Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[T40cfr403]

Article:  Study Predicts Grim Future For Hawaii's Rarest Forest Birds

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/study-predicts-grim-future-for-hawaiis-rarest-forest-birds_56326339e4b0631799117b84?utm_hp_ref=science&ir=Science&section=science

Paper:  Large-Scale Range Collapse of Hawaiian Forest Birds under Climate Change and the Need 21st Century Conservation Options

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0140389#sec009

[T40cfr403]

Interesting research because the article notes that the genomes of the vulture and the bald eagle are similar.

Article:  Vultures and Immunity: Scavenging Better Than the Others

Paper:  The first whole genome and transcriptome of the cinereous vulture reveals adaptation in the gastric and immune defense systems and possible convergent evolution between the Old and New World vultures

http://www.genomebiology.com/2015/16/1/215

[baziunc]

Swifts' migratory behavior may have conservation implications as their numbers continue to decline.

http://phys.org/news/2015-10-swifts-migratory-behavior-implications.html

Thanks, T40.  Chimney Swifts have fascinated me ever since I was privileged to witness a large flock as it assembled into it's growing and swirling shapes each evening before finally disappearing, one bird at a time, down an old, tall brick chimney stack two lots from where I lived.  That was so incredible to watch that I started reading about them and learned so much about their unique physical traits and behaviors, and how and where they nest and why, and how that has changed over the years, as well as how their migration destination was discovered.  What a story there is about them, and what amazing birds they are - who basically never perch on a branch, and carry out most of their lives on the wing or roosting and nesting on vertical surfaces.

[T40cfr403]

Juvenile cowbirds sneak out at night, study finds. This finding may help to explain why this brood parasite avoids imprinting on its host. This article got my mind racing!

http://phys.org/news/2015-11-juvenile-cowbirds-night.html

[baziunc]

LOL T40.  I grew up across the street from a juvenile who used to sneak out at night, too!      

Thanks for the article.  It's interesting, but I don't understand how leaving the nest at night as a juvie would keep the juvie cowbirds from imprinting on its host.   The article is talking about fledgling birds leaving the nest at dusk and spending the night in surrounding fields and then returning to the nest area in the morning.  It has always been my understanding that most of a bird's imprinting, on parents at least, takes place much, much earlier in their development - way before fledging.  Hmmm.  Clearly, there are other factors at work here, waiting to be discovered.

[T40cfr403]

Rapid evolution of body size enhanced dinosaur and bird survival.

http://phys.org/news/2015-11-rapid-evolution-body-size-dinosaur.html

[T40cfr403]

A key concept in Darwin's theory of evolution which suggests nature favours larger females that can produce greater numbers of off-spring must be redefined according to scientists behind ground-breaking research published today. Interesting ideas.

http://phys.org/news/2015-11-demands-rethink-darwin-theory-fecundity.html

[T40cfr403]

New fossil of a fearsome, giant raptor discovered in South Dakota.

http://phys.org/news/2015-11-giant-raptor-south-dakota.html

[T40cfr403]

West Nile virus killing millions more birds than previously thought.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151102083723.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fplants_animals%2Fbirds+%28Birds+News+--+ScienceDaily%29

Abstract: Persistent impacts of West Nile virus on North American bird populations

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/10/27/1507747112

[T40cfr403]

Female birds can?t shake their colorful fathers, and other lessons from studying 6,000 species.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151104134033.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fplants_animals%2Fbirds+%28Birds+News+--+ScienceDaily%29

[T40cfr403]

Researchers Kidnap Fluffy Seabirds In Elaborate Rescue Operation

Hawaiian petrels are found nowhere else on earth. What a project! Hope it works.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hawaii-petrel-rescue-operation_563a7a37e4b0411d306f7503?utm_hp_ref=science&ir=Science&section=science

[T40cfr403]

Shape of bird wings depends on ancestors more than flight style. Fascinating. And they still can't say what the function of covert feathers is.

http://phys.org/news/2015-11-bird-wings-ancestors-flight-style.html

Click on the graph link ( http://cdn.phys.org/newman/gfx/news/hires/2015/shapeofbirdw.jpg ), hover the magnifying glass over the graph and then click again to expand. The closest to a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is the osprey: Accipitrimorphae >> Pandion haliaetus.

Paper:  The evolution of avian wing shape and previously unrecognized trends in covert feathering:

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1816/20151935

[T40cfr403]

Fascinating research to find out if Australia's endangered cockatoo is successful after being released from rehab.

http://phys.org/news/2015-11-cockatoo-soars-heights.html

[T40cfr403]

From starving chicks come fat birds.

http://phys.org/news/2015-11-starving-chicks-fat-birds.html

[T40cfr403]

Cane toad advance aids Kimberley bird numbers. Fascinating web of predators and toxic toads increasing the number of birds.

http://phys.org/news/2015-11-cane-toad-advance-aids-kimberley.html