Latest Feather Stories

A new study finds that a change in a single gene has sent two closely related bird populations on their way to becoming two distinct species. The study, published in the August issue of the American Naturalist, is one of only a few to investigate the specific genetic changes that drive two populations toward speciation.Speciation, the process by which different populations of the same species split into separate species, is central to evolution. But it's notoriously hard to observe in action....

Catching adult eagles for research is a difficult task, so scientists at Purdue University say they are using eagle feathers to learn more about the birds. Many birds are small, easy to catch and abundant, Associate Professor Andrew DeWoody, who is leading the study, said. With eagles, the effort can be 100 to 1,000 times greater than catching chickadees. Not only do eagles, with their sharp talons and beaks, pose a physical threat to the scientists, but the birds can badly injure themselves...

Catching adult eagles for research purposes is no easy task, but a Purdue University researcher has found a way around the problem, and, in the process, gathered even more information about the birds without ever laying a hand on one."Many birds are small, easy to catch and abundant," said Andrew DeWoody, associate professor of forestry and natural resources. "With eagles, the effort can be 100 to 1,000 times greater than catching chickadees."Eagles can be hard to find,...

Australian and New Zealand scientists say they have completed the first DNA-based reconstruction of the giant extinct moa bird. Researchers from the University of Adelaide and New Zealand's Landcare Research Ltd. said they used prehistoric feathers recovered from caves and rock shelters to identify four moa species after retrieving ancient DNA from the feathers believed to be at least 2,500 years old. The giant birds -- measuring up to 8.2 feet and weighing 550 pounds -- were the dominant...

Smithsonian Institution scientists say the birds that struck a plane in New York, forcing it into the Hudson River in January, were migratory Canadian geese. The researchers said they examined the feather remains from the Jan. 15 US Airways Flight 1549 bird strike and determined the geese were from a migratory, rather than resident, population. Scientists in the Feather Identification Laboratory at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History said they used molecular genetic...

Smithsonian Institution scientists say the birds that struck a plane in New York, forcing it into the Hudson River in January, were migratory Canada geese. The researchers said they examined the feather remains from the Jan. 15 US Airways Flight 1549 bird strike and determined the geese were from a migratory, rather than resident, population. Scientists in the Feather Identification Laboratory at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History said they used molecular genetic techniques...

Data is crucial to minimizing birdstrikes, researchers sayUsing forensic data from feather remains, scientists have identified the birds that caused the Jan. 15 airline crash into the Hudson River as migratory Canada geese. The study, published online in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, will help managers better assess how to prevent such strikes in the future.Led by Peter Marra of the Smithsonian National Zoo's Migratory Bird Center, the researchers applied DNA...

Study says red carotenoids that give the Common Crossbill its red coloration are produced in the liver, not the skinWhere do birds get their red feathers from? According to Esther del Val, from the National History Museum in Barcelona, Spain, and her team, the red carotenoids that give the common crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) its red coloration are produced in the liver, not the skin, as previously thought. Their findings, published online in Springer's journal Naturwissenschaften, have...

A Chinese wedding dress factory said eight workers spent 40 days creating a $1.5 million dress from 2,009 peacock feathers. The factory in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, said the dress also includes a bodice featuring brocade and Suzhou embroidery, the Daily Mail reported Monday. Male peacocks each shed an average 200 feathers during an average year, meaning the makers of the dress would have needed to collect dropped feathers from more than 10 birds for a year to gather enough for the gown, the...

Some of the brightest colors in nature are created by tiny nanostructures with a structure similar to beer foam or a sponge, according to Yale University researchers.Most colors in nature"”from the color of our skin to the green of trees"”are produced by pigments. But the bright blue feathers found in many birds, such as Bluebirds and Blue Jays, are instead produced by nanostructures. Under an electron microscope, these structures look like sponges with air bubbles.Now an...