Animals

Animals

Chicken Speak: Birds pass test for fancy communication

The chicken may be the first animal other than primates that's been shown to make sounds that, like words, represent something in the environment. With audio.

Animals

Hey, that’s me!

A test with a jumbo-size mirror suggests that Asian elephants may be among the few species that can recognize their own images.

Animals

Ivory-billed hopes flit to Florida

There's no photo, but a team of ornithologists says that its sightings suggest that a few ivory-billed woodpeckers still live along the Choctawhatchee River in Florida.

Animals

Why Play Dead?

Common wisdom dictates that playing dead discourages predators, but researchers are now thinking harder about how, or whether, that strategy really works.

Animals

Tropical diversity came with time

Species in richly diverse tropics don't evolve faster than do species in temperate zones.

Animals

Courting Costs: Male prairie dogs seem too busy mating to dodge predators

Male prairie dogs get so distracted during mating season that predators find them easy pickings.

Animals

Krill kick up a storm of ocean mixing

Scientists have measured living creatures' contribution to the stirring of ocean water, and they found that little kicking krill legs do a lot.

Animals

Silky feet

Zebra tarantulas can secrete silk from their feet, a feat that may help them better adhere to surfaces.

Animals

Scent Stalking: Parasitic vine grows toward tomato odor

A wiry orange vine finds plants to raid for nutrients by growing toward their smell. With video.

Animals

Mother deer can’t ID their fawns by call

Fawns can distinguish their mom's voice from another deer's, but a mom can't pick out her fawn's call.

Animals

Crickets on Mute: Hush falls as killer fly stalks singers

Within just 5 years, singing has nearly died out among a population of cricket on a Hawaiian island.

Animals

Sexually Deceptive Chemistry: Beetle larvae fake the scent of female bees

Trick chemistry lets a bunch of writhing caterpillars attract a male bee that they then use as a flying taxi on their way to find food.