Animals
A sparrow song remix took over North America with astonishing speed
A variation on the white-throated sparrow’s song spread 3,300 kilometers in just a few decades.
Animals
More Stories in Animals
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AnimalsDolphins can learn from peers how to use shells as tools
While most foraging skills are picked up from mom, some bottlenose dolphins seem to look to their peers to learn how to trap prey in shells.
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AnimalsBarn owlets share food with their younger siblings in exchange for grooming
Scientists weren’t sure why elder barn owlets would give away meals to their younger kin, a rare example of sibling cooperation in birds.
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AnimalsLarvaceans’ underwater ‘snot palaces’ boast elaborate plumbing
Mucus houses have valves and ducts galore that help giant larvaceans extract food from seawater.
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AnimalsA nose-horned dragon lizard lost to science for over 100 years has been found
It’s now known that a Modigliani’s lizard, first found in 1891 in Indonesia, is bright green but can shift shades like a chameleon.
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LifeFish poop exposes what eats the destructive crown-of-thorns starfish
During population booms, crown-of-thorns can devastate coral reefs. Identifying predators of the coral polyp slurpers could help protect the reefs.
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Animals5 reasons you might be seeing more wildlife during the COVID-19 pandemic
From rats and coyotes in the streets to birds in the trees, people are noticing more animals than ever during the time of the coronavirus.
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LifeMore ‘murder hornets’ are turning up. Here’s what you need to know
Two more specimens of the world’s largest hornet have just been found in North America.
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AnimalsNew species of scaly, deep-sea worms named after Elvis have been found
A genetic analysis sheds new light on funky scale worms with glittery, scales reminiscent of sequins on the “The King’s” iconic jumpsuits.
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LifePollen-deprived bumblebees may speed up plant blooming by biting leaves
In a pollen shortage, some bees nick holes in tomato leaves that accelerate flowering, and pollen production, by weeks.