DISCOVERED! AUDUBON’S FIRST ENGRAVING OF A BIRD
by Carolyn Belardo, 215-299-1043, belardo@ansp.org

July 29th, 2010

PHILADELPHIA—In 1824, three years before he began to publish his famous “double elephant folio” The Birds of America, John James Audubon (1785-1851), the eminent artist of American birds and animals, created a drawing of a running grouse for use in the design for a New Jersey bank note. Although...

Seasonal influences on sleep and executive function in the migratory White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii)
by Ruth Benca

July 29th, 2010

Background: We have previously shown that the White-crowned Sparrow (WCS) decreases sleep by 60% during a period of migratory restlessness relative to a non-migratory period when housed in a 12h light: 12h dark cycle. Despite this sleep reduction, accuracy of operant performance was not impaired,...

Great Tits eat bats in times of need

During harsh winters, Great Tits extend their menu options to include bats.

September 25th, 2009

Necessity is the mother of invention: Great Tits eat hibernating common pipistrelle bats under harsh conditions of snow cover. This remarkable newly-acquired behaviour was observed by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen and their colleagues in a cave in Hungary. When the researchers offered the birds alternative feed, they ate it and showed little or no interest in flying into the cave again. (Biology Letters, online prepublication from September 9, 2009)

Scientists reconstruct the plumage of extinct avian taxa using Subfossil DNA remains

Example modelled on Giant flightless bird 'Moa' of New Zealand.

Wednesday, 1 July 2009

The subfossil moa feathers were analysed and it was discovered that mtDNA can be amplified whence it was demonstrated that both ancient DNA and plumage information can be recovered from their upper portion, allowing species identification and a means to reconstruct the appearance of extinct taxa.

Study finds migratory birds not picky about their rest stops

12 August 2009

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -John Dunning, an associate professor of forestry and natural resources, found that migrating birds are just as likely to stop in small woodlots in the middle of an agricultural field for the night as long as there is adequate protection and food. Dunning said the finding suggests that conservation efforts should extend to smaller forested lands to help stabilize declining migratory bird populations.

Roadrunners not too fast for AgriLife researcher

Radio telemetry used to track movement, habitat

31 Jul 2009

VERNON – Dr. Dean Ransom, AgriLife Research wildlife ecologist in Vernon, has conducted a study of the roadrunner’s ecology and habitat for the past four years. Using radio telemetry and studying more than 50 nests, he and his staff have researched home range, habitat use, nesting ecology and dispersal of young since 2006.

Aesop’s fable ‘The crow and the pitcher’ more fact than fiction

New research indicates that rooks, members of the crow family, are able to solve complex problems using tools

6 August 2009

In Aesop's fable 'The crow and the pitcher' a thirsty crow uses stones to raise the level of water in a pitcher to quench its thirst. A new study published online today (06 August) in the journal Current Biology demonstrates that rooks, birds belonging to the corvid (or crow) family, are able to solve complex problems using tools and can easily master the same technique demonstrated in Aesop's fable.

Bald-Faced Flyer: WCS and University of Melbourne Discover New “Bald” Songbird
Discovery of new species marks first bald songbird discovered in mainland Asia
“Bare-faced bulbul” is restricted to rugged region in Laos

30 Jul 2009

NEW YORK – An odd songbird with a bald head living in a rugged region in Laos has been discovered by scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and University of Melbourne, as part of a project funded and managed by the mining company MMG (Minerals and Metals Group) that operates the Sepon copper and gold project in the region..

Invigorated muscle structure allows geese to brave the Himalayas: UBC research
28 Jul 2009

A higher density of blood vessels and other unique physiological features in the flight muscles of bar-headed geese allow them to do what even the most elite of human athletes struggle to accomplish – exert energy at high altitudes, according to a new UBC study.

Humans lend a hand to critically endangered waterbird
26 Jul 2009

“Our findings show that this critically endangered species is largely dependent on the local farmers for their survival,” said lead author Hugh Wright, of UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences. “This is a fascinating outcome as we tend to assume that human activity always has a negative impact on the natural world.”

Energetic bottleneck factors in winter wrecks
Study on catastrophic loss of seabirds
17 Jul 2009

It's a terrible sight: hundreds of dead seabirds washed up on the seashore. These catastrophic events occur in the winter and are known as winter wrecks. No one knows why the birds perish, and it is almost impossible to study the animals out in stormy winter seas to find out how they meet their fate. With the birds' tough life style in mind, Jérôme Fort and David Grémillet from the CNRS Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive in France decided to try to estimate the energetic demands placed on two alcid species (little auks and Brünnich's guillemots) by their aquatic lifestyle to find out whether battling the harsh conditions may simply be too energetically demanding for the little seafarers

Noise Pollution Negatively Affects Woodland Bird Communities, According to CU-Boulder Study
23 Jul 2009

A new University of Colorado at Boulder study shows the strongest evidence yet that noise pollution negatively influences bird populations, findings with implications for the fate of ecological communities situated amid growing urban clamor.

Researchers see evidence of memory in the songbird brain
27 Jun 2009

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When a zebra finch hears a new song from a member of its own species, the experience changes gene expression in its brain in unexpected ways, researchers report. The sequential switching on and off of thousands of genes after a bird hears a new tune offers a new picture of memory in the songbird brain.

Toxic molecule may help birds "see" north and south
[Published 2009-Jun-22]

Researchers at the University of Illinois report that a toxic molecule known to damage cells and cause disease may also play a pivotal role in bird migration. The molecule, superoxide, is proposed as a key player in the mysterious process that allows birds to “see” Earth’s magnetic field.

Allometry of the Duration of Flight Feather Molt in Birds
Neccessary feather change limits bird size

The pace of life varies with body size and is generally slower among larger organisms. Larger size creates opportunities but also establishes constraints on timedependent processes. Flying birds depend on large wing feathers that deteriorate over time and must be replaced through molting. The lengths of flight feathers increase as the 1/3 power of body mass, as one expects for a lengthto-volume ratio. However, feather growth rate increases as only the 1/6 power of body mass, possibly because a two dimensional feather is produced by a one-dimensional growing region. The longer time required to grow a longer feather constrains the way in which birds molt, because partially grown feathers reduce flight efficiency.

LSU Researcher First to Demonstrate Link Between Bird Songs and Habitat Change
Museum of Natural Science post-doctoral researcher finds birds alter songs in reaction to habitat change

BATON ROUGE – Elizabeth Derryberry, post-doctoral researcher at the LSU Museum of Natural Science, has found a link between alterations in bird songs and the rapid change in the surrounding habitat. Her research will be featured in the July 2009 issue of the American Naturalist.

“Weedy” Bird Species May Win as Temperatures Rise

Climate change is altering North American winter bird communities in ways that models currently favored by ecologists fail to predict.

'If you can't stand the heat' -- how climate change could leave some species stuck in the kitchen

African bird species could struggle to relocate to survive global warming because natural features of the landscape will limit where they can move to, according to new research published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Siberian jays use complex communication to mob predators

When mobbing predators, Siberian jays use over a dozen different calls to communicate the level of danger and predator category to other members of their own group. A Swedish study from Uppsala University, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences, shows birds have evolved call systems that are as sophisticated as those of primates and meerkats.

Birds use social learning to enhance nest defence

Reed warblers live with the threat that a cuckoo bird will infiltrate their nest, remove one of their eggs, and replace it with the cuckoo’s own. This ‘parasitism’ enables the cuckoo to have its young raised by unsuspecting reed warblers.

However, scientists at the University of Cambridge have discovered that reed warblers will attack or 'mob' cuckoos on their territory and so prevent the parasites from laying eggs in their nests. This behaviour can backfire because it may cause injury and expose warblers to predators.

The first Great Bustard chicks hatch in the UK

For the first time since 1832, the Great Bustard – one of Europe’s most threatened birds – has this week nested in the UK with two females successfully hatching chicks. This milestone has been greeted with euphoria by the team striving for several years to bring back the world’s heaviest flying bird to the UK.

Nature parks can save species as climate changes

Wildlife conservation areas could save up to 90 per cent of bird species in Africa affected by climate change, according to scientists.

The research team – led by Durham University - including BirdLife International and the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) looked at the effects of climate change on 815 bird species of conservation concern in sub-Saharan Africa and on the network of sites designated for them (termed Important Bird Areas).

Jeepers Creepers! Climate Change Threatens Endangered Honeycreepers
Deadly Diseases May Move Up Hawaiian Mountains to Birds’ Refuges
Released: 5/26/2009 10:00:00 AM

As climate change causes temperatures to increase in Hawaii’s mountains, deadly non-native bird diseases will likely also creep up the mountains, invading most of the last disease-free refuges for honeycreepers – a group of endangered and remarkable birds.

A just-published U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) review discusses the likelihood of a forthcoming “disease invasion” by examining the present altitudinal range of avian malaria and pox, honeycreeper distribution, and the future projected range of diseases and honeycreeper habitat with climate change.

At one time, the Hawaiian Islands had no mosquitoes – and no mosquito-borne diseases. But, by the late 1800s, mosquitoes had set up permanent housekeeping, setting the stage for epidemic transmission of avian malaria and pox. Honeycreepers – just like people faced with novel viruses such as swine flu – had no natural resistance against these diseases.

A bad performance is better than no performance at all
Canaries that hear poor songs as juveniles nevertheless sing rather normal songs as adults
27 May 2009

Many songbirds learn their songs early in life from a role model. In the absence of an appropriate tutor, they develop an improvised song that often lacks the species-typical song structure. However, male canaries even learn to sing normal songs when they were exposed as juveniles to tutors that lacked the features of normal canary song, as researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology have now found out (Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, May 27, 2009).