eyeliner’ feathers of peregrine falcons act as sun shields to improve the birds’ hunting ability, a new scientific study suggests. Scientists have long speculated…
Extremely High-Resolution Control: Songbirds Can Control Single Vocal Muscle Fibers When Singing
Singing is crucial for the recognition, sex life, and speciation of songbirds; new research published in Current Biology shows songbirds have extremely high-resolution control over…
Deception and Lies: Wild Siberian Jays Use Social Knowledge to Avoid Being Tricked
Siberian jays are group-living birds within the corvid family that employ a wide repertoire of calls to warn each other of predators. Sporadically, however, birds…
From Avocet to Zebra Finch: Study Finds There Are More Than 50 Billion Birds in the World
Talk about getting your ducks in a row. There are roughly 50 billion individual birds in the world, a new big data study by UNSW…
Two New Species of Screech Owls Discovered in Amazon Rainforest – Both Are Already Critically Endangered
Recordings of owls’ screeches used to help tell species apart. The Amazon rainforest is teeming with creatures unknown to science—and that’s just in broad daylight….
Mummified Parrots Found by Archaeologists Point to Trade in the Ancient Atacama Desert
Ancient Egyptians mummified cats, dogs, ibises, and other animals, but closer to home in the South American Atacama desert, parrot mummies reveal that between 1100…
When Singing the Wrong Song Spells Trouble: Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater Is Losing Its “Song Culture”
The critically endangered regent honeyeater is losing its “song culture” due to the bird’s rapidly declining population, according to new research from The Australian National…
Crystals Discovered in the Stomach of Fossil Bird Complicates the Mystery of Its Diet
It’s hard to know what prehistoric animals’ lives were like—even answering seemingly simple questions, like what they ate, can be a challenge. Sometimes, paleontologists get…
Higher Elevation Himalayan Songbirds Sport Thicker Down “Jackets” to Survive the Cold
Study of Himalayan songbirds in museum collections is first step toward using feathers to predict the effects of climate change for birds in extreme environments….
Birds Can “Read” the Earth’s Magnetic Signature to Navigate Back on Course
Research shows for the first time, how birds displaced beyond their normal migratory route are able to navigate back to their route and gives us…
Keeping Up Appearances: Male Fairy-Wrens Show That Looks Can Be Deceiving
In many animals, female preference for males with the most elaborate appearance is an important factor in the evolution of bright and dramatic colors. Females…
Scientists Say Oriole Hybridization Is a Dead End
Baltimore and Bullock’s Orioles Are Not Merging A half-century of controversy over two popular bird species may have finally come to an end. In one…
Listen to Sparrow Song That Went “Viral” Across Canada – Traveled Over 1,800 Miles
Most bird species are slow to change their tune, preferring to stick with tried-and-true songs to defend territories and attract females. Now, with the help…
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…
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…
Urgent Action to Protect California Spotted Owls Recommended by Wildlife Biologists
In the Pacific Northwest, the range expansion of Barred Owls has contributed to a conservation crisis for Northern Spotted Owls, which are being displaced from…