Birds News

July 26, 2024

Top Headlines

New Zealand's Flightless Birds Are Retreating to Moa Refuges

July 25, 2024 — Researchers have found New Zealand's endangered flightless birds are seeking refuge in the locations where six species of moa last lived before going ...

Hens Blush When They Are Scared or Excited, Study Finds

July 24, 2024 — Hens fluff their head feathers and blush to express different emotions and levels of excitement, according to a new ...

Birds Need Entertainment During Avian Flu Lockdowns

July 22, 2024 — Birds need varied activities during avian flu lockdowns, new research ...

Influenza Viruses Can Use Two Ways to Infect Cells

July 17, 2024 — Most influenza viruses enter human or animal cells through specific pathways on the cells' surface. Researchers have now discovered that certain human flu viruses and avian flu viruses can also use a second entry pathway, a protein complex of the ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:39pm EDT

Groundbreaking Study Reveals Oceanic Seabirds Chase Tropical Cyclones

July 9, 2024 — A new study reveals that the rare Desertas Petrels (Pterodroma deserta), a wide-ranging seabird in the North Atlantic, exhibit unique foraging behaviors during hurricane season. Contrary to other ...

Migrating Starlings Are No Copycats

July 5, 2024 — Young, na ve starlings are looking for their wintering grounds independently of experienced conspecifics. Starlings are highly social birds throughout the year, but this does not mean that they copy ...

Pasteurization Inactivates Highly Infectious Avian Flu in Milk, Study Suggests

July 3, 2024 — Researchers found no infectious virus in the sampled pasteurized milk products tested for ...

Blue and Great Tits Deploy Surprisingly Powerful Memories to Find Food

July 3, 2024 — Blue and great tits recall what they have eaten in the past, where they found the food and when they found it, a new study shows. In the first experiment of its kind to involve wild animals, blue and ...

Researchers Find Genetic Stability in a Long-Term Panamanian Hybrid Zone of Manakin Birds

June 26, 2024 — We often think of species as separate and distinct, but sometimes they can interbreed and create hybrids. When this happens consistently in a ...

Bird Flu Stays Stable on Milking Equipment for at Least One Hour

June 27, 2024 — H5N1 virus in unpasteurized milk is stable on metal and rubber components of commercial milking equipment for at least one hour, increasing its potential to infect people and other ...

New Study Finds Dinosaur Fossils Did Not Inspire the Mythological Griffin

June 20, 2024 — For centuries, scientists thought they knew where the griffin legend came from. A new study takes a closer look at the data and folklore's influence on ...

'Lost' Birds List Will Aid in Protecting Species

June 17, 2024 — A group of scientists has released the first comprehensive list of birds that haven't been documented with sound or video in more than a ...

Early Homo Sapiens Facilitated the Establishment of the Bonelli's Eagle in the Mediterranean 50,000 Years Ago

June 14, 2024 — Scientists have unraveled the ancestral history of one of the most iconic birds of prey in the current Iberian fauna: the Bonelli's eagle (Aquila ...

Tiny New Zealand Bird Delivers a Lesson in Birdsong Evolution

June 14, 2024 — Scientists are rethinking the evolution of vocal learning in birds. New Zealand's smallest bird, the rifleman or titipounamu, may have a rudimentary version of the talent possessed by parrots, ...

Soaring Birds Use Their Lungs to Modify Mechanics of Flight

June 12, 2024 — An air-filled sac within the birds' lungs is believed to increase the force the birds use to power flight muscles while ...

Cocaine Trafficking Threatens Critical Bird Habitats

June 12, 2024 — In addition to its human consequences, cocaine trafficking harms the environment and threatens habitats important to dozens of species of migratory birds, according to a new ...

Specialist and Migratory Birds at Greater Risk Under Climate Change

June 11, 2024 — Following decades of decline, even fewer birds will darken North American skies by the end of the century, according to a new analysis. The study examines the long-term effects of climate change on ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 bumping into it. Most of what scientists know ...

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 ...

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 varying vaccine efficacy across ...

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 ...

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 local resources, according to a new ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, according to a new ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...