Search Results for: Birds
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Birds with more complex vocal skills are better problem-solvers
Evidence for a relationship between bird vocal learning and cognitive prowess has been mixed. Now, a massive new study confirms they are linked.
- Animals
Some African birds follow nomadic ants to their next meal
Specialized interactions between birds and driver ants in Africa could help explain why the birds are especially sensitive to forest disturbances.
By Yao-Hua Law - Animals
In a ‘perfect comeback,’ some birds use antibird spikes to build their nests
The spikes were meant to keep birds away. But five corvid nests in Europe use the bird-deterrents as structural support and to ward off predators.
- Animals
Wild male palm cockatoos rock out with custom drumsticks
Along with flashy dances and distinctive drumbeats, these birds craft their own signature drumsticks to win over mates.
By Elise Cutts - Paleontology
This newfound birdlike dinosaur had surprisingly long legs
Early birdlike dinosaurs are mostly short-limbed and thought to have lived in trees, but Fujianvenator prodigiosus may have run or waded in swamps.
By Nikk Ogasa - Paleontology
A bird with a T. rex head may help reveal how dinosaurs became birds
The 120-million-year-old Cratonavis zhui, newly discovered in China, had a head like a theropod and body like a modern bird.
- Life
Birds that dive may be at greater risk of extinction
For birds, a diving lifestyle seems irreversible, evolutionarily speaking. The inflexibility possibly increases diving birds’ chances of going extinct.
By Jake Buehler - Health & Medicine
Bird flu can jump to mammals. Should we worry?
Reports of bears and sea lions infected with H5N1 have sparked fears about the pandemic potential of bird flu. Experts are keeping a close eye on its spread.
- Animals
A 2,200-year-old poop time capsule reveals secrets of the Andean condor
Guano that has accumulated in a cliffside Andean condor nest for 2,200 years reveals how the now-vulnerable birds responded to a changing environment.
By Jake Buehler -
- Anthropology
These ancient flutes may have been used to lure falcons
Seven bird-bone flutes unearthed from a site in northern Israel are about 12,000 years old and may have been used as bird calls.
By Sid Perkins - Animals
A little snake’s big gulp may put all other snakes to shame
The humble Gans’ egg-eater can wrap its mouth around bigger prey than any other snake of its size.