Birds in the News
grrlscientist | November 19, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Black-necked weaver, Ploceus nigricollis.
Image: Basia Kruszewska, author of India Ink. [Wallpaper size]
Birds in Research
A native Hawaiian bird has surprised researchers with its ability to survive malaria, apparently thanks to a number of resistant populations that have spread throughout the Hawaiian forest. The discovery hints that genes for natural resistance to the avian disease may lurk inside the genomes of many of Hawaii's endangered birds. Two years ago, researchers reported that one species, the amakihi,…
grrlscientist | November 12, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Song sparrow, Melospiza melodia.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. [larger size].
Birds in Science
Dinosaurs like Velociraptors had one of the most efficient respiratory systems of all animals, similar to that of modern diving birds like penguins, fossil evidence shows. The bipedal meat-eaters, the therapods, had air sacs ventilated by tiny bones that moved the ribcage up and down. "Finding these structures in modern birds and their extinct dinosaur ancestors suggests that these running dinosaurs had an efficient respiratory…
grrlscientist | November 5, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Lesser flamingo, Phoenicopterus minor, in flight.
Lake Natron in Tanzania, Africa, is the only site in East Africa where Lesser Flamingos reliably breed.
Image: James Warwick[wallpaper size].
Birds in Science
The changing of the seasons finds millions of birds migrating over thousands of kilometres. How they find their way is a question that has perplexed biologists for decades. It is known that birds have built-in compasses attuned to the Earth's magnetic field. But how those compasses work and what they are made of…
grrlscientist | October 29, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Falconer Geoff Clayton with eight-year-old golden eagle Shirko as they attend the Inter-Governmental Conference on Migratory Birds of Prey in Loch Lomond.
Image: PA [larger view]
Birds in Science
The ability to ramp up testosterone levels drives certain male sparrows to mate, but also makes them bad dads, a new study suggests. Researchers had thought that the total amount of testosterone might determine the mating habits and aggressive tendencies of male dark-eyed juncos, a type of sparrow. But the new study of juncos…
grrlscientist | October 22, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
A pair of Moluccan Red Lories, Eos bornea rothschildi (upper right and lower left (upside down)), and a pair of Rainbow Lorikeet, Trichoglossus haematodus haematodus (center; one bird is hanging upside down), near the north coast of Seram, Indonesia.
Image: Kevin Sharp [wallpaper size].
Birds in Science
The ability to ramp up testosterone levels drives certain male sparrows to mate, but also makes them bad dads, a new study suggests. Researchers had thought that the total amount of testosterone might determine the…
grrlscientist | October 15, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Male SincoraÌ Antwren,Formicivora grantsaui.
Potentially a new bird species that was recently discovered in Brazil.
Image: Sidnei Sampaio. [larger view].
Birds in Science
When male birds know they're about to get it on, that action is more likely to spawn a bigger brood of eggs compared to spontaneous copulation, a new study finds. Previous studies have shown that when two male birds mate with a female in a competition to pass on their genetic material, they end in a draw and both become fathers to an equal number of…
grrlscientist | October 8, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Can anyone out there identify these mysterious birds? I have no information about the birds, such as location, but several experts are already proposing their guesses (one thinks it's a Chough, another one disagrees). Several ornithologists think these birds are captives rather than wild birds. [larger view].
Birds in Science
Urban birds are regular tough guys compared to their country cousins. The avian urbanites adapt to changing environments and noisy, crowded habitats, a new study shows. Birds that hang out on…
grrlscientist | October 1, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Back from the brink:
The endangered Rimatara lorikeet or Kuhl's lory, Vini kuhlii,
has been successfully reintroduced to Ätiu.
Image: Phil Bender.
Birds in Science
Migrating birds, it seems, can "see" the Earth's magnetic field which they use as a compass to guide them around the globe. Specialized neurons in the eye, sensitive to magnetic direction, have been shown for the first time to connect via a specific brain pathway to an area in the forebrain of birds responsible for vision, German researchers said on…
grrlscientist | September 24, 2007Well, I haven't forgotten about it, but I have had wifi problems over the weekend once more. In an effort to circumvent those problems, I crawled out of bed early this morning and trekked in to Lincoln Center where they have free wifi so I could work on Birds in the News for a couple hours before my laptop battery ran down completely. I sat in the bright sun (so bright that I could barely see my computer screen) between the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Opera. Even though I logged in to the Lincoln Center wifi connection, I was still unable to access the internet! WTF? So I instead…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2007As you no doubt have noticed, Birds in the News has not made its usual appearance today at noon. The reason is that I was unable to find any wifi hotspots from Friday afternoon onwards, until today when I returned to the library. As a result, I didn't have a chance to write this week's issue of Birds in the News. I was only able to access the internet -- twice -- this past weekend for approximately five minutes each time, but that is all. Birds in the News requires four hours to finish each issue. So please accept my apologies.
grrlscientist | September 10, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Clark's Grebe, Aechmorphus clarkii, in the foreground with a Western Grebe, Aechmorphus occidentalis, behind. Both were photographed on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (north end of the Great Salt Lake) in the spring of 2005. Similar birds, but the field marks are straw-yellow bill (Clark's) cf. greenish-yellow bill (Western); white feathering around the eye (Clark's) cf black (Western), and whiter flanks on the Clark's Grebe. This pair of birds was hanging out together, and that was not unusual, making one wonder…
grrlscientist | September 3, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Among the animals Darwin spotted on the Galapagos Islands were the blue-footed boobies, Sula nebouxii excisa. The males show off their blue feet to potential mates with high-stepping dances.
Image: Stephen C. Quinn, AMNH. [larger].
Birds in Science
A new study published in the leading ornithological journal Ibis has uncovered that for the vast majority of bird species, there are more males than females. The discovery suggests that populations of many of the world's threatened birds could therefore be overestimated,…
grrlscientist | August 27, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, preparing to land on its nest, Kodiak Island National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.
Image: US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Birds in Science
Here's a question for all of you: whose offspring would do better; those raised only by their parents, or those raised by their parents in addition to an extended family group? A research team led by Andrew F. Russell of the University of Sheffield in England recently asked that very question in their research of superb fairy-wrens, a species where…
grrlscientist | August 20, 2007tags: Clark's Grebe, Aechmorphus clarkii, Image of the Day
Clark's Grebe, Aechmorphus clarkii.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU [larger]
Due to a weekend of scientific congress and drunken debauchery [Editor's Note: scientists don't drink!!] with my SciBlings here in NYC, I was unable to complete this week's issue of Birds in the News. I did try, but the spirit is willing while the flesh is weak, especially when pickled in 180 proof bourbon.
grrlscientist | August 13, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Male Common Nighthawk, Chordeiles minor, photographed in June on the Konza Prairie (this also is my screensaver).
Also known as "bullbats", apparently from their habit of swooping around cattle in pastures to pick off the insects stirred up by the bovines. You can tell it is a male from the white throat, which is buffy in the females. I just love the feather patterns on these birds; they are a subtle masterpiece. [This species also seems to be declining; the original New York state breeding bird atlas found…
grrlscientist | August 6, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
A male Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, photographed in July on the Konza Prairie [song].
[This is a] species in decline, probably partially due to habitat loss, since they are obligate grassland birds, and grasslands are disappearing. Additionally they require grasslands that have been unburnt or unhayed during the last season, since they only nest in "standing dead" vegetation left over from the last growing season. The current practice of annual burning here in the Flint Hills means that these birds are very…
grrlscientist | July 30, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
A winning photo of a Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Galbula ruficauda.
Image: Marcelo Ismar Santana.
Birds in Science
Scientists are looking in the brains of songbirds for clues to human speech impediments like stuttering. For the first time, they've managed to image the brain activity of zebra finches while the birds listen to different songs. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers found that different sounds triggered different responses in the birds' brains, according to a study published in the…
grrlscientist | July 23, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Female Snowy Owl, Bubo scandiacus.
Image: Bill Ferensen, Seattle.
Even though my blog pseudonym is "GrrlScientist", some of you originally knew me elsewhere on the internet as "Hedwig the Owl" -- a pseudonym that I have used for five years. Because of the release of the last Harry Potter book, which is where the character of Hedwig came from, I am dedicating this edition of the Birds in the News to Hedwig, my original namesake -- just because I want to make the point that it's okay to love a fictional character, even…
grrlscientist | July 16, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
This adult piping plover was on the beach at Kettle Point in the morning of 10 July 2007. The bird eventually flew off when beach strollers were approaching.
Image: appears here with the kind permission of the photographer, Alf Rider.
Birds in Science
The love songs of 1979 just don't cut it anymore with the ladies -- lady sparrows, that is. Today's females are better wooed by the song of their contemporary male counterparts, according to Duke University researcher Elizabeth Derryberry, who is studying the attraction…
grrlscientist | July 9, 2007tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
A forest that is home to nearly one-third of Uganda's bird life, including the great blue turaco, is under threat, says the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. There are plans to change laws protecting the Mabira Forest Reserve to allow huge sugar cane plantations to be grown inside its boundaries.
Image: Nature Uganda.
Birds in Science
New research has found that birds aren't sentimental when it comes to music. Songs from just 30 years ago are received with equanimity, while newer tunes make the males…