A study of 3,700 leaf remnants from crows making tools suggests that the birds prefer to work "right-handed." (p. 375)

Female goldeneye ducks can double their offspring by sneaking eggs into other females' nests before settling down to a nest of their own. (p. 358)

A newly discovered lizard small enough to curl up on a dime ties for the title of the smallest of its kind in the world. (p. 356)

Scrub jays that have stolen food from other bird's caches hide their own with extra care. (p. 325)

Male garter snakes that emerge from hibernation and attract a mob of deluded male suitors may just be looking for safety in numbers and body heat. (p. 311)

The woodpecker finches of the Galápagos, textbook examples of birds that use tools, pick up their considerable skills without copying each other. (p. 295)

Young birds that have never migrated before may take a cue from the magnetic field to fatten up before trying to fly over the Sahara. (p. 278)

Scientists in South Africa have found the first known examples of gerbils pollinating a flower. (p. 229)

A subspecies of one of New Guinea's poisonous pitohui birds may be mimicking a toxic neighbor, according to a new genetic analysis. (p. 214)

With the snap of a claw, a pinkie-size ocean shrimp generates a collapsing air bubble that's hot enough to emit faint light. (p. 213)

Meerkat pups growing up in large, cooperative groups are heftier because there are more adults to entreat for food. (p. 197)

A series of staged conflicts reveals the first known acoustic duels in caterpillars. (p. 182)

A right whale may weigh some 70 tons, but unlike other marine mammals studied so far, it tends to float rather than sink at great depths. (p. 149)

An as-yet-unnamed species of octopus seems to be protecting itself by impersonating venomous animals from sea snakes to flatfish. (p. 132)