Latest Bird Stories
Scientists have altered chicken DNA to create embryos that have alligator-like snouts instead of beaks. Experts changed the DNA of chicken embryos and enabled them to undo evolutionary progress to give the creatures snouts, which are thought to have been lost in the cretaceous period. This research of "rewinding" evolution could help set science on a new path to alter DNA in the other direction and create species better able to adapt to Earth's climate. Arkhat Abzhanov, an...
While the early bird might catch the worm, it's the quick bird that lands the ladies, according to new research into the running performance of an Arctic cousin of the grouse.Scientists studying rock ptarmigan on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard discovered a large difference in the running capabilities between the sexes, with the larger males able to run more efficiently and up to 50% faster than females.The University of Manchester team suggested that faster, efficient male birds are...
Tufts-led research underscores link between elevated hormoneWhen faced with environmental threats like bad weather, predators or oil spills, wild birds secrete a hormone called corticosterone. Traditionally, researchers have analyzed blood samples to detect corticosterone levels in wild birds.But recently, scientists have shown that corticosterone spikes can also be detected by analyzing bird feathers. A Tufts University study published in the May 11 online edition of "Journal of Avian...
Researchers say a jawbone found in Kazakhstan gives more evidence towards the theory that giant birds roamed the Earth during the same time as the dinosaur. The team said the new species had a skull about 12-inches long and would have stood 6 to 9 feet tall. The researchers also said the bird would have had a wingspan of about 13 feet.The only other evidence of a bird of this size during the period was a fossilized spinal bone found in France and was reported in a 1995 paper in the...
Fire and climate change increases food supply for some bird speciesA new Baylor University study has found that some bird species in the desert southwest are less affected, and in some cases positively influenced, by widespread fire through their habitat. In fact, the Baylor researchers say that fire actually helps some bird species because of the habitat that is formed after a fire is positive for the bird's prey needs.The study found that three specific bird species in the Chihuahuan Desert...
Biologists and engineers team up to unlock the secret to the hummingbird's 'snap-buckling' beakThe shape of a hummingbird's beak allows for a "controlled elastic snap" that allows it to snatch up flying insects in a mere fraction of a second "”with greater speed and power than could be achieved by jaw muscles alone, says a new study in a forthcoming issue of Journal of Theoretical Biology.Hummingbird beaks are built to feed on flowers, but hummingbirds can't live on nectar alone....
The different populations of the South American Burrowing Parrot originated in Chile The Andes of southern South America form a hostile mountain range with glaciers, salty deserts and meager high elevation steppes. Birds from more moderate climate zones cross this mountain range only rarely. Nevertheless, many species live on both sides of the Andes, as in the case of the Burrowing Parrot Cyanoliseus patagonus. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, together with...
According to scientists, snails are able to survive intact after being eaten by birds. Researchers found that 15 percent of the snails eaten survived digestion and were found alive in the birds' droppings. The evidence suggests that bird predation could be a key factor into how snail populations spread. Japanese researchers from Tohoku University investigated whether invertebrates could also spread in this way. Previous research has shown that pond snails can survive being eaten by fish but...
Study suggests kittiwakes use body odor to assess genetically compatible matesMale and female kittiwakes smell different from each other, according to research by Sarah Leclaire from the Centre national de la recherche scientifique at the Université Paul Sabatier in France and her team. Their work also suggests that the birds' body odors might signal the genetic makeup of individual birds, and could be used in mate choice to assess the genetic compatibility of potential partners. The study...
Scientists have designed a micro aircraft that will be able to flap, glide and hover like a bird.Researchers from the Biomimetics-Innovation-Centre in Germany have been inspired by birds to produce a new versatile design of Micro air vehicle (MAV) that combines flapping wings, which allow it to fly at slow speeds and hover, with the ability to glide, ensuring good quality images from any on-board camera."In birds, the combination of demanding tasks like take-off, travelling long...
Latest Bird Reference Libraries
The Lesser Frigatebird (Fregata ariel) is a species of frigate bird. In nests in Australia, along with other locations. There is a single recording from the Western Palearctic, from Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba. The Lesser Frigatebird or Least Frigatebird is said to be the most common and widespread frigate bird in the Australian seas. It’s common in tropical seas breeding on isolated islands, including Christmas Island located in the Indian Ocean in recent years. These birds are most...
The Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture (Cathartes burrovianus), also known as the Savannah Vulture, is a species of bird belonging to the New World Vulture family Cathartidae. It was considered to be the same species as the Greater Yellow-headed Vulture until they were separated in 1964. It can be found in Mexico, Central America, and South America in seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, heavily degraded former forests and swamps. It’s a large bird, with a wingspan of 59 to 65 inches. The...
The Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) was occasionally previously known as Man O’War or man of War, a reflection of its rakish lines, aerial piracy of other birds, and speed. It’s widespread in the tropical Atlantic, breeding colonially in the trees in Florida, the Caribbean and the Cape Verde Islands. In addition, it breeds along the Pacific coast of the Americas from Mexico to Ecuador including the Galapagos Islands, as well. It is known as a vagrant as far from its...
The Great Frigate bird (fregata minor) is a big dispersive seabird in the frigatebird family. Their major nesting populations are found in the Pacific, including the Galapagos Islands and the Indian Oceans, plus a population in the South Atlantic. This bird is a lightly built large seabird up to 105 cm in length with feathers that are mostly black. This species shows sexual dimorphism; the female bird is bigger than the adult male with a white throat and breast, and the male’s scapular...
A large member of the loon, or diver, family of birds, this species is well-known as the Common Loon in North America and the Great Northern Diver in Eurasia; its current name is a compromise proposed by the International Ornithological Committee. There are 5 loon species that make up the genus Gavia, the only genus of the family Gavidae and order Gaviiformes. The Great Northern Loon is only one of those 5 species. The Yellow Billed Loon or the While Billed Diver is a large black headed...
