Latest Finch Stories
New investigation of tissues and signaling pathways in finches' beaks reveals surprising flexibility in the birds' evolutionary toolkit It has long been known that diversity of form and function in birds' specialized beaks is abundant. Charles Darwin famously studied the finches on the Galapagos Islands, tying the morphology (shape) of various species' beaks to the types of seeds they ate. In 2010, a team of Harvard biologists and applied mathematicians showed that Darwin's finches all...
With all the bird seed choices bird lovers have these days, sometimes it’s difficult for customers to know what bird seed to buy. What it really comes down to is, what birds do customers most want to attract? Some people love all the birds, some people only want to feed smaller birds, while others want to keep pigeons and starlings away. Here Duncraft gives the details of the different seeds available and what birds are most attracted by them. Concord NH (PRWEB) May 29, 2012 With all...
Using one of the largest DNA data sets for a group of birds and employing next-generation sequencing methods, Smithsonian scientists and collaborators have determined the evolutionary family tree for one of the most strikingly diverse and endangered bird families in the world, the Hawaiian honeycreepers. Not only have the researchers determined the types of finches that the honeycreeper family originally evolved from, but they have also linked the timing of that rapid evolution to the...
According to recent research on zebra finches, adventurous females choose mates with similar personalities, regardless of the male’s appearance and other assets. This is the first study to show that the non-sexual behavior or personalities of both mates influences partner choice in non-humans. Researchers put 150 male and female zebra finches through a series of tests, in order to get a sense of their personality, to reveal how keen they were to explore new environments and how...
Wide range of pitch is due to vocal muscles more than air pressureFemale zebra finches don't sing but make one-note, low-pitch calls. Males sing over a wide range of frequencies. University of Utah scientists discovered how: The males' stronger vocal muscles, not the pressure of air flowing through their lungs, lets them sing from the B note above middle C all the way to a whistle beyond the high end of a piano keyboard."You have two variables "“ air pressure and muscle activity "“...
When zebra finches learn their songs from their father early in life, their brain is active during sleep. That is what biologists at Utrecht University conclude in a paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Their findings are a further demonstration that birdsong learning is very similar to the way that children learn how to speak.This discovery has important consequences for our understanding of the brain processes involved in learning and memory. Human infants learning to...
MIAMI, March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Following is a STATEMENT FROM HARRY WAYNE CASEY in response to the false, misleading and libelous content contained in the articles regarding the arrest of Richard Finch: RICHARD FINCH HAS NOT BEEN A PART OF KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND FOR OVER 30 YEARS, NOR IS HE A CO-FOUNDER OF THE BAND. Because of the recent allegations, I would like to clarify certain misinformation about Mr. Finch in relation to the band. I created KC & The Sunshine Band in 1973....
Scaling and shear link morphology, genotype and developmental geneticsFrom how massive humpbacks glide through the sea with ease to the efficient way fungal spores fly, applied mathematicians at Harvard have excavated the equations behind a variety of complex phenomena.The latest numerical feat by Otger Campàs and Michael Brenner, working closely with a team of Harvard evolutionary biologists led by Arhat Abzhanov, zeroes in on perhaps the most famous icon of evolution: the beaks of...
Darwin's finches develop antibodies to flies, pox virusUnlike Hawaii and other island groups, no native bird has gone extinct in the Galapagos Islands, although some are in danger. But University of Utah biologists found that finches "“ the birds Darwin studied "“ develop antibodies against two parasites that moved to the Galapagos, suggesting the birds can fight the alien invaders.With the discovery that the medium ground finches produce antibodies aimed specifically at the parasites...
Altering the DNA of a zebra finch could reveal the process of vocal learning in vertebrate brains, scientists at New York's Rockefeller University say. The zebra finch is one of several of its species that learn to speak by imitating other zebra finches, said Fernando Nottebohm, who heads the Laboratory of Animal Behavior at Rockefeller University. By manipulating the genes of zebra finches, Nottebohm and his team hope to learn more about the neural circuitry that allows songbirds to learn...
Latest Finch Reference Libraries
The European Serin (Serinus serinus) is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It breeds across southern and central Europe and north Africa. Southern and Atlantic coast populations are largely resident, but the northern breeders migrate further south in Europe for the winter. Open woodland and cultivation, often with some conifers, is favored for breeding. The European Serin is a small short-tailed bird, 4.33 to 4.75 inches in length. The upper parts are dark-streaked...
The Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus), also commonly called "pine chirper", is a small finch that is found across Canada, Alaska and the western mountains and northern parts of the United States. Migration by this bird is highly variable, probably related to food supply. Large numbers may move south in some years; hardly any in others. Adults are brown on the upperparts and pale on the underparts, with heavy streaking throughout. They have a short forked tail. They have yellow patches in their...
The Eurasian Siskin (Carduelis spinus), also known simply as Siskin in Europe, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. This bird breeds across northern temperate Europe and into Russia. There is a separate population in eastern Asia. It is partially resident, but the northern breeders migrate further south in Europe in the winter. The eastern Asian birds winter in China or further south. In some years there are large eruptions into the wintering range, when the preferred...
The Black-And-Yellow Grosbeak (Mycerobas icterioides), is a species of finch in the Fringillidae family. It is found in Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. Photo Copyright and Credit
The Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata), is a finch native to East Asia. The bird serves as the inspiration for a video game from Treasure Co. Ltd, called Ikaruga, which takes the bird's black-and-white coloration as inspiration for its primary gameplay mechanic. Photo Copyright and Credit
