http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/birds/ Bird news and research. From chickens to birds of prey, wing design to migration, read all the latest news on birds. en-us Mon, 12 May 2008 10:05:01 EDT Mon, 12 May 2008 10:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/birds/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509113330.htm Individual birds can adjust their behavior to take climate change in their stride, according to a study by scientists from the University of Oxford. A study of the great tit population in Wytham Woods, near Oxford, has shown that the birds are now laying their eggs, on average, two weeks earlier than half a century ago. Mon, 12 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509113330.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105625.htm Male seagulls may be more vulnerable to their environment during embryonic development than females. Until now, the sex differences in developmental rate and susceptibility to unfavorable conditions during the embryonic stage in birds have received little attention. Thu, 08 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507105625.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507131453.htm The duck-billed platypus: part bird, part reptile, part mammal -- and the genome to prove it. Scientists have decoded the genome of the platypus, showing that the animal's peculiar mix of features is reflected in its DNA. An analysis of the genome can help scientists piece together a more complete picture of the evolution of all mammals, including humans. Wed, 07 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507131453.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430075912.htm In humans, the eyes are said to be the 'window to the soul,' conveying much about a person's emotions and intentions. New research demonstrates for the first time that birds also respond to a human's gaze. Mon, 05 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430075912.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501143416.htm Young songbirds babble before they can mimic an adult's song, much like their human counterparts. Now, in work that offers insights into how birds -- and perhaps people -- learn new behaviors, scientists have found that immature and adult birdsongs are driven by two separate brain pathways, rather than one pathway that slowly matures. Sat, 03 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501143416.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134238.htm Scientists from Arizona State University and the University of Oxford, whose work appears in the April 30 advanced online publication of the journal Nature, have synthesized and studied a sophisticated molecule that, under illumination, is sensitive to both the magnitude and the direction of magnetic fields as tiny as the Earth's, which is, on average, one-twenty thousandth as strong as a refrigerator magnet. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430134238.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428080356.htm A study into one of the world's rarest seabirds provides knowledge that could help avoid extinction. Molecular analysis of the Critically Endangered Magenta Petrel Pterodroma magentae (also known as the Chatham Island Taiko) discovered that 95% of non-breeding adults were male. This suggests that critically low population levels may be causing male birds difficulty in attracting a mate. Their calls are too spread out to attract the infrequent females which pass by. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428080356.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080427233813.htm Many animal species detect and avoid predators by smell, but this ability has been largely overlooked in the study of birds, since it was traditionally thought that they did not make use of this sense. However, it has now been discovered that birds are not only capable of discerning their enemies through chemical signals, but that they also alter their behavior depending on the perceived level of risk of predation. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080427233813.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428071113.htm A mammal has been discovered living in Ireland, which has never been seen there before. The shrew, which has been spotted in Tipperary and Limerick, is only the third new mammal to be found on the island in almost 60 years. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428071113.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423171524.htm Scientists have discovered why birds, unlike mammals, lack a tissue that is specialized to generate heat. There is a surprising implication that the same lack of heat-generating tissue may have contributed to the extinction of dinosaurs. Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423171524.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140418.htm Putting more meat on the theory that dinosaurs' closest living relatives are modern-day birds, molecular analysis of a shred of 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex protein -- along with that of 21 modern species -- confirms that dinosaurs share common ancestry with chickens, ostriches, and to a lesser extent, alligators. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140418.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417130549.htm Soldiers on sentry duty in hostile territory keep in regular radio contact with their colleagues to assure them that all is well and that they are safe to carry on their maneuvers. New research in Current Biology reveals that this is also a feature of the bird world and is very likely to be a rare example of truly cooperative behavior. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417130549.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417175221.htm Songbirds feeding near the contaminated South River are showing high levels of mercury, even though they aren't eating food from the river itself, according to a new article in Science. Mercury is one of the world's most troublesome pollutants, especially in water. "The birds eat a lot of spiders... The spiders have a lot of mercury in them and are delivering the mercury to these songbirds," one of the researchers said. Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417175221.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417152027.htm A new vaccine under development may provide protection against highly pathogenic bird flu and its evolving forms, according to researchers who discovered the new preventative drug and have tested it in mice. Sun, 20 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417152027.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410115420.htm Migratory birds make mistakes in terms of direction, but not distance. Scientists assessed several thousand reports of Asian birds from the leaf-warbler and thrush families that had strayed to Europe. Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410115420.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080409170333.htm One of the world's great wildlife spectacles is under way across Australia: as many as two million migratory shorebirds of 36 species are gathering around Broome before an amazing 10,000-kilometer annual flight to their northern hemisphere breeding grounds. But an alarming new study has revealed that both these migrants and Australia's one million resident shorebirds have suffered a massive collapse in numbers over the past 25 years. Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080409170333.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080405170910.htm Don't be surprised if you see of hundreds of dead birds along the southeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake during the next few weeks. More than 15,000 birds died on the lake last fall. Most of the birds were eared grebes. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080405170910.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080403104353.htm Millions of people tend birdfeeders in their backyards each year, often out of a desire to help the animals. But a new survey of research on the topic finds that feeding may not always bring a positive outcome for the birds. Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080403104353.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080331223816.htm Fruit-eating birds actively select fruit with the highest concentrations of antioxidants -- compounds that help them maintain a healthy immune system -- ecologists have found. This is the first time that a group of antioxidants known as flavonoids have been found to boost the immune system in studies on living animals, as opposed to test-tube studies. Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080331223816.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080331222115.htm New research finds fresh evidence that urbanization in the United States threatens the populations of some species of migratory birds. But the six-year study also refutes one of the most widely accepted explanations of why urban areas are so hostile to some kinds of birds. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080331222115.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080327093626.htm US Forest Service scientists with the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry have completed a study on ways to make high-value koa trees grow faster, while increasing biodiversity, carbon sequestration, scenic beauty and recreation opportunities in native Hawaiían forests. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080327093626.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080330200647.htm Some of the worst threats to farm workers and farm animals such as bird flu, foot-and-mouth disease and other emerging viruses could soon be quickly identified by using a newly developed simple screening chip. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080330200647.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080325083359.htm Molecular evidence provides strong evidence that speciation rates slow down through time. New species seem to appear less and less as the number of species in a region approaches the maximum number that it can support. Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080325083359.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080324203807.htm A decline by more than 70 percent of several North American shorebird species since the early 1970s has brought state, federal and international concern about conservation efforts for these birds and their wetland habitat. Wildlife ecologists are particularly interested in conservation measures aimed at slowing the decline. Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080324203807.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080321142057.htm Ten Short-tailed Albatross chicks have been moved by helicopter, from their current stronghold on Torishima Island to the site of a former colony 350 km to the South-east. The potential for future volcanic events on Torishima is among the most serious threats to this vulnerable species. Currently, 80-85% of the world population breeds on a highly erodible slope on the outwash plain from the caldera of an active volcano. Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080321142057.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080321124759.htm Flies may be more than a mere nuisance. They may also spread food poisoning bacteria like Salmonella enteritidis to chickens and their eggs. Microbiologists found that the common housefly, Musca domestica, readily picks up bacteria from its surroundings. When the chickens eat the flies, the bacteria get inside the birds. Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080321124759.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318203313.htm The song of passerine birds is a conspicuous and exaggerated display shaped by sexual selection in the context of male-male competition or mate attraction. At the level of the individual, song is considered an indicator of male 'quality'. Researchers found an association between individual song diversity and the viability of the population as a whole, as measured by the annual rate of population change. Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318203313.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318084359.htm Male songbirds produce a subtly different tune when they are courting a female than when they are singing on their own. Now, new research offers a window into the effect this has on females, showing they have an ear for detail. The finding provides insights not only into the intricacies of songbird attraction and devotion but also into the way in which the brain develops and responds to social cues, in birds -- and humans. Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318084359.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317150150.htm Clovis-age natives, often noted for overhunting during their brief dominance in a primitive North America, deserve clemency in the case of California's flightless sea duck. New evidence says it took thousands of years for the duck to die out. Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317150150.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314095059.htm The discovery of a new bird comes with a twist: It's a white-eye, but its eye isn't white. Still, what this new bird lacks in literal qualities it makes up for as one of the surprises that nature still has tucked away in little-explored corners of the world. Ornithologists describe for science a new species of bird from the Togian Islands of Indonesia -- Zosterops somadikartai, or Togian white-eye. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314095059.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312160247.htm One of the world's most endangered species -- a North Island brown kiwi -- has just hatched at the Smithsonian's National Zoo Bird House. Keepers had been incubating the egg for five weeks, following a month long incubation by the chick's father, carefully monitoring it for signs of pipping: the process in which the chick starts to break through the shell. The chick remained in an isolet for four days and is now in a specially designed brooding box. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312160247.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312102430.htm Competing against older brothers and sisters can be tough work, as any youngest child will tell you. But a biologist shows that when it comes to some birds, you should reserve any underdog sympathies for the first born -- or rather, first laid -- siblings as well. Sun, 16 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312102430.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080311215702.htm Though they perch far apart on the avian family tree, birds with the ability to learn songs use similar brain structures to sing their tunes. Neurobiologists now have an explanation for this puzzling likeness. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080311215702.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306202531.htm The first study of how individual wandering albatrosses find food shows that the birds rely heavily on their sense of smell. The birds can pick up a scent from several miles away, researchers have found. Wandering albatrosses fly for thousands of miles across the ocean, usually gliding a few feet above sea level. Floating carrion, especially squid, make up a large part of their diet. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306202531.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080308223914.htm A bird not seen for almost 80 years has been discovered in the Pacific to the delight of conservationists. Only two records of Beck's petrel existed previously, from the late 1920s when ornithologist Rollo Beck collected two of the tube-nosed seabirds on his quest for museum specimens from the region. Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080308223914.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304120752.htm Environmental mercury -- much of which comes from human-generated emissions -- is impacting both the health and reproductive success of common loons in the Northeastern US. Loons with high levels of mercury -- about 16 percent of the adult population in the study area -- were found to spend some 14 percent less time at the nest than normally behaving birds. Unattended nests have a higher rate of failure due to either chilling of the eggs or predation by minks, otters, raccoons and other egg robbers. Fri, 07 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304120752.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304105825.htm The exchange of genetic material between two closely related strains of the influenza A virus may have caused the 1947 and 1951 human flu epidemics, according to biologists. The findings could help explain why some strains cause major pandemics and others lead to seasonal epidemics. Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304105825.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303120357.htm Pigeons prevented from taking naps in the afternoon sleep more intensely at night. In humans, as in all mammals, sleep consists of two phases: deep, dreamless slow-wave-sleep (SWS) alternates with dream phases, called Rapid Eye Movement (REM)-sleep. Although several studies suggest that information is processed and memories are consolidated during sleep, this remains a hotly debated topic in neurobiology. Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303120357.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080302211819.htm Ski tourism is raising stress levels among capercaillie the largest member of the grouse family of birds, which could harm the birds' fitness and ability to breed successfully, ecologists have found. Researchers warn that forests should be kept free from tourism infrastructure if they are inhabited by capercaillie - a rare species whose numbers are declining markedly across central Europe. Wed, 05 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080302211819.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229102059.htm Charles Darwin maintained that the domesticated chicken descended from the red jungle fowl, but new research now shows that the wild origins of the chicken are more complicated. The researchers mapped the genes that give most domesticated chickens yellow legs and found, to their surprise, that this genetic heredity derives from a closely related species -- the gray jungle fowl. It is most likely the case that the gray jungle fowl was crossed with an early form of the domesticated chicken. Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229102059.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229135215.htm Honey bees and hummingbirds can hover like helicopters for minutes at a time, sucking the juice from their favorite blossoms while staying aloft in a swirl of vortices. But the unsteady air flows they create for mid-air suspension -- which hold the secrets to tiny robotic flying machines -- have also been observed for the first time in the flight of larger and heavier animals, according to USC aerospace engineer Geoff Spedding. Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229135215.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080227104237.htm New research questions claims made in August in the journal Science that EU conservation policy has been successful in protecting endangered birds. New research, also published in Science, reveals that the arguments presented in the study were flawed and based on inadequate data and predictions, according to critics. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080227104237.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226213457.htm Several strains of the bird flu virus that raged across southern China were blocked from entering Thailand and Vietnam, researchers have discovered. This first-ever statistical analysis of influenza A H5N1's genetic diversity helps scientists better understand how the virus migrates and could, in the future, help health officials determine whether efforts to thwart its spread were successful. Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226213457.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226213436.htm Considerable attention has been paid to the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in aquatic environments, but rather less attention has been given to routes of contamination on land. A new study reveals that male birds foraging on invertebrates contaminated with environmental pollutants develop more complex songs, which are preferred by females, even though these males also show reduced immune function. Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226213436.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080225213745.htm Seabird colonies on islands are highly vulnerable to introduced rats, which find the ground-nesting birds to be easy prey. But the ecological impacts of rats on islands extend far beyond seabird nesting colonies, according to a new study. Thu, 28 Feb 2008 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080225213745.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226213443.htm They may not be on most people's list of most attractive species, but bats definitely have animal magnetism. Researchers have discovered that bats use a magnetic substance in their body called magnetite as an "internal compass" to help them navigate. Researchers studied the directions in which different groups of big brown bats flew after they were given different magnetic pulses and released 20 km north of their home roost. Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080226213443.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080218172253.htm Environmental conditions migratory birds face in their first year may help determine where they breed for the rest of their lives, a factor that could significantly affect the population as climate change makes their winter habitats hotter and drier. The determining factor in where a bird settles for its first breeding season relative to its hatching site -- also known as natal dispersal -- was previously unknown. Mon, 25 Feb 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080218172253.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080217102131.htm The evolution of human speech was far more complex than is implied by some recent attempts to link it to a specific gene a professor of computational linguistics. Some researchers in recent years have speculated that mutations in a gene called Foxp2 might have played a fundamental role in the evolution of human language. Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080217102131.htm