Latest Ornithology Stories
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 "“...
State threatened species continues its ascent By Joe Kosack, Wildlife Conservation Education Specialist, Pennsylvania Game Commission HARRISBURG, Pa., June 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The bald eagle's amazing recovery from the brink of extinction in this state continues at a heartwarming pace as America prepares to celebrate the birth of its independence, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. So far this year, 192 bald eagle nests - in 50 counties - have been recorded in...
HARRISBURG, Pa., June 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following the successful fledging of four bluebird chicks about two weeks ago, a pair of bluebirds wasted no time in getting on with a second nest that can be viewed through a live webcast on the Pennsylvania Game Commission's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us). The live video feed from a bluebird nestbox on the grounds of the Game Commission's Harrisburg Headquarters can be viewed by clicking on the "Bluebird Live-Feed" icon under the opening...
People could help to prevent species of birds from becoming extinct by recording sightings of all kinds of birds online, including common species, according to a new study published June 1 in PLoS Biology.The researchers behind the study, from Imperial College London, are urging the public to become 'citizen scientists' to help prevent today's common bird species from becoming threatened tomorrow.To establish whether a certain species of bird is at risk of becoming endangered, so that they...
HARRISBURG, Pa., May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With four of five eggs hatched, the Pennsylvania Game Commission's webcasting of a live video feed from a bluebird nestbox on the grounds of its Harrisburg Headquarters now is providing viewers a chance to watch the adult bluebirds feed their chicks. To view the live feed, visit the agency's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) and click on the "Bluebird Nestbox Cam" icon under the opening photo in the center of the homepage. "After several weeks...
About half of all bird nests don't survive due to predators, particularly in fragmented forest areas, but why? University of Illinois researchers monitored both the prey and predator to find an answer."Rat snakes accounted for a high percentage of cases of nest predation," said U of I researcher Patrick Weatherhead. "Our hypothesis was that because snakes spend so much more time on the edges of the forest, that's where bird nests should be most vulnerable. And in fact, we never...
MANDEVILLE, La., April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Two videos of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker have been obtained in the Pearl River in Louisiana, where there is a history of reports of this elusive species. One of the videos provides the first new facts about this iconic species since the work of James Tanner was published in 1942 and reveals that there had been a misconception about the way it flies. The scientist who obtained the videos has documented serious issues that have come to light during...
The results of genetic studies on migratory birds substantiate the theory that in the case of a continued global warming, and within only a few generations, migratory birds will - subject to strong selection and microevolution - at first begin to fly shorter distances and at a later stage, stop migrating, and will thus become so-called "residents". In a selection experiment with blackcaps from southwest Germany, Francisco Pulido and Peter Berthold at the Max Planck Institute for...
"Four and 20 black birds baked in a pie" "“ but wait, one has blue-gray eyes.That discovery, backed by DNA analysis, means scientists now know there is one more species of black shrike in the Albertine Rift of Africa than was previously thought. And if Dr. Gary Voelker has his way, he'll soon be studying the bird's habits to determine its susceptibility to the deforestation now occurring across its native habitat.The bird Laniarius willardi, is a newly described species of boubou...
HARRISBURG, Pa., March 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As development continues take over wildlife habitats, the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Howard Nursery has a way for wildlife enthusiasts to help support wildlife housing needs without having to apply for a second mortgage. The agency's Howard Nursery is selling a variety of wildlife nesting structures for several species of birds - from bluebirds to flickers, from ducks to owls - as well as housing boxes for bats and squirrels....
Latest Ornithology Reference Libraries
This bird of prey is known more as a pigeon hawk. The Merlin is from the Northern Hemisphere with some migrating to subtropical and northern tropical areas during the winter. There has also been a discovery that there are two different, very distinct, species: the North American and the Eurasian. The North American Merlin was first described by a Swede taxonomist, Carl Linnaeus. The Merlin is between 9 and 13 inches long with a wingspan of 20-29 inches. The Merlin is an exceptionally...
The White-throated Hawk (Buteo albigula), is a bird of prey belonging to the family Accipitridae, which includes hawks, eagles and Old World vultures. In British usage, it would be called a buzzard rather than a true hawk. It is a rather small Buteo, 42 to 45 cm in length. It lives in the Andes mountains of South America and ranges down to the coast in the O’Higgins region of Chile, favoring wooded areas. It’s closely related to the more widely distributed Short-tailed Hawk and was...
The Hooded Crane (Grus monacha) is a small, dark colored crane. Its body is grey and the top of the head and neck is white, except for a patch of bare red skin above they eye. It’s one of the smallest cranes, but is still a fairly large bird, a 3.3 ft in length, weighing 8.2 pounds and a wingspan of 6.2 feet. It breeds in south-central and southeastern Siberia. Breeding is also assumed to occur in Mongolia. Over 80% of its population winters at Izumi, southern Japan. There are also...
The Great Egret (Ardea alba), also known as the Great White Egret, Large Egret, Great White Heron or Common Egret, is a large and widely distributed egret. Dispersed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions throughout the world, in southern Europe it’s rather localized. In North America it’s more widely distributed, and it’s everywhere across the Sun Belt of the United States and in the rainforests of South America. It’s occasionally confused with the Great White Heron...
The Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris) is a small sized wader, although, it is the largest of the calidrid species. Their breeding habitat is tundra in the northeast parts of Siberia. They nest on the ground, laying about four eggs in a ground scrape. They are strongly migratory, wintering on the coasts in southern Asia through to Australia. This species forms extremely large flocks during the winter. It’s a rare vagrant to western Europe. This bird has short dark legs and a...
