Animals
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AnimalsSong Fights
Birds settle many of their disputes by some rough-and-tough singing bouts, and recording equipment now lets researchers pick a song fight, too.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsGrow-Slow Potion: Pheromone keeps bee youngsters youthful
Researchers have identified a compound made by the senior workers in a honeybee colony that prolongs the time that teenage bees stay home babysitting.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsColor at Night: Geckos can distinguish hues by dim moonlight
The first vertebrate to ace tests of color vision at low light levels—tests that people flunk—is an African gecko.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsBirds may inherit their taste for the town
Tests switching cliff swallow nestlings to colonies of different sizes suggest the birds inherit their preference for group size.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsElephant Voices
Elephants are highly social animals and have a well-developed method of communicating with each other. For nearly 30 years, scientists at a national park in Kenya have been studying elephants and their behavior. The researchers have found that these intelligent beasts use more than 70 kinds of vocal sounds and 160 different visual and tactile […]
By Science News -
AnimalsPoison Source: Toxic birds may get chemical from beetle
When some poisonous New Guinea birds eat certain tiny beetles, they may be stocking up on the toxic substance they use to defend themselves.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsHide and See
A new look at fish on coral reefs considers the possibility that all that riotous color has its inconspicuous side.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsDangerous Times: Guppies don’t follow rules for old age
A study of wild guppies suggests that life in a dangerous place does not automatically push evolution toward rapid aging as previously thought.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsFamiliar face calms stressed-out sheep
The sight of the face of a familiar sheep seems to reduce stress in troubled sheep.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsWhen bluebirds fight, bet on the bluest
The male bluebirds with the bluest (and most ultraviolet) plumage turned out to be the toughest competitors in a study of who won the rights to prime nest boxes.
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsWill Mr. Bowerbird Fall for a Robot?
Push a button and she turns her head. But can she turn his?
By Susan Milius -
AnimalsFirst mammal joins the eusocial club
Because naked mole rats exhibit permanent physical traits that distinguish certain castes of a colony, they belong to the same grouping as so-called eusocial insects such as bees, ants, wasps, and termites.
By Laura Sivitz