Birds News

June 10, 2024

Top Headlines

Seeking Social Proximity Improves Flight Routes Among Pigeons

June 6, 2024 — A new study looked at the social influences on pigeon flight routes. Comparing the flight patterns of pairs of pigeons to a computer model, the researcher found that flight paths are improved as younger birds learn the route from older birds and ...

Flapping Frequency of Birds, Insects, Bats and Whales Described by Universal Equation

June 5, 2024 — A single universal equation can closely approximate the frequency of wingbeats and fin strokes made by birds, insects, bats and whales, despite their different body sizes and wing shapes, researchers ...

Bringing Back an Ancient Bird

May 28, 2024 — Using ancient DNA extracted from the toe bone of a museum specimen, biologists have sequenced the genome of an extinct, flightless bird called the little bush moa, shedding light into an unknown corner of avian genetic history. The work is the first ...

The Embryo Assembles Itself

June 3, 2024 — Biological processes depend on puzzle pieces coming together and interacting. Under specific conditions, these interactions can create something new without external input. This is called self-organization, as seen in a school of fish or a flock of ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:01pm EDT

Researchers Improve Satellite Surveillance of Emperor Penguins

May 29, 2024 — New phenological and behavioral models will help scientists collect more accurate counts of emperor penguins. Emperor penguins are at the top of the food web. They are a reflection of how lower ...

Acute Sense of Touch Helps Hummingbirds Hover Near a Flower Without Bumping Into It

May 29, 2024 — Hummingbird flight mechanics have been well studied but far less is known about how their sense of touch helps them sip nectar from a flower without ...

Bird Flu: Diverse Range of Vaccines Platforms 'Crucial' for Enhancing Human Pandemic Preparedness

May 29, 2024 — Review of research to-date suggests vaccination remains the most effective strategy for avian influenza prevention and control in humans, despite ...

On Repeat: Biologists Observe Recurring Evolutionary Changes, Over Time, in Stick Insects

May 24, 2024 — An evolutionary biologist reports evidence of repeatable evolution in populations of stick ...

Birdsong and Human Voice Built from Same Genetic Blueprint

May 23, 2024 — Humans have been long fascinated by bird song and the cacophony of other avian sounds -- from coos and honks to quacks and peeps. But little is known about how the unique vocal organ of birds -- the ...

Ancient People Hunted Extinct Elephants at Tagua Tagua Lake in Chile 12,000 Years Ago

May 22, 2024 — Thousands of years ago, early hunter-gatherers returned regularly to Tagua Tagua Lake in Chile to hunt ancient elephants and take advantage of other ...

Regional Differences in Bird Diversity in Agroforestry Systems

May 21, 2024 — The diversity and ecological functionality of bird communities in tropical agroforestry systems are shaped by the surrounding landscape, in particular the extent and composition of the ...

Ukraine War Caused Migrating Eagles to Deviate from Their Usual Flight Plan, Study Finds

May 20, 2024 — When migrating through Ukraine in 2022, Greater Spotted Eagles were exposed to multiple conflict events that altered their migratory course, ...

Researchers Discover Hidden Step in Dinosaur Feather Evolution

May 21, 2024 — Scientists discover 'zoned development' in dinosaur skin, with zones of reptile-style scales and zones of bird-like skin with feathers. A new dinosaur skin fossil has been found to be composed of ...

Analyzing Androgynous Characteristics in an Emperor Penguin Courtship Call

May 15, 2024 — In the emperor penguin courtship call, male vocalizations are composed of long, slow bursts with lower frequency tones than the female version. But calls of SeaWorld San Diego male penguin E-79 ...

Mushroom Stump Waste Could Be Inexpensive, Healthy Chicken Feed Supplement

June 7, 2024 — Feed costs for producing broiler chickens accounts for 60% to 70% of total production costs, and stump waste from the production of button mushrooms comprises nearly 30% of total mushroom weight. ...

Eurasian Jays Can Use 'Mental Time Travel' Like Humans, Study Finds

May 15, 2024 — Eurasian jays can remember incidental details of past events, which is characteristic of episodic memory in humans, according to a new ...

Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu Detected in New York City Wild Birds

May 15, 2024 — A small number of New York City wild birds carry highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, according to a recent ...

Researchers Uncover What Makes Some Chickens More Water Efficient Than Others

May 14, 2024 — Research indicates a specially bred line of chickens could save growers thousands of gallons of water and thousands of pounds of food each month without sacrificing poultry ...

Island Birds More Adaptable Than Previously Thought

May 13, 2024 — The researchers found that birds were more evolutionarily similar on smaller, more isolated islands than on larger, less remote places. The team had expected to find that forested areas had more ...

Birdwatching Can Help Students Improve Mental Health, Reduce Distress

May 3, 2024 — A new study finds people who have nature-based experiences report better well-being and lower psychological distress than those who do not. Birdwatching in particular yielded promising results, with ...

Artificial Intelligence Enhances Monitoring of Threatened Marbled Murrelet

May 2, 2024 — Artificial intelligence analysis of data gathered by acoustic recording devices is a promising new tool for monitoring the marbled murrelet and other secretive, hard-to-study ...

How Do Birds Flock? Researchers Do the Math to Reveal Previously Unknown Aerodynamic Phenomenon

Apr. 25, 2024 — How do birds fly in a coordinated and seemingly effortless fashion? Part of the answer lies in precise, and previously unknown, aerodynamic interactions, reports a team of mathematicians. Its ...

Color Variants in Cuckoos: The Advantages of Rareness

Apr. 24, 2024 — Every cuckoo is an adopted child -- raised by foster parents, into whose nest the cuckoo mother smuggled her egg. The cuckoo mother is aided in this subterfuge by her resemblance to a bird of prey. ...

Zebra Finch Chicks Don't Babble for No Reason

Apr. 24, 2024 — Their first vocalizations help young zebra finch males to memorize the songs of ...

Study Compares Salmonella Rates in Backyard, Commercial Poultry Farm Samples

Apr. 23, 2024 — Researchers find less Salmonella on backyard poultry farms. But concerns remain about the prevalance of multidrug-resistant bacteria on both large and small ...

'Itinerant Breeding' in East Coast Shorebird Species

Apr. 19, 2024 — A study has found direct evidence of a species -- the American woodcock, a migratory shorebird from eastern and central North America -- that overlaps periods of migration and reproduction, a rare ...

Mountain Chickadees Have Remarkable Memories. A New Study Explains Why

Apr. 17, 2024 — Mountain chickadees have among the best spatial memory in the animal kingdom. New research identifies the genes at play and offers insight into how a shifting climate may impact the evolution of this ...

Storks Fly With a Little Help from Their Friends

Apr. 17, 2024 — All storks choose to migrate with conspecifics, but young storks rely more on social influences than adults ...

Tropical Forests Can't Recover Naturally Without Fruit-Eating Birds

Apr. 15, 2024 — Natural forest regeneration is hailed as a cost-effective way to restore biodiversity and sequester carbon. However, the fragmentation of tropical forests has restricted the movement of large birds ...

Africa's Iconic Flamingos Threatened by Rising Lake Levels

Apr. 12, 2024 — It is one of the world's most spectacular sights -- huge flocks or 'flamboyances' of flamingos around East Africa's lakes -- as seen in the film Out of Africa or David ...

New Computer Vision Tool Wins Prize for Social Impact

Apr. 11, 2024 — A team of computer scientists working on two different problems -- how to quickly detect damaged buildings in crisis zones and how to accurately estimate the size of bird flocks -- recently announced ...

Birdfeeders Are Designed to Keep Unwanted Guests Away

Apr. 9, 2024 — The first birdfeeders were made in the 19th century, and their design rapidly evolved during the 20th century. Researchers at the consider the evolution of the birdfeeder to be an example of ...

Dinosaur Study Challenges Bergmann's Rule

Apr. 5, 2024 — A new study calls into question Bergmann's rule, an 1800s-era scientific principle stating that animals in high-latitude, cooler climates tend to be larger than close relatives living in warmer ...

Four in Five Bird Species Cannot Tolerate Intense Human Pressures

Apr. 5, 2024 — In a recent study, researchers found that 78% of the world's bird species do not thrive in the most modified human-dominated environments. These species are also most likely to have declining ...