520 results
- Animals
Five species that show why ‘bird brain’ is a stupid phrase
Birds can use tools, make art and understand human language. Why do we assume they are stupid?
- Animals
Crows safeguard sticks to speed future food-finding forays
New Caledonian crows safeguard the sticks they use to find food. As the risk of losing the tool increases, the more protective the birds become.
- Animals
Vultures are vulnerable to extinction
Life history makes vultures more vulnerable to extinction than other birds, a new study finds, but humankind’s poisons are helping them to their end.
- Animals
Crows may be able to make analogies
Crows with little training pass a lab test for analogical reasoning that requires matching similar or different icons.
- Animals
Hungry elephants turn trunks into leaf blowers
Darwin once observed an elephant using its trunk to blow an object closer. Japanese zoo elephants use the behavior to obtain food, a new study reports.
- Paleontology
Dinosaurs may have used color as camouflage
Fossilized pigments could paint a vivid picture of a dinosaur’s life.
- Animals
A naturalist recounts birds’ lives in the Scottish Highlands
In Gods of the Morning, a naturalist chronicles how birds and other wildlife withstand the changing seasons in the Scottish Highlands
- Science & Society
Nash’s mind left a beautiful legacy
The death of game theory pioneer John Nash ends a dramatic story of genius.
- Animals
A parasitic cuckoo can be a good thing
Great spotted cuckoo chicks show that brood parasites may benefit their hosts.
- Earth
Oxygen wafted into Earth’s atmosphere earlier than thought
Date pushed back to 3 billion years ago, suggesting photosynthesis had evolved by then.
- Animals
Head cam shows how falcons track prey
Falcons use motion camouflage to capture flying prey, a new study shows.
- Life
Flu antibodies can make disease worse
Pigs vaccinated against one influenza virus got lung damage if infected with another strain.
