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Biggest-Ever Flying Bird Unearthed at Airport

Pelagornis had wingspan up to 24 feet

(Newser) - The biggest flying bird ever discovered had a wingspan bigger than that of some small planes—and appropriately enough, its fossil was found at an airport. The bird, named Pelagornis sandersi, lived around 25 million years ago and had a wingspan of up to 24 feet across, around twice that...

Our Only Native Stork Back From Brink of Extinction

Wood stork is taken off endangered list

(Newser) - America's only native stork has made a comeback a few decades after scientists warned it could be extinct by the year 2000. The wood stork—a four-foot-tall wading bird with a five-foot wingspan—has been officially declared a threatened species instead of an endangered one, though it will continue...

Oakland Riled by Strange Story of 5 Baby Herons

Tree-trimmer could face federal charges for disrupting their nest

(Newser) - A tree-trimmer, homeless birds, and an erroneous report involving a wood-chipper: These are the elements of a strange story that has riled Oakland. Herons living in trees near a post office were leaving droppings on mail trucks, so the post office had the trees trimmed. That, it seems, is how...

Dinosaurs Survived by Shrinking
 Dinosaurs 
 Survived by 
 Shrinking 
study says
May 27, 2014 2:10 PM CDT

Dinosaurs Survived by Shrinking

10K dinosaur species live on 'in form of birds,' says study author

(Newser) - How many dinosaur species roam the Earth today? "About 10,000 ... in the form of birds," says Oxford paleontologist Robert Benson, one of the authors of a study published in Plos Biology that clarifies dinosaurs' evolutionary path. As Astrobiology explains (and as you may be thinking), the belief...

Idaho Killing Birds to Save Other Birds

4K raven will die to save sage-grouse

(Newser) - Ravens are getting the short end of the stick in Idaho, where officials have decided to kill thousands of the birds to protect the at-risk sage-grouse. The state plans on killing 4,000 ravens—which feed on sage-grouse eggs and chicks—over two years by destroying their nests, shooting them,...

World&#39;s Oldest Bird a New Mom
 World's Oldest Bird a New Mom 
Feb 15, 2014 6:59 AM CST

World's Oldest Bird a New Mom

Wisdom, at least 63, has had 7 chicks in 7 years

(Newser) - Wisdom the Laysan albatross is "at least" 63 years old, experts say, making her the oldest known wild bird on the planet. And, amazingly, she's still hatching chicks. Last week, a worker at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge—Wisdom's home in the north Pacific—saw the...

Only 600 Whooping Cranes Left, and 3 Were Just Shot

A 4th male may never fly again

(Newser) - The endangered whooping crane population currently stands at only about 600 in all of North America—and shootings are cutting into that number. In the past few months, three of the continent's tallest birds, at some five feet, have been killed: Two were apparently killed in November in Kentucky,...

Windows Kill Up to 10% of America's Birds Each Year

Study: That's as many as 988M birds

(Newser) - After cats, what's the second biggest killer of birds? Windows. A new report finds that between 365 million and 988 million US birds, or as much as 10% of the country's bird population, die each year after flying into windows. And interestingly, skyscrapers account for less than 1%...

Birds&#39; V-Formation Explained
 Birds' V-Formation Explained 
in case you missed it
Jan 19, 2014 11:21 AM CST

Birds' V-Formation Explained

It's even more impressive than you probably imagined

(Newser) - OK, this is just cool: We all know birds fly in V-formations, but an in-depth study into the pattern using high-tech GPS sensors has found just how precise a science the flight model is. After tracking and monitoring a flock of northern bald ibises—rare birds raised in captivity that...

Gifts Also Rule Animal Kingdom

They offer piggyback rides, share food

(Newser) - Many species of animals are just as into gift-giving as we are, though they may be better at avoiding that last-minute shopping rush. Often, the New York Times explains, the presents are tied to mating. "This is an incredibly cool and important topic in sexual selection that we’re...

This Migrating Bird Flies 6 Months' Straight

Scientists get a surprise when collecting data from Alpine swifts

(Newser) - When Alpine swifts head south for the winter, they don't mess around: Researchers have discovered that the small birds fly nonstop for six months, reports the Los Angeles Times . The Swiss scientists attached ultra-light sensors to the birds before they took off from Switzerland to Africa, then did a...

Birds Observe Speed Limits on Roads, Too

They adapt to car speeds for their own safety, study says

(Newser) - No, birds can't decipher the numbers on speed-limit signs. But researchers suggest that they've learned to observe our posted limits in their own way, reports the Canadian Press . Essentially, the higher the speed limit is on a road, the faster the birds take off to avoid oncoming traffic....

T-Rex's Brain Was Ready to Fly

CT scans reveal that non-avian dinosaurs had what look like 'bird brains'

(Newser) - Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's … T-Rex? Not actually, but you'll be forgiven if that's the image left by a new study that found some nonavian dinosaurs—including the lizard king himself—may have had "bird brains"...

Senior Citizens Going to Court Over ... Bird Feeder

Feeder provides solace to homebound senior, but NJ neighbors complain

(Newser) - Two New Jersey seniors may soon find themselves in court over ... unauthorized bird-feeding. Alfred and Annette Rockefeller, 77 and 66, have received a summons to appear in court tomorrow over a feeder in their garden that has prompted complaints from neighbors; officials say it violates local rules. Feeding wildlife is...

Here's the Oldest Bird Ever Found —Maybe

Aurornis xui predates Archaeopteryx, but some think China 'enhanced' fossil

(Newser) - The feathered Archaeopteryx long ago laid claim to the title of oldest known bird—but it appears there's a new oldest winged critter in town. Scientists have found a fossil of a feathered dinosaur that predates Archaeopteryx by some 10 million years: Aurornis xui, discovered in northeastern China. The...

Oil-Soaked Birds Turn Up in Arkansas Spill

Smell permeates town as Keystone debate rages

(Newser) - Ten surviving "oiled ducks" and two dead ones have turned up following a pipeline leak in Arkansas , Exxon Mobil says. "I'm an animal lover, a wildlife lover, as probably most of the people here are," says a local judge. "We don't like to see...

Cats Kill Billions of Birds a Year
 Cats Kill Billions of Birds a Year 
new study
Jan 30, 2013 8:56 AM CST

Cats Kill Billions of Birds a Year

And even more mammals: study

(Newser) - Forget the adorable YouTube videos—cats are cold-blooded killers, or so says a new study that attempted to quantify the toll felines take on birds and other wildlife. NPR has the numbers: Of the estimated 84 million pet cats owned by Americans, researchers determined as many as 47 million are...

Fairy Wrens' Key to Survival: Musical 'Password'

It helps them weed out cuckoo imposters

(Newser) - A contender for favorite new bird: the fairy wren. It has developed an ingenious trick for weeding out imposters from the nest, reports Discover (via Kottke.org ). After laying her eggs, mom sings them a special song over and over with a note "that acts like a familial...

Cops: Students Killed Rare Bird at Vegas Casino

Pair allegedly laughed about beheading bird

(Newser) - What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas if you do something as stupid as decapitating an exotic bird—inside a casino. Two University of California, Berkeley, law students have been arrested for allegedly killing the helmeted guinea fowl inside the Flamingo Hotel and Casino’s wildlife habitat, which...

It's a Bird! No, It's Putin's Latest Crazy Gambit

Pooty-poot escorts endangered cranes ... dressed like a bird

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin hasn't proven to be the biggest hit with Russians of late, so what's a hockey star / fake archaeologist / shirtless horseman / whale hunter / virgin lover to do? Most politicians might kiss a baby, but Putin opted for the logical alternative: The Russian president...

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