Animals

  1. Animals

    Cicada Serenades

    One sound that characterizes American summers is the cicada chorus. The insects’ long, drawn out serenades can be loud and ethereal, reminiscent of some cross between the sounds of rustling and scraping. Half a world away, Borneo’s cicadas belt out very different melodies. Although some sound fairly familiar, one available at this German site is […]

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  2. Animals

    Bats hum for sugar too

    Some nectar-feeding bats metabolize sugars as rapidly as hummingbirds do.

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  3. Animals

    High Volume, Low Fidelity: Birds are less faithful as sounds blare

    In noisy surroundings, normally faithful female zebra finches flirt with unfamiliar males.

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  4. Animals

    Tail singers

    The male Anna's hummingbird impresses females and intimidates other males by making a whipping sound with its tail feathers.

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  5. Animals

    Worm Lovelies

    Polyclad flatworms are soft, juicy, and delicate coral-reef dwellers. To avoid predation, many have evolved brilliantly hued coloration. It’s a trait that often signals a critter is toxic, as many of these worms indeed are. Alas, their bright skins are likely not well appreciated by members of their own species, owing to very poor eyesight. […]

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  6. Animals

    What’s so great about ‘chuck’?

    A particular flourish in a male frog's call attracts extra interest from predators as well as female frogs, and researchers now have an idea why.

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  7. Animals

    Badly matched birds make troubled parents

    Cockatiel pairs that don't cooperate well have trouble raising their chicks.

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  8. Animals

    Ferrets Gone Wild: Reintroduced animals coming back in Wyoming

    A Wyoming population of endangered black-footed ferrets, started from captive-bred animals, has survived difficulties and is doing well.

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  9. Animals

    Gender bender

    Disabling a chemical-sniffing organ crucial for courting behavior makes girl mice act like frisky boys.

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  10. Animals

    Not-So-Elementary Bee Mystery

    Old-style epidemiology casework combines with an array of 21st-century lab tests in the search for clues to the disappearance of honeybees.

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  11. Animals

    Den Mothers: Bears shift dens as ice deteriorates

    As Arctic ice has dwindled, pregnant polar bears in northern Alaska have become more likely to dig their birthing dens on land or nearshore ice than on floating masses of sea ice.

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  12. Animals

    Faker Crayfish: Males keep bluffing but don’t get caught

    Some male Australian crayfish fake out their rivals by brandishing claws that look impressive but have little strength.

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