Birds come in an astounding array of shapes and colors. New research helps explain why bird species with similar flight styles or body sizes don't have consistent wing shapes. Bird species tend to reshape the range of motion of their wings — rather than wing shape or size itself — as they evolve new ways of flying.
Read moreThere are many shortfalls in knowledge of the world's biodiversity, and one of the most basic is the lack of knowledge about where species occur geographically. This deficiency has broad ramifications for research and conservation. This study suggests the development of citizen science programs to collect data by volunteers has the potential to reduce this shortfall.
Read moreBiologists report that they have recorded the loudest bird calls ever documented, made by dove-sized male white bellbirds as part of their mating rituals in the mountains of the northern Amazon.
Read moreA group of neurons called the corticobasal ganglia projecting neurons are important for vocal learning in young birds, but not in adult birds, according to a new study.
Read moreResearchers have discovered a previously unknown virus infecting nearly a third of America's bald eagle population. Scientists found the virus while searching for the cause of Wisconsin River Eagle Syndrome, an enigmatic disease endemic to bald eagles near the Lower Wisconsin River. The newly identified bald eagle hepacivirus, or BeHV, may contribute to the fatal disease, which causes eagles to stumble and have seizures.
Read moreScientists surveying the birdlife of Borneo have discovered a startling surprise: an undescribed species of bird, which has been named the spectacled flowerpecker. While scientists and birdwatchers have previously glimpsed the small, gray bird in lowland forests around the island, the Smithsonian team is the first to capture and study it, resulting in its formal scientific description as a new species.
Read moreResearchers have reported that a bird species' ability to adapt to seasonal temperature changes may be one factor in whether it can better withstand environmental disruption. The researchers studied 135 bird species in the Himalayas and found that species living in the seasonal western Himalayas adapted to the conversion of forests to agricultural land better than birds native to the tropical eastern Himalayas. Results such as these could help conservationists better determine where to focus their efforts.
Read moreA new study shows that the presence or absence of moonlight has a considerable bearing on when migratory birds take flight in the autumn.
Read moreRising night-time temperatures are causing woodland birds to build nests and lay eggs earlier in springtime, research shows.
Read moreOnly two bird species have ever been shown to undertake what scientists call 'itinerant breeding': nesting in one area, migrating to another region, and nesting again there within the same year, to take advantage of shifting food resources. However, new research provides strong evidence of this rare behavior in a third bird — the Phainopepla, a unique bird found in the southwestern US and the northernmost member of an otherwise tropical family.
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