Animals
- Animals
Dee for Danger: Chickadees add notes as threat grows
Chickadees change their alarm calls depending on how serious a lurking predator seems.
- Animals
Sponge Moms: Dolphins learn tool use from their mothers
Dolphins that carry sponges on their beaks while looking for food may have learned the trick from their mothers instead of just inheriting a sponge-use gene.
- Animals
Comeback Bird
Looking for a long-lost woodpecker had its special challenges, including anticipating what would happen if the hunt actually succeeded.
- Animals
Anemone Wars: Clone armies deploy scouts, attack tidally
The first description of clashing armies of sea anemones has revealed unsuspected military tactics.
- Animals
New Mammals: Coincidence, shopping yield two species
Researchers have identified a new species of monkey in Africa and a rodent in Asia that belongs to a new family among mammals.
- Animals
Built for Blurs: Jellyfish have great eyes that can’t focus
Eight of a box jellyfish's eyes have superb lenses, but their structure prevents them from focusing sharply.
- Animals
Alive and Knocking: Glimpses of an ivory-billed legend
New observations confirm that the famed ivory-billed woodpecker has not gone extinct after all.
- Animals
Funny Walks: Cranes bob, bob, bob along when hunting
The jerky neck motions of a whooping crane may help it spot food by keeping its head motionless about half the time.
- Animals
Fish Din: Reef clamor attracts young fish settlers
When looking for a home, young fish seem to prefer a reef that's alive with the sounds of shrimp and fish rather than a quieter environment.
- Animals
DNA tells pigs’ tale of diverse ancestry
A genetic study indicates that pigs were domesticated in at least seven different parts of Asia and Europe, not in just two regions, as many researchers had assumed.
- Animals
Why a turkey helps a pal find a mate
A new study shows how the classic idea of kin selection could explain why male turkeys cruise in pairs, even though only one of them will win a mate.
- Animals
Big Mimics: African elephants can learn to copy sounds
Two captive African elephants—one rumbling like a truck and the other chirping like a different elephant species—show they may be the first land mammals other than primates to learn vocal imitations.
