323 results
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19675
I’ve always found difficult the argument that Homo erectus couldn’t speak because of the size of its spinal cord. Consider that parrots manage to reproduce a wide range of human sounds. David PetcheyMill Valley, Calif.
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Dieting to Save a Species: Mother parrots that eat less avoid excess of sons
New Zealand's endangered, flightless parrot population is recovering from a shortage of daughters now that conservationists are counting calories for the mothers.
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19635
I was surprised to read nothing about the timing of the songs when the birds are separated by distance. The ABCD duet would become A—BC—D (where the dashes represent the time delay due to distance) to the male and AB—CD to the female. The duet could be a distance-measurement tool for pairs wanting to keep […]
- Humans
Letters from the July 8, 2006, issue of Science News
The grammar gene? While reading that starlings may be capable of discerning grammatical patterns (“Grammar’s for the Birds: Human-only language rule? Tell starlings,” SN: 4/29/06, p. 261), I recalled the FOXP2 gene. The gene seems to be involved in the development of areas of the brain involved in speech in humans. Variants of FOXP2 were […]
- Chemistry
Parrot plumage has exclusive pigmentation
The spectacular colors of parrot feathers owe their vibrancy to a set of pigments found nowhere else in nature.
- Humans
Letters from the March 25, 2006, issue of Science News
Bee movie? In the article about using harmonic reflected signals to track bees (“The Trouble with Chasing a Bee,” SN: 1/14/06, p. 23), I thought it was interesting to note that the original technology was created by the Russians as a spy device. The technology is still being used for a form of spying. Dwight […]
- Animals
Myth of the Bad-Nose Birds
Even though a lot of people still believe birds have no sense of smell, certain species rely on their noses for important jobs, such as finding food and shelter, and maybe even a mate.
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A Fetching Lexicon: Language clues come from dog’s vocabulary
A research team finds that a 9-year-old border collie displays a keen facility for learning word meanings, providing new support for the theory that simple types of thinking practiced by some nonhuman animals also make word learning possible in toddlers.
- Humans
Science News of the Year 2005
A review of important scientific achievements reported in Science News during the year 2005.
- Animals
Maybe what Polly wants is a new toy
Changing the toys in a parrot's cage may ease the bird's tendency to fear new things.
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19244
Your article noted that “. . . with food in it, a pan will never reach temperatures that produce toxic PTFE-derived gases.” However, to fry items like eggs and pancakes, the pan has to be hot before you put oil and food into it. The article was enough to send me out to replace my […]
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Parrots will fluoresce for sex
A budgerigar's head literally glows for its mate, and both males and females of this parrot species prefer to court radiant partners.
