birds

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Who is the &#39;Bird Man&#39; of YouTube?
 So Who Is the 'Bird Man'?
Mar 22, 2012 1:31 AM CDT

So Who Is the 'Bird Man'?

Apparent scamster has fake resume

(Newser) - Oh-oh. The credentials of the supposedly flying "Bird Man" of Holland have flown the coop. "Jarno Smeets," who posted a wildly popular YouTube video apparently showing him flapping giant wings to take flight , posted credentials on Facebook and LinkedIn that don't check out. Film experts at...

Can Birdsong Cut Crime?
 Can Birdsong 
 Cut Crime? 
Jan 17, 2012 3:30 PM CST

Can Birdsong Cut Crime?

California mayor says it already has

(Newser) - Crime has dropped in a California town, and residents should be thanking their fine feathered friends, says the mayor. Last year, he began piping recorded birdsong to 70 speakers on a highway. Minor crime dropped 15% from 2010 while serious crimes dropped 6%, the Wall Street Journal reports. It's...

Pigeons Ace Math Tests
 Pigeons Ace Math Tests 
study says
Dec 23, 2011 6:56 AM CST

Pigeons Ace Math Tests

Perform as well as monkeys at abstract number quiz

(Newser) - Don't let those blank stares fool you: Pigeons, it seems, are the math nerds of the bird world. Researchers found that the creatures can do more than count—they can handle numbers in the abstract sense, an ability never before seen outside primates, the New York Times reports. Pigeons...

1,500 Birds Crash, Die in Utah
 1,500 Birds Crash, Die in Utah 
Dec 15, 2011 2:23 PM CST

1,500 Birds Crash, Die in Utah

But 3,000 survive the crash

(Newser) - Storm clouds gathered over Utah on Monday, but what wound up raining down from the sky were birds. Thousands of eared grebes dived into roads and parking lots across Cedar City and St. George, apparently mistaking the flat surfaces for water, the LA Times reports. About 1,500 birds died...

Bird Expert Convicted in Cat Poison Bid

Researcher wrote on the feline menace to birds

(Newser) - A Smithsonian bird researcher has been convicted of animal cruelty after she tried to poison the local cat population. Nico Dauphine, 38, was caught on a security tape standing in front of a bowl of cat food outside a DC apartment building, the Los Angeles Times reports. She said she...

San Francisco Considers Bird-Safe Buildings

Board of Supervisors votes next week on plan to require safer windows

(Newser) - San Francisco lawmakers are looking out for the animals again . A Board of Supervisors committee has approved a plan to require new buildings to have treated glass or other measures to keep birds from banging into them, reports KCBS . The full board votes next week, with architects and developers complaining...

Film Captures Killer Chick Attacking Co-Nestlings

Vicious interloper dispatches foster siblings

(Newser) - Here's a true case of angry birds, but it's not funny. A hidden camera is revealing the vicious evolutionary survival skill of killer honeyguide chicks. African honeyguide moms lay their eggs in other birds' nest, and soon after their chicks hatch, they hack their foster siblings to death....

New Bird Found in US for First Time Since '70s, But...

Species might already be extinct

(Newser) - It's the ultimate in good news/bad news for a little Hawaiian seabird: Ornithologists have declared the discovery of a new bird species in the US for the first time since 1974, reports Scientific American . But the species—dubbed Bryan’s shearwater—might already be extinct. It seems the bird...

Snake-Free Hawaii Fears Slithery Invasion

Authorities see more illegal pets, worry about ecosystem

(Newser) - Leave it to a snake to ruin paradise. Hawaiian officials are worried that a steady increase in illegal snake ownership—a 9-foot boa and a 7-foot python were captured this month after escaping—will threaten the islands' fragile ecosystem and kill off birds and flowers, reports the Associated Press . Environmental...

In the Case of Thousands of Dead Birds, a Culprit?

Birds likely crashed after flying low to avoid fireworks, say investigators

(Newser) - Investigators probing the mysterious death of thousands of birds in a small Arkansas town believe New Year's Eve fireworks were likely the cause. Residents of Beebe say loud explosions were heard shortly before more than 3,000 blackbirds began falling from the sky, the BBC reports. The few that survived...

Thousands of Dead Birds Fall From Sky in Arkansas

Stumped officials speculate that weather, stress could be cause

(Newser) - The town of Beebe, Ark., is home to about 4,500 people—and about the same number of dead birds. State wildlife officials went door-to-door today to collect the creatures from rooftops, trees, and yards. Officials estimate that between 4,000 and 5,000 birds—mostly blackbirds—began tumbling from...

Audubon's Bird Bible Is World's Most Expensive Book

His 'Birds of America' sells for $10.3 million

(Newser) - John James Audubon's Birds of America—a rare blend of art, natural history, and craftsmanship—fetched more than $10 million at auction today, making it the world's most expensive published book. With its 435 hand-colored illustrations of birds drawn to size, the volume is one of the best preserved editions...

Beak Deformities on the Rise in Northwest

Abnormality at 10 times normal levels

(Newser) - Something is warping the beaks of thousands of birds in Alaska and the Northwest. A recent US Geological Survey found a shocking number of birds with “avian keratin disorder,” which causes the either the upper beak, lower beak, or both to grow abnormally long and curved, often crossing...

9/11 Tribute Traps Thousands of Dazzled Birds

Beams pull birds away from migratory path

(Newser) - This year's 9/11 memorial tribute ended up mesmerizing and trapping some 10,000 birds as they headed south for the winter. The Tribute of Light—beams of light projected where the Twin Towers once stood—was the brightest light in the area on that overcast night and birds relying on...

Hump-Backed Feathered Dino Discovered

Mystery dinosaur offers link to first birds

(Newser) - It had a mysterious hump over its pelvis and feather-attachment bumps on its forearms: Meet the newly discovered Concavenator corcovatus, a dinosaur scientists hope will offer clues about the emergence of the first birds. Paleontologists unearthed the dino, a member of the theropod family, in central Spain. And while its...

NYC Dims Lights for Migrating Birds

Feathered friends confused by the light, scientists believe

(Newser) - The city that never sleeps will be a little less bright through Nov. 1, as buildings hit the lights to protect migrating birds. An estimated 90,000 birds die each year by slamming into buildings in NYC alone; turning lights off can reduce that number by 83%, according to one...

Being Gay Is Good for Birds: Study

And it doesn't hurt reproduction, either

(Newser) - Scientists have been puzzled by homosexual behavior in birds , but a new study shows the proliferation of same-sex mating doesn’t necessarily hurt reproduction—and may help in many other areas. More than 130 bird species engage in some sort of homosexual behavior, from courtship to mating to establishing long-term...

'Terror Bird' Used Beak Like an Axe
 'Terror Bird' Used Beak as Axe 
Aug 19, 2010 4:59 AM CDT

'Terror Bird' Used Beak as Axe

Bird bobbed and weaved like a boxer to corner prey

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered exactly how the giant, prehistoric "terror birds" that once roamed South America slaughtered its prey. Using CT scans and biomedical reconstructions, Argentine and American researchers found that the 5-foot-tall, 90-pound Andalgalornis steulleti wielded its enormous head like an axe, smashing its curved beak into animals and...

Fugitive Vulture Poses Threat to Planes

Escaped bird of prey in Scotland poses 'genuine' danger

(Newser) - Scottish pilots have been warned to be on the lookout for a massive vulture that escaped from a local aviary, the BBC reports. The Griffon Vulture, known as Gandalf, has a 10-foot wingspan and can reach altitudes of 37,000 feet. Handlers for the World of Wings center say Gandalf...

World Cup 'Vulture Smoking' Theatens Rare Birds

Gamblers smoke birds' brains; bird lovers sqawk

(Newser) - As the World Cup gets underway in South Africa, scientists are betting that one of the biggest losers in the soccer championship will be the endangered vulture. In South African traditional medicine called muti, vulture brains are dried, ground up, and smoked as cigarettes to give users what they believe...

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