Hi there. I have been birding most of my life and am currently a grad student working on a bird migration study. "A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song."
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Out of the Shadows: Black Swifts, North America’s Most Mysterious Birds
Whether exploring dark, wet caves in Colorado or crossing paths with Montana’s grizzlies, a dedicated band of scientists and volunteers is determined to solve the mystery of one of the most elusive birds on earth.
Variable Seedeater (Sporophila corvina), 2012
Todd Forsgren ruffles feathers every time he takes a picture. LightBox presents his series of ornithological photographs of birds caught in biologists’ mist nests.
See more photos here.
The Amazing Diversity of Pigeons
Free-living pigeons are so ubiquitous they often go unnoticed, yet the species is remarkably diverse. The 350-plus breeds display traits ranging from curly feathers to stumpy beaks. But similar-looking pigeons aren’t necessarily closely related, reveals a study of 70 domestic breeds and two free-living populations. For instance, both English trumpeters and English pouters have feathers, not scales, on their feet, but they aren’t genetically similar. Conversely, two owl pigeons, the short-beaked African and the Old German, are closely related (though the former has a plain head while the latter sports an impressive crest). Investigating the genetic origins of pigeon diversity could help shed light on how similar traits—vital for survival and reproduction—have evolved in wild birds. (via Audubon Magazine)
It appears that most Blackpoll Warblers from both eastern and western breeding populations leave North America in fall along the Atlantic coast from Nova Scotia to North Carolina. They depart after cold fronts during periods of northwest winds in October, which help push them southeast over the ocean to the tropics south of Bermuda, where northeast trade winds deflect them south to South America. This entails a nonstop flight of up to 3,500 km (2,175 miles) and 88 hours. Studies have shown that this species has an exceptional ability to accumulate and retain fat, apparently an adaptation for such sustained flights. (via Boreal Songbird Initiative : Blackpoll Warbler)
Amazing birds^
ScienceDaily (May 14, 2012) — A male robin will be more diligent in caring for its young if the eggs its mate lays are a brighter shade of blue.
The blue colour in robin eggs is due to biliverdin, a pigment deposited on the eggshell when the female lays the eggs. There is some evidence that higher biliverdin levels indicate a healthier female and brighter blue eggs. Eggs laid by a healthier female seemed to encourage males to take more interest in their young.
Kiwis are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand. They are the smallest ratites (flightless birds) in the world and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any bird species currently living. There are five recognized species, all of which are currently endangered due to habitat destruction and invasive/introduced mammalian predators.
Botulism intoxication, which causes the paralysis and death of intoxicated vertebrates, is caused by ingestion of neurotoxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Periodic outbreaks of type E botulism have resulted in die-offs of fish and fish-eating birds in the Great Lakes since at least the 1960s, but outbreaks have become more common and widespread since 1999, particularly in lakes Michigan, Erie and Ontario (Riley et al. 2008). Botulism has been responsible for over 80,000 bird deaths on the Great Lakes since 1999, and extensive bird mortality in northern Lake Michigan near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SLBE; over 4150 birds in 2007) received widespread press attention and caused great public concern. The actual sites of toxin exposure for birds remain unknown. (via USGS Great Lakes Restoration Initiative - Habitat & Wildlife - Avian botulism in distressed Great Lakes environments)
Type E botulism is not an invasive species and has been present in the Great Lakes system for many years. However, the recent trend of warmer winters has led to more outbreaks. If lake water does not cool enough in the winter, the bacteria are able to start reproducing and this causes problems for birds (especially waterfowl), fish species, and mud puppies. According to an expert who gave a seminar at my college, another outbreak is expected this year.
Have you ever wondered what (biologically) makes a bird a bird? I thought I would share this list of characteristics that are unique to birds and are not found in any other groups of animals that are alive today:
- Feathers — all living birds have feathers.
- Horny beak — the jaws of modern birds are covered with a horny sheath, which is much lighter than bone and helps reduce weight to aid flight.
- Furcula — commonly called a “wishbone,” the furcula is actually two fused clavicles. Some dinosaurs also had a furcula.
- Pneumatic bones — also called “hollow bones,” these special bones have air-filled canals that are strengthened by criss-crossed struts. Some dinosaurs also had pneumatic bones.
- Hallux — a special backward-facing toe that helps birds perch or grip prey. The hallux of birds that run along the ground is positioned higher up on the leg, so it doesn’t interfere with movement.
- Air sacs — unlike mammals, birds do not have a diaphragm, so air is moved in and out of a bird’s respiratory system through pressure changes in these special sacs. Most birds have nine.
ScienceDaily (Mar. 23, 2012) — An international team of scientists, including some from Majorca and the Canary Islands, have described a new type of fossil scops owl, the first extinct bird on the archipelago of Madeira (Portugal). Otus mauli, which was also the first nocturnal bird of prey described in the area, lived on land and became extinct as a result of humans arriving on the island. (via An extinct species of scops owl has been discovered in Madeira)
ScienceDaily (Mar. 23, 2012) — An international team of scientists, including some from Majorca and the Canary Islands, have described a new type of fossil scops owl, the first extinct bird on the archipelago of Madeira (Portugal). Otus mauli, which was also the first nocturnal bird of prey described in the area, lived on land and became extinct as a result of humans arriving on the island. (via An extinct species of scops owl has been discovered in Madeira)
'Alien' eggs benefit mockingbirds
ScienceDaily (Dec. 20, 2011) — Mockingbirds rarely remove the ‘alien’ eggs parasitic cowbirds lay in their nests because keeping them dilutes the risk of their own eggs being attacked.
The study, by Oxford University and Argentinean scientists, examined the behaviour of the chalk-browed mockingbird (Mimus saturninus) which is parasitized by the shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) in Argentina.
Of 347 mockingbird nests studied 89% were parasitized with one or more cowbird eggs, 35% receiving more than three, and 16% more than five (typically, they received around three).
‘It might be expected that this high rate of parasitism would encourage a host to evolve more effective anti-parasite defences,’ said Ros Gloag from Oxford University’s Department of Zoology, an author of the report. ‘In fact, the opposite is probably true: the higher the intensity of parasitism, the higher the frequency of puncturing attacks and the greater the importance of diluting this risk. Thus, hosts benefit more by not rejecting parasite eggs when there are more parasites around.’
This is a rather fascinating study, given how counter-intuitive this may seem. However, I would like to see similar studies done with several other species as I don’t think this relationship is universal. Interesting stuff! Click the title to read the entire article.
Sensational bird discovery in China
ScienceDaily (Dec. 19, 2011) — In June 2011, a team of Chinese and Swedish researchers rediscovered the breeding area for the poorly known Blackthroat Luscinia obscura, in the Qinling mountains, Shaanxi province, north central China.
Where Antarctic predatory seabirds overwinter
ScienceDaily (Dec. 2, 2011) — When it comes to choosing their wintering destinations Antarctic skuas are flexible. This is shown in a study of an international research team led by the polar-ornithologist Dr. Hans-Ulrich Peter from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany). According to the study, a great part of the South Polar skuas spend the Antarctic winter in the Northern Atlantic. At the same time about one third of the same species overwinters in the Northern Pacific, tens of thousands of miles away.
'Look at that!' Ravens gesture with their beaks to point out objects to each other
ScienceDaily (Nov. 29, 2011) — Pointing and holding up objects in order to attract attention has so far only been observed in humans and our closest living relatives, the great apes. Simone Pika from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology and Thomas Bugnyar from the University of Vienna, however, now provide the first evidence that ravens (Corvus corax) also use so called deictic gestures in order to test the interest of a potential partner or to strengthen an already existing bond.
