Latest Bird Stories
Enid Burns for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online The light that emanates from cities may be causing birds to mate earlier. That's according to a study conducted by Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell, Germany. The study found that nighttime light in urban areas causes birds and other animals to develop their reproductive systems earlier. In the study researchers at the Max Planck Institute studied European blackbirds (Turdus merula), to see how they develop in urban...
Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online A new species of owl has been discovered in Lombok, Indonesia by two researchers just a few days apart from one another in early September 2003. But it was not the plumage that gave this bird away. The unique night song of the Rinjani Scops owl (Otus jolandae) caught the attention of these two scientists, offering evidence that the island of Lombok has its first recorded endemic bird species. Nearly a decade later, the first...
Nest diet has big impact on attractiveness of hihi birds Published today by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and University of Cambridge, the study reveals that male hihi birds develop more colorful and attractive breeding feathers if they receive a nest diet rich in carotenoids – natural pigments found mainly in fruit and vegetables. Scientists looked at the effects of newborn nutrition on male plumage in the rare New Zealand hihi (Notiomystis concta) over the course of a year....
Ultraviolet vision evolved at least eight times in birds from a common violet sensitive ancestor finds a study published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology. All of these are due to single nucleotide changes in the DNA. Modern daytime birds either have violet sensitive or ultraviolet sensitive vision. Being ultraviolet sensitive alters visual cues used to select a mate, avoiding predators, and in finding food. Researchers from Uppsala University and the Swedish...
[Watch Video: Adélie Penguins and Climate Change] Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Researchers studying Adélie penguins say that the Antarctic birds are actually coping with climate change, for now. A team set out with a five-year NSF grant to conduct research on how penguin populations cope with climate change, and on how individual birds cope. During the expedition, they wanted to know why some penguins succeed in coping with climate change, while others do not....
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online On December 10, 1956, a five-year-old Laysan albatross was tagged at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. Last week, at the age of 62, Wisdom, the world's oldest living wild bird, and her mate hatched a healthy chick at Midway. Wisdom was spotted sitting on her nest on November 29, 2012 by a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, and her return to the Wildlife Refuge was greeted with wonder. The average Laysan albatross dies at less...
Perceived risk of predation increased acceptance of immigrants into group Cichlid fish are more likely to accept immigrants into their group when they are under threat from predators and need reinforcements, new research shows. The researcher suggests that there are parallels between cooperatively breeding fish's and humans' regulation of immigrants. The research was published today, 6 February 2013, in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The Princess of Lake Tanganyika...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Many bird species are likely to suffer from future climate change, a new study led by Durham University and BirdLife International reveals. These species will require enhanced protection for important sites, and better management of the wider countryside. In extreme cases, they may need to be physically moved to areas that are climatically suitable to help them survive. Stronger protection and effective management of the networks of...
University of Cambridge New research shows that male Eurasian Jays in committed relationships are able to share food with their female partner according to her current desire. The behavior suggests the potential for 'state-attribution' in these birds – the ability to recognize and understand the internal life and psychological states of others. The research was carried out in Professor Nicola Clayton's Comparative Cognition lab at Cambridge University's Department of Psychology,...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Where do art and medical science meet? This year, apparently, they meet at the neck of an owl. A team of medical illustrators and neurological imaging experts from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has finally discovered how owls can almost fully rotate their heads without damaging the delicate blood vessels in their neck. Unlike most animals which are far more vulnerable to neck injuries, the nocturnal birds are able to...
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...
