and were the ancestors of the reptiles including dinosaurs and birds. In the early Permian it appeared that the Synapsids were to be the dominant group of land animals.
Ochre a reddish natural pigment has been found on human remains in burials in Israel dating back to 100000 years ago Smith said and humans left decorated pieces of ochre and ostrich eggshell in caves
and birds insect fossils can provide valuable clues to ancient environments and climates Holden said.
And these plant communities support more than 400 species of birds 53 species of reptiles and 28 species of amphibians.
but a gap in the levee at the New Madrid Floodway allows water to inundate a rich floodplain habitat supporting migratory birds and rare fish.</
and locking egg-laying hens veal calves and mother pigs in tiny cages for their entire lives.
In 2006 the Laywel research project conducted a comprehensive analysis of hen welfare in various housing systems in an effort funded by the European commission and several member countries of the European union.
Their report noted that c onventional cages do not allow hens to fulfill behaviour priorities preferences
The severe spatial restriction also leads to disuse osteoporosis. The study determined that battery cages#the industry's standard confinement system are in fact the only method of housing birds that does't have the potential to provide satisfactory welfare for laying hens.
#King penguins'Genes Explain Ancient Island-Hopping King penguins colonized a string of islands north of Antarctica about 15000 years ago after glaciers melted
The balmier weather gave the penguins two things they needed to thrive: ice-free pockets of land on which to raise their chicks
The King penguins of Possession Island Island living King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) are the second-largest penguins in the world
But the biggest breeding grounds for king penguins are on the Crozet Islands a string of islands in the southern reaches of the Indian ocean.
In the summer the penguins dive for tiny lanternfishes about 250 miles (400 kilometers) from the archipelago returning every three to five days to feed their chicks.
In the winter the penguins venture about 621 miles (1000 km) to the fringes of Antarctica to forage for food though exactly what they eat is said a mystery study co-author CÃ line Le Bohec a polar ecologist at the Centre Scientifique
Penguin-egg swap To understand how the flightless birds first reached the Crozet Islands Le Bohec
and her colleagues snuck onto the edges of the penguins'breeding colonies quietly taking two-to three-week-old chicks from right under their parents'noses
Outside the colony the researchers measured the baby penguins'weights as well as the beaks flippers and feet.
Past studies have shown that the king penguin colonies have adjusted to these human intrusions. Migration history The team analyzed about 65000 snippets of DNA from eight king penguins.
Because the base pairs or letters in DNA mutate at a slow but somewhat predictable rate over time calculating how many of these stretches of DNA contain the same letter sequence can reveal how long ago the population expanded.
The team found that most of the genetic regions were very similar in the penguins indicating that they originated from a very small initial population.
Future bleak The new model underscores conditions the penguins need to thrive which could help researchers predict how penguins will adapt to climate change.
But the future doesn't look so hot for the blubbery birds. Current models predict that unmitigated climate change will push the polar front south taking the penguins'summer staple of lanternfishes farther from the islands.
This will make it hard for the penguins to live on the islands as they need to feed their chicks frequently in the summer
and can only swim so far to do that Le Bohec said. If we don't change our human behavior
I think in 200 years it will be quite nasty for king penguins Le Bohec said. The study was published today (June 10) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter and Google+.
+Follow Live Science@livescience Facebook & Google+.+Original article on Live Science
#Skipping Red Meat May Lower Breast cancer Risk Women who eat more poultry fish nuts and legumes and less red meat when they are young adults might have lower risk of developing breast cancer later in life according to a new study.
David Bowman receives funding from ARC NASA TERN and NERP. This article was published originally on The Conversation.
Sharovipteryx was a glider about the size of a modern crow with wing membranes attached to long hind legs.
Another flying reptile Icarosaurus was much smaller only the size of a hummingbird with wing membranes sprouting from modified ribs.
When birds land on what appears to be a muddy log covered in useful nesting materials they become dinner for the waiting beast.
#Oldest Known Bird Hatches a New Chick The world's oldest known wild bird just became a mother again.
The 63-year-old Laysan albatross named Wisdom was spotted taking care of her newborn earlier this month on the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge according to the U s. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The tough old bird has hatched a new chick for the past seven years in a row
which claimed 2000 of her fellow adult albatrosses and about 110000 chicks in the Midway wildlife refuge an island habitat in the middle of the North Pacific.
despite the threats that albatross face at sea refuge biologist Pete Leary said in a statement.
For example flying fish eggs are a key part of the albatross diet but flying fish sometimes attach their eggs to bits of discarded plastic floating at sea Leary explained.
Though the seafaring albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) lays only one egg a year mothers spend much of their year incubating
#Stress Makes Antarctic Penguins Less-Attentive Parents Stress induced by changes in Antarctic sea ice may cause adult male Adã lie penguins to be less attentive to their chicks and may increase chick mortality according to a new study.
A certain degree of stress and the related release of hormones can benefit penguins and other animals by increasing alertness and reallocating energy reserves to react to stressors.
Adã lie penguins#medium-size cousins of emperor penguins common along much of the Antarctic coastline spend lots of time on sea ice searching for the krill that they feed on in the water below.
In recent years changes in the distribution of sea ice have forced the penguins to travel farther
Adã lie penguins Cope with Changing Sea Ice Conditions. Changed ice more stress As the distribution of sea ice is projected to continue to change throughout the century as climate change progresses researchers based at the University of Strasbourg in France were interested in determining how this environmental stress may impact the future population of Adã lies on the southernmost continent.
and captured and treated 10 adult males with pellets containing corticosterone a stress hormone common in birds.
The pellets released the hormone steadily over the course of three weeks until they degraded completely within the penguins'bodies.
The researchers observed the penguins throughout those three weeks and for several weeks afterward to determine the full extent of the hormone's effects.
But the new findings do add to the growing body of evidence suggesting penguin populations may shrink with future changes in sea ice.
On eastern Antarctica's Petrel Island not a single chick has survived the 2013-2014 summer season among the 20000 breeding pairs that live there Thierry said.
The loss of those chicks underscores the importance of follow-up studies regarding how environmental change will influence penguin population growth
The team next plans to attach GPS units to the penguins to track their behavior
This will help reveal how the penguins spend their time away from their chicks and could help pinpoint nuanced behavioral changes associated with elevated levels of stress hormones Thierry said.
How Snakes Slither Up Trees Corn snakes enjoy a diet of rodents lizards frogs small birds bats and bird eggs.
</p><p>Cuckoos have figured out a unique way to get the neighbors to do the difficult work of raising young.
Momma cuckoos will sneakily lay their eggs in another bird' s nest. In doing so the cuckoo tricks the other bird often a different smaller species into taking on the expensive burden of raising the chick.
The cuckoo chick usually hatches first and grows faster forcing the other chicks out of the nest where they then die.
It then gets the full attention of its adoptive parents giving it much greater chances of survival.</
If it hadn t been for birds I doubt if anyone would have thought even that it might be possible for something heavier than air to get airborne.
The bird s wing performs two separate tasks both of which are essential. By its shape it provides lift
but transferring the power function to an engine and propeller something no bird ever possessed.
The small portion of the wild animals in the leopards'diet consisted of mostly rodents as well as civets monkeys mongooses and birds.
There's a lot of pasting clumps of dirt onto exposed tree roots and a lot of curious glances from passers by.
Owl Monkeys Are Caring Fathers, Too This Behind the Scenes article was provided to Live Science in partnership with the National Science Foundation.
If there were a competition for best father#in the animal kingdom owl monkeys might very well win.
Because father owl monkeys provide most of the care needed by their young; they carry their young almost all the time even when chased by predators.
By contrast caregiving from owl monkey mothers to their young is limited almost exclusively to nursing.
#and even cannibal dads#in the animal kingdom why of all creatures are father owl monkeys so attentive and protective of their young?
Wright s insights on owl monkeys are largely based on her many years of researching them in the rainforests of South america.
) Wild for Monogamy Wright said that are owl monkeys are devoted not only fathers but are also truly monogamous another rarity in the wild.
An owl monkey is faithful to its mate until its mate dies. The unflagging fidelity of owl monkeys has been verified by DNA fingerprinting similar to the type of DNA fingerprinting used in the courts to prove human paternity.
By contrast DNA fingerprinting has revealed that many animal species that were thought once to be truly monogamous are really social monogamous instead#eaning that a male and female form a long-term pair;
Amazingly owl monkeys are even more loyal to their mates than are those classic icons of love and fidelity#wans
and staunchly faithful mates owl monkeys have another extraordinary trait: They are nocturnal even though they were once daytime creatures as indicated by certain characteristics of their eyes said Wright.
Wright s field research suggests several potential reasons why owl monkeys may have joined the night life.
For one thing Wright observed families of owl monkeys snuggle and sleep together in protected tangles of vines
Wright speculates that owl monkeys which are relatively small monkeys hide and sleep during the day
in order to avoid huge day-hunting raptors such as harpy eagles and hawks which regularly swoop down from the skies
and snatch even large monkeys that dangle and jump through the tall forest canopy during the day.
So by time sharing#the canopy with larger monkeys in a day/night cycle owl monkeys increase their potential for collecting food while reducing their risk from predators.
Scavengers possibly Arctic foxes and ravens devoured Khroma's heart and lungs as well as parts of the trunk and skull between the time she was discovered in 2008
Furthermore while many species On earth#arnacles butterflies birds#re shifting their habitats poleward in search of cooler climates where are the Antarctic animals supposed to go?
She is also publicity director of Riverhead Books a division of Penguin Random House. The views expressed are those of the author
and this predator has the longest feathers yet outside of birds researchers say. This new finding yields insights on how dinosaurs may have flown the scientists added.
The newfound dinosaur is a microraptorine a group of predatory feathered dinosaurs related to Velociraptor and other well-known raptor dinosaurs.
Microraptorines are thought to be very close cousins of birds sharing a common raptor ancestor Chiappe told Live Science.
or something the common ancestor of birds and microraptorines had that was lost later in the bird lineage.
The area was also home to a great diversity of birds and insects along with some very primitive mammals and some of the earliest flowering plants he said.
and birds in what used to be their guts. We think Changyuraptor may have gone after small prey like birds lizards salamanders fish
and mammals Chiappe said. The fossil revealed Changyuraptor had extraordinarily long tail feathers. The tail is really the crown jewel of the specimen Chiappe said.
At about 12 inches (0. 3 m) long Changyuraptor had the longest feathers seen outside of birds.
The sounds of owls and night birds filled the air. Shivering from the cold I scanned the sky with binoculars until BAM!
They are not as showy as birds or butterflies and millipede identification can be tricky.
Should we look at mammals birds reptiles or plants? What if the two sites have different biodiversity?
or bird diversity lost as a result of mining our estimate of the damage done by the mining was twice as large as the company s estimate.
and killing of threatened and endangered species such as wolverines lynx and grizzly bears as well as black bears deer elk moose mountain lions eagles and yes landowners'own dogs and livestock the very animals
A chef in another room cut thick slices of ostrich poultry that surprisingly looked and tasted like steak.
Despite the impressive size of some species new species of fungi don t get the same recognition as a new species of mammal bird or reptile.
#Ostrich Facts: The World's Largest Bird Ostriches are large flightless birds that have long legs
and a long neck that protrudes from a round body. Males have bold black-and-white coloring that they use to attract females.
Ostriches are bigger than any other bird in the world. They can grow up to 9 feet (2. 7 meters) tall
145 kilograms) according to the African Wildlife Foundation and an ostrich's eyes are 2 inches (5 centimeters) in diameter the largest of any land animal.
The ostrich is the only bird that has two toes on each foot. All other birds have three or four toes according to the American Ostrich Association.
Wild ostriches live in the dry hot savannas and woodlands of Africa. They once roamed all over Asia Africa
and the Arabian peninsula but because they have been hunted so extensively wild ostriches'range has been reduced to Sub-saharan africa according to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.
However ostriches can be found in captivity all over the world. Ostriches are omnivores which means they eat both vegetation
and meat Although they prefer plants especially roots seeds and leaves they also eat locusts lizards snakes and rodents according to the San diego Zoo.
They also eat sand and pebbles to help grind up their food inside their gizzard
Ostriches don't need to drink water; they get all the water they need from the plants they eat.
Male ostriches are called cocks or roosters and females are called hens. A group of ostriches is called a flock.
Flocks can consist of up to 100 birds though most have 10 members according to the San diego Zoo.
The group has a dominant male and a dominant female and several other females. Lone males come
and go during mating season. To get a female's attention males bow and flap their wings outward to display their plumage.
Their feathers will turn a silvery color according to the American Ostrich Association. Ostrich eggs are 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter
and can weigh up to 3 lbs. 1. 3 kg. Eggs are laid in a communal nest called a dump nest
Ostrich offspring are larger than any other bird baby. At birth chicks can be as big as chickens.
An ostrich can live 50 to 75 years. Ostriches are in the same order as cassowaries emus kiwis and rheas.
The taxonomy of ostriches according to the Integrated Taxonomy Information system (ITIS) is: According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List most ostrich subspecies are endangered not though their populations are declining.
The Somali ostrich is listed as vulnerable though their population is unknown. It is believed that they are on a rapid decline.
It may seem amazing that an ostrich's thin legs can keep their large bodies upright.
Their legs are placed perfectly so that the body's center of gravity balances on top of its legs. Their thin legs give them great speed and maneuverability too.
They can run up to 40 mph (64.3 km h) for sustained periods of time according to the American Ostrich Association.
Contrary to popular belief ostriches don't bury their heads in the sand but they do lie down with their heads against the ground
when they feel threatened. It only looks like the ostrich has buried its head because its head
and neck blend in with the color of the sand. Ostriches fight with their feet. They kick forward because that's the direction in
which their legs bend according to the American Ostrich Association. A solid kick can kill a lion.
Ostrich feathers look shaggy because they hang loosely and don't hook together like feathers on other types of birds y
#Chimps Are Naturally Violent, Study Suggests For years anthropologists have watched wild chimpanzees go ape and attack each other in coordinated assaults.
But until now scientists were unsure whether interactions with humans had brought on this violent behavior or if it was part of the apes'basic nature.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky the 19th-century Russian composer is renowned world for Swan Lake and the 1812 Overture among other pieces.
To kill fecal contamination on chicken flesh factories typically drench bird carcasses in chlorine. It is a practice so unappetizing that the nation's trading partners like Russia
To understand why U s. poultry companies would rather risk export markets than stop dipping birds in chlorine it's helpful to understand how bad the fecal contamination is.
When producers bring a new flock of birds into a shed standard practice is to leave the manure-laden litter from past flocks on the ground.
So every couple months new birds are living on top of prior generations'waste. To make matters worse just in time for grilling season the U s. Department of agriculture (USDA) was proposing rules that could have increased further contamination.
At those slaughter plants workers often haphazardly shackle live birds on already fast-moving lines.
It's such an imprecise process that nearly a million birds are stunned inadequately and slaughtered every year according to the USDA.
As a first order of business in those tanks the birds let loose all their waste. It's the same water that countless other birds will then be put through spreading feces from bird to bird like a wildfire on a dry day.
So faster moving lines could mean even more birds will enter the scalding tanks while conscious resulting in more fecal contamination and as the Washington post described more potential for animal suffering and food safety problems at chicken slaughter plants.
The USDA is now seemingly backing off its poultry line speed acceleration proposal but is still aiming to cut 800 government inspectors at poultry plants allowing further self-regulation in the chicken industry.
and lower reproduction rates for seabirds the researchers said. In Photos: The Wonders of the Deep Sea But the weather pattern that causes the coastal upwelling also blocks storms from coming ashore.
These organisms are the backbone of the marine ecosystem and support huge populations of fish and seabirds.
To determine how upwelling influenced marine life the researchers used data on yearly fish population growth since the 1940s along with data on seabird egg laying and the survival of baby seabirds since the 1970s.
and seabird statistics the researchers found that years with weak upwelling and lots of tree growth correlated with years
when fish and seabird populations suffered. Based on tree ring measurements taken by David Stahle a tree ring expert
which bird and fish populations don't fare well it's not necessarily indicative of a long-term decline Black said
since the bird and fish populations usually bounce back within a couple years after a bad season.
#Flamingo Facts: Food Turns Feathers Pink Flamingos are large birds that are identifiable by their long necks sticklike legs and pink or reddish feathers.
Flamingos embody the saying you are what you eat. The pink and reddish colors of a flamingo's feathers come from eating pigments found in algae and invertebrates.
There are six species of flamingo according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information system (ITIS: greater flamingo lesser flamingo Chilean flamingo Andean flamingo James'(or puna) flamingo and American (or Caribbean) flamingo.
The greater flamingo is the tallest species. It stands 3. 9 to 4. 7 feet (1. 2 to 1. 45 meters)
and weighs up to 7. 7 lbs. 3. 5 kilograms) according to Sea world. The shortest species is the lesser flamingo
which stands 2. 6 feet (80 cm) and weighs 5. 5 lbs. 2. 5 kg.
The wingspan of flamingos ranges from 37 inches (95 cm) to 59 inches (150 cm.
American flamingos live in the West indies Yucatã¡n in the northern part of South america and along the Galapagos islands.
Chilean Andean and James'flamingos live in South america and the greater and lesser flamingos live in Africa.
Greater flamingos can also be found in the middle East and India. Flamingos are water birds so they live in and around lagoons or lakes.
These bodies of water tend to be saline or alkaline. Flamingos are generally nonmigratory but changes in climate or water levels in their breeding areas will cause them to relocate according to Sea world. Flamingos eat larva small insects blue-green
and red algae mollusks crustaceans and small fish according to Sea world. Their tendency to eat both vegetation
and meat makes them omnivores. Flamingos are pink because the algae they consume are loaded with beta carotene an organic chemical that contains a reddish-orange pigment.
Beta carotene is also present in many plants but especially in tomatoes spinach pumpkins sweet potato and of course carrots.
The mollusks and crustaceans flamingos snack on contain similar pigment-packing carotenoids. Carotenoid levels in their food vary in different parts of the world
which is why American flamingos are usually bright red and orange while lesser flamingos of the drought-plagued Lake Nakuru in central Kenya tend to be a paler pink.
If a flamingo were to stop eating food containing carotenoids its new feathers would begin growing in with a much paler shade
and its reddish feathers would eventually molt away. Molted feathers lose their pinkish hue. What a flamingo eats depends on
what type of beak it has. Lesser James'and Andean flamingos have what is called a deep-keeled bill.
They eat mostly algae. Greater Chilean and American flamingos have keeled shallow bills which allow them to eat insects invertebrates and small fish.
To eat flamingos will stir up the bottom of the lake with their feet and duck their beaks down into the mud and water to catch their meal.
Groups of flamingos are called colonies or flocks. The colony works together to protect each other from predators
and to take care of the young. It is believed that flamingos are monogamous according to Sea world. Once they mate they tend to stay with that mate.
A group of flamingos will all mate at the same time so that all of the chicks will hatch at the same time.
Pairs will make nests out of mounds of mud and the female will lay one egg at a time according to the Smithsonian National Zoo.
Each egg is a little bigger than a large chicken egg at 3 to 3. 5 inches (78 to 90 millimeters) long and 4 to 4. 9 ounces (115
to 140 grams. The egg will take 27 to 31 days to hatch and the emerging chick will only be 2. 5 to 3. 2 ounces (73 to 90 g). Young reach maturity at 3 to 5 years old.
Baby flamingos are gray or white. They will turn pink within the first couple years of life.
Flamingos live 20 to 30 years in the wild or up to 50 years in a zoo.
The taxonomy of flamingos according to ITIS is: Kingdom: Animaliaphylum: Chordata Class: Avesorder: Phoenicopteriformes Family: Phoenicopteridaegenera:
Phoeniconaias Phoenicoparrus Phoenicopterusspecies: According to International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species no flamingo species is considered currently endangered.
The lesser Chilean and James'flamingos are considered near threatened because their numbers are small or decreasing according to the IUCN.
Fossil evidence indicates that the group from which flamingos evolved is very old and existed about 30 million years ago before many other avian orders had evolved according to Sea world. It isn't really known why flamingos tend to stand on one foot
but it has been hypothesized that keeping one of their feet out of the cold water helps them to conserve body heat.
It also seems to be a comfortable resting position for them. Though it is believed that flamingos are tropical birds they can also live
and thrive in cold environments as long as they have access to plenty of water and food.
In East Africa more than 1 million flamingos have been known to gather together forming the largest flock known according to the Philadelphia Zoo o
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