birds

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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...

Isaac Brings Old Oil to La. Beaches

Tar could be leftover from BP oil spill

(Newser) - The latest fallout from Hurricane Isaac: The storm caused old oil to wash up on beaches in Louisiana, and it may be from the Deepwater Horizon spill. Officials restricted fishing and are testing the tar to determine if it's from the 2010 BP spill, the AP reports. Wildlife management...

Bird 'Bermuda Triangle' Claims Hundreds of Pigeons

British pigeon racers distraught

(Newser) - There's a new Bermuda Triangle—but this one's for the birds. Racing pigeons, who are supposed to rush home when released far away, are disappearing in northern England, the Telegraph reports. Just 13 of 232 birds released in North Yorkshire last weekend made it to their destinations, and...

Man Auctions 'Michael Jackson' Bird Poop

Brandon Tudor gets no bids for poop art on eBay

(Newser) - The value of bird poop that resembles Michael Jackson is ... nothing, it turns out, but a Chicago man posted it on eBay with an asking price of $500, UPI reports. "One of two things will happen," said Brandon Tudor, 29, before the auction closed with no bids today....

Birds Basically Baby Dinosaurs


 Birds Basically 
 Baby Dinosaurs 
study says
Jun 3, 2012 4:45 PM CDT

Birds Basically Baby Dinosaurs

Research cements link between creatures

(Newser) - Don't look now, but there may be dinosaurs on your front lawn. Research into early bird and dinosaur tissue has shown that birds are more closely related to dinosaurs than we had thought, Discovery reports. "By analyzing fossil evidence from skeletons, eggs, and soft tissue of bird-like dinosaurs...

Mission Plays Mating Call to Woo Swallows

Cliff swallows have disappeared from San Juan Capistrano

(Newser) - Reminders of cliff swallows are everywhere on the grounds of the 236-year-old Mission San Juan Capistrano, where the birds have migrated each spring for centuries. Trouble is, the swallows themselves have gone missing in recent years . So the California mission is putting all its eggs in the basket of a...

Kill Geese to Protect Jets: Sen. Gillibrand

Birds involved in pair of air emergencies this week

(Newser) - Jets' collisions with birds have caused two emergency landings in New York in the past week , and geese in the engine prompted the near-disaster before the miracle landing on the Hudson in 2009 . Now, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says it's time to let wildlife officials cull the goose population near...

Birds Again Ground NY Plane
 Birds Again Ground NY Plane 
Apr 25, 2012 5:07 AM CDT

Birds Again Ground NY Plane

JetBlue flight forced to return to Westchester immediately after takeoff

(Newser) - It's a bird, it's a plane ... it's a collision. Or so went an aborted JetBlue flight taking off from New York's Westchester airport last night, reports the New York Post . Two geese plowed into the windshield of the cockpit of the West Palm Beach-bound flight, forcing...

Why Woodpeckers' Brains Don't Burst

Scientists found a spongy plate that protects the birds' brains

(Newser) - After jackhammering their heads into trees all day, how is it that woodpeckers don't head home with the mother of all headaches, much less brain injury? The key is an astonishingly strong skull, say researchers in Beijing. Scientists discovered that the birds' skulls are insulated with a remarkably thick,...

City Sparrows Sing Louder to Trump Cars

 City Sparrows 
 Sing Louder 
 to Trump Cars 
study says
Apr 10, 2012 2:38 PM CDT

City Sparrows Sing Louder to Trump Cars

Pitches are higher today than decades ago: Study

(Newser) - Sparrows who live in the big city have learned to speak up in order to be heard: Researchers examined the songs of those that live around the Golden Gate Bridge and found that the calls are in a higher pitch now than they were in 1965, according to an Animal ...

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