Researchers propose new theory on deep roots of human speechthe sounds uttered by birds offer in several respects the nearest analogy to language Charles darwin wrote in The Descent of Man (1871)
first the elaborate songs of birds and second the more utilitarian information-bearing types of expression seen in a diversity of other animals.
Instead birds sing learned melodies with what Berwick calls a holistic structure; the entire song has one meaning whether about mating territory or other things.
or primates--but like birds we also have a melodic capacity and an ability to recombine parts of our uttered language.
As they note in the paper some of the striking parallels between language acquisition in birds
Birds and beesthe researchers acknowledge that further empirical studies on the subject would be desirable.
If this is right then human language has a precursor in nature in evolution that we can actually test today he says adding that bees birds
Wildlife biologists say pinyon-juniper woodlands are popular with scores of bird and mammal species ranging from black-chinned hummingbirds to black bears.
A 2007 study by researchers at the University of Northern Arizona estimated that 150 Clark's nutcrackers cached roughly 5 million pinyon pine nuts in a single season benefiting not only the birds themselves but also the pines
Vandermeer and colleague Ivette Perfecto of the U-M School of Natural resources and Environment study the complex web of interactions between resident organisms there including various insects fungi birds and bats.
#Worlds oldest-known wild bird hatches another chicka Laysan albatross known as Wisdom--believed to be at least 62 years old--has hatched a chick on Midway Atoll National Wildlife
Wisdom has worn out five bird bands since she was banded first by U s. Geological Survey scientist Chandler Robbins in 1956.
since this is the earliest age at which these birds breed. Typically they breed at 8
Bruce Peterjohn chief of the North american Bird Banding Program at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research center in Laurel MD said Wisdom has raised likely at least 30 to 35 chicks during her breeding life though the number
It is beyond words to describe the amazing accomplishments of this wonderful bird and how she demonstrates the value of bird banding to better understand the world around us.
If she were human she would be eligible for Medicare in a couple years yet she is still regularly raising young
Almost as amazing as being a parent at 62 is the number of miles this bird has logged likely--about 50000 miles a year as an adult
About Albatrossalbatross are legendary birds for many reasons--in Samuel Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner a sailor has to wear an albatross around his neck as punishment for killing the bird.
Present threats to the birds include lead poisoning of chicks on Midway from lead paint used in previous decades;
longline fishing where the birds are hooked inadvertently and drowned though conservation groups have banded with fishermen
The birds ingest large amounts of marine debris--by some estimates 5 tons of plastic are fed unknowingly to albatross chicks each year by their parents.
and vineyards with a greater prevalence of West Nile virus in mosquitoes and the insects'ability to spread the virus to birds horses and people.
Is that because there are more birds there? says Crowder. Is that because there are more mosquitoes there?
and birds surveys of virus-bearing mosquitoes breeding bird surveys and detailed land use maps and climate data from around the Northwest.
and birds also have significantly more mosquitoes--as well as American robins and house sparrows the two bird species implicated the most in the disease's transmission.
These same habitats are also resulting in much higher rates of infection within mosquitoes themselves said Crowder.
Together the insects and birds become focal points for the disease. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Washington state University.
and away from other competing carnivores such as lions and the new study shows that the birds will go to considerable lengths to find food crossing multiple state boundaries with each bird on average ranging across an area twice the size of England.
We found evidence that individual birds were attracted to'vulture restaurants'where carrion is regularly put out as an extra source of food for vultures
and where tourists can see the birds up close. As a result these individuals reduced their ranging behaviour.
which were strapped carefully to the birds'backs. Co-lead author Louis Phipps who recently graduated from the University of Pretoria said:
For seeds and fruit in particular bright color is thought to have evolved to attract the agents of seed dispersal especially birds.
Deceived birds eat the fruit and ultimately release its seeds over a wide geographic area. The fruit of this bastard hogberry plant was scientifically delightful to pick says principal investigator Peter Vukusic Associate professor in Natural Photonics at the University of Exeter.
Madidi National park contains 11 percent of the world's birds more than 200 species of mammals 300 types of fish and 12000 plant varieties.
and offer nutrient-stingy berries to migrating birds. They even release toxins to make it less likely native plants will germinate near them.
and to provide bird habitat is the black hat in the oak-hickory forests. The fire tree (Morella faya) a canopy tree from Macaronesia that boosts nitrogen levels in the soil making it inhospitable to native species
It was seeded by birds carrying honeysuckle berries from backyards. To prevent it from turning beloved nature preserves into shrub monocultures people must remove it from their yards
but the birds choose to lay their eggs on a substrate that maximizes camouflage said P. George Lovell of Abertay University
and the University of St andrews. Furthermore the maximization seems specific to individual birds. Karen Spencer also of University of St andrews and a co-author had noticed earlier that female quail lay eggs that vary a lot in appearance
Some birds consistently lay eggs covered in dark spots; others have many fewer spots or in some cases almost none at all.
that birds might make optimal egg-laying choices based on the special characteristics of their own eggs. To find out they gave female quail in the lab a choice between four different backgrounds on
Birds laying eggs with little patterning instead choose lighter surfaces to match the predominant background color of their eggs.
In this specific case birds know what their eggs look like and can make laying choices that will minimize predation.
The code of practice requires mandatory vaccination of all young hens destined to lay Lion eggs against Salmonella as well as traceability of hens eggs
Similarly there are 83 arthropods per species of bird and 312 per species of mammal. Now that we know the answer what is the question?
The area is is the largest block of continuous mangrove forest in the world being home to almost 500 species of reptile fish bird
and photograph birds control Scalextric cars and build interactive toys that react to the weather.
#New tree of life traces evolution of a mysterious cotinga birdsthey are some of the brightest loudest oddest-looking least-understood birds on the planet.
But thanks to a comprehensive new evolutionary tree of life generated for the tropical cotinga family of South america the door is now open to new discoveries about the more than 60 species in this amazingly diverse group of birds.
if the evolution of differently-colored males and females in this bird group (sexual dimorphism) is linked directly to a breeding system in
which males have multiple mates (polygyny Darwin first theorized that the increased pressure of sexual selection in polygynous birds spurred the development of color differences between the sexes.
'We hope other scientists who are interested in these birds take our phylogeny and do all sorts of great things with it.
This bird makes its nest in the marsh's shallow slush forming its home with strands of the California cordgrass Spartina foliosa.
#Balancing birds and biofuels: Grasslands support more species than cornfieldsin Wisconsin bioenergy is for the birds.
Really. In a study published today in the journal PLOS ONE University of Wisconsin-Madison
whether corn and perennial grassland fields in southern Wisconsin could provide both biomass for bioenergy production and bountiful bird habitat.
The research team found that where there are grasslands there are birds. Grass-and-wildflower-dominated fields supported more than three times as many bird species as cornfields including 10 imperiled species found only in the grasslands.
These grassland fields can also produce ample biomass for renewable fuels. Monica Turner UW-Madison professor of zoology and study lead author Peter Blank a postdoctoral researcher in her lab hope the findings help drive decisions that benefit both birds
and biofuels too by providing information for land managers farmers conservationists and policy makers as the bioenergy industry ramps up particularly in Wisconsin and the central U s as bioenergy production demand increases we should pay attention to the ecological consequences
This is especially true for grassland birds as populations of species like the eastern meadowlark dickcissel and the bobolink have declined in recent decades.
and counted the total numbers of birds and bird species observed in them. According to Blank and Turner the study is one of the first to examine grassland fields already producing biomass for biofuels
and is one of only a few analyses to examine the impact of bioenergy production on birds.
While previous studies suggest corn is a more profitable biofuel crop than grasses and other types of vegetation the new findings indicate grassland fields may represent an acceptable tradeoff between creating biomass for bioenergy and providing habitat for grassland birds.
The landscape could benefit other species too. Because they are perennial the grassland fields can also be used year after year following best management practices that preserve the health of the soil
and provide reliable habitat for migratory birds. Plant diversity is good for wildlife diversity says Blank.
Our study suggests diverse bioenergy crop fields could benefit birds more so than less diverse fields.
Among the grasslands studied the team found monoculture grasses supported fewer birds and fewer bird species than grasslands with a mix of grass types and other kinds of vegetation like wildflowers...
new findings indicate grassland fields may represent an acceptable tradeoff between creating biomass for bioenergy and providing habitat for grassland birds.
The team found that the presence of grasslands within one kilometer of the study sites also helped boost bird species diversity and bird density in the area.
By locating biomass-producing fields near existing grasslands both birds and the biofuels industry can win.
and provide habitat for rare birds in the state. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Wisconsin-Madison.
and dormant crustaceans give respite to birds migrating on the Pacific Flyway and ease strains on fisheries in the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of california).
and slack flows and a holistic look at the plants fish fungi birds and other life inhabiting the river its banks and its marshes.
Over the past 13 years USGS biologists--dressed in costumes to avoid having the birds imprint on people--have raised between five and 20 whooping crane chicks annually that have been released into the Eastern Migratory Flock said John French leader of the USGS whooping crane
or threatened bird species to the area said Doug Staller Necedah National Wildlife Refuge manager.
and provides a unique and important opportunity to learn more about these endangered birds. It was only natural for us to be involved in the parent rearing effort.
At one point in the past researchers believe the Whooping crane population dropped to fewer than two-dozen birds.
Because the birds and fish in this study tended to rebound from each of these events within a year or two the increased variability of upwelling strength has led not to long-term declines.
what price male birds pay for carrying the spectacular iridescent feathers they use in displays to attract females.
so it's expected that the male birds would be making a significant sacrifice in their flight performance for being attractive--possibly giving up their lives
He filmed the take-offs of birds carrying full plumage in 3d and then filmed the same birds taking off without their trains.
The display feathers which naturally moult at the end of the breeding season were cropped to judge the change in take off performance between the two states.
Dr Askew observed the position of each bird's centre of mass their wing motions
and then calculated the amount of power used by the birds to accelerate and gain height over the first two wing beats.
These birds do not seem to be making quite the sacrifices to look attractive we thought they were.
Although the drag doubled overcoming that drag is only a tiny part of the power used by the birds during take off.
Therefore the impact of the train on the overall take off performance is negligible allowing birds with
Dr Askew pointed out that the feathers might adversely affect flight stability and the birds'ability to run.
male birds invest about 3%of their daily metabolic energy budget in train growth. Story Source:
and has gone so far as to establish the economic value of pest-eating birds and crop-pollinating bees.
The researchers have developed an extraordinarily detailed data set to show human impacts on phylogenetic diversity a measure of the evolutionary history embodied in wildlife--in this case birds.
The biologists counted almost 120000 birds hailing from nearly 500 species in three different types of habitats in Costa rica:
We find some evidence that birds that evolved in those types of habitats such as blackbirds
Even relatively modest increases in vegetation on farms can support diverse lineages of birds. Story Source:
Seventeen percent of the leopard's diet consisted of assorted wild animals including rodents monkeys and mongoose and birds.
while other species may prefer birds dogs sheep etc. However Pitts argues that these insects are opportunists rather than true specialists.
#State of the Birds report assesses the health of Americas birdsone hundred years after the extinction of the passenger pigeon the nation's top bird science
and conservation groups have come together to publish State of the Birds 2014--the most comprehensive review of long-term trend data for U s. birds ever conducted.
The report finds bird populations declining across several key habitats and it includes a watch list of bird species in need of immediate conservation help.
The report also reveals however that in areas where a strong conservation investment has been made bird populations are recovering.
The full report can be found at stateofthebirds. org. The State of the Birds 2014 is authored by the U S. Committee of the North american Bird Conservation Initiative--a 23-member partnership of government agencies
and organizations dedicated to advancing bird conservation. The report is based on extensive reviews of population data from long-term monitoring.
It looks to birds as indicators of ecosystem health by examining population trends of species dependent on one of seven habitats:
grasslands forests wetlands ocean aridlands islands and coasts. This year's report is also a five-year check in on the indicators presented in the inaugural 2009 State of the Birds report.
After examining the population trends of birds in desert sagebrush and chaparral habitats of the West the report's authors identify aridlands as the habitat with the steepest population declines in the nation.
There has been a 46 percent loss of these birds since 1968 in states such as Utah Arizona and New mexico.
Habitat loss and fragmentation due to development are the largest threats. These are also significant threats in the nation's grasslands where the report notes a decline in breeding birds like the eastern meadowlark and the bobolink of nearly 40 percent since 1968.
That decline however has leveled off since 1990--a result of the significant investments in grassland bird conservation.
This report highlights the threats that birds face but it also offers hope for their future
if we act together said Wayne Clough Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. I am gratified that the Smithsonian contributed to this important effort
While habitat loss and fragmentation are the most consistent and widespread threats across habitats they are followed closely on the list by invasive species. Introduced species have a particularly strong impact on islands where native birds have a greater restriction on where they can Live in Hawaii introduced animals
One-third of all U s. federally endangered birds are Hawaiian species . However as with many grassland birds species in several other key habitats have benefited from targeted conservation.
In general shorebirds along the coasts are squeezed into shrinking strips of habitat due to development. But among the 49 coastal species examined there has been a steady rise in population of 28 percent
since 1968--a direct result of the establishment of 160 national coastal wildlife refuges and nearly 600000 acres of national seashore in 10 states. â#ecause the'state of the birds'mirrors
Efforts like this are essential as forest-dependent birds have declined nearly 20 percent in the western U s. since 1968 and 32 percent in the east.
In addition to assessing population trends in the seven key habitats the North american Bird Conservation Initiative members created a State of the Birds Watch List.
Forty-two of them are pelagic (open ocean) species. Birds like the Laysan albatross and black-footed albatross are facing increasing levels of oil contamination plastic pollution and greatly reduced amounts of prey fish due to commercial fishing operations.
The State of the Birds report shows that public-private partnerships are working to successfully strengthen conservation efforts said Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack.
and the Forest Service have improved habitat for bird species and other wildlife as well as promoting more outdoor recreation opportunities
The report's authors have deemed Hawaii the bird extinction capital of the world--no place has had more extinctions since human settlement.
They point to proactive partner-driven conservation as the best way to recover endangered birds and keep other species off the Endangered Species List not only in Hawaii but in all key habitats.
Species like the Bicknell's thrush a bird that breeds in the mountains in the Northeast faces rapid deforestation of its already limited wintering grounds on the island of Hispaniola.
Another focus for State of the Birds 2014 is the importance of keeping common birds common.
These birds have lost more than half their global population and the 33 species combined have lost hundreds of millions of breeding individuals in just the past 40 years.
Addressing the conservation needs of these birds will result in healthier more productive land and water for other wildlife as well as for people.
The strongest finding in State of the Birds 2014 is simple: conservation works. Ducks fly once again in great numbers up the Mississippi river and across the Chesapeake bay.
California condors are rebounding from just 22 birds to more than 200 today. Bald eagles brown pelicans peregrine falcons--all species once headed the way of the passenger pigeon--are now abundant.
For example researchers will be able to relate forest architecture with habitat quality and the biodiversity of certain birds.
and importance to the health of the landscape he noted citing wetlands teaming with birds amphibians and beneficial insects.
#Flapping baby birds give clues to origin of flighthow did the earliest birds take wing? Did they fall from trees
but a new University of California Berkeley study provides a new piece of evidence--birds have an innate ability to maneuver in midair a talent that could have helped their ancestors learn to fly rather than fall from a perch.
The study looked at how baby birds in this case chukar partridges pheasant-like game birds from Eurasia react
The researchers Dennis Evangelista now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of North carolina Chapel hill and Robert Dudley UC Berkeley professor of integrative biology found that even ungainly day-old baby birds successfully use their flapping wings
From day one post-hatching 25 percent of these birds can basically roll in midair
By nine days after hatching 100 percent of the birds in the study had developed coordinated
and control in development and evolution of flight in birds. The researchers'study appeared Aug 27 in the online journal Biology Letters published by the Royal Society.
and allowed the ancestors of today's birds to effectively use their forelimbs as rudimentary wings.
Dudley noted that some scientists hypothesize that true powered flight originated in the theropod dinosaurs the ancestors to birds
The Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlã¢ntica) is one of the most important and threatened biodiversity hotspots in the world containing the only living examples of nearly 10000 species of plant and more bird species than all of Europe.
--and protect its plants birds and other animals--by paying land owners on a large scale to set aside land for conservation.
Jean paul Metzger from the University of SãO Paulo collected data on birds mammals and amphibians living in the forest.
Using mist nets to capture birds as well as pitfall traps to capture mammals and amphibians they painstakingly recorded information on 25000 individuals made up of 140 species of birds 43 species of mammals and 29 species of amphibians.
They collected data in 79 different forest regions across 150 kilometres and estimated that to maintain a similar level of biodiversity
The birds'preference for sweetness is plain but only now can scientists explain the complex biology behind their taste for sugar.
Feasting on nectar and the occasional insect the tiny birds expanded throughout North and South america numbering more than 300 species over the 40 to 72 million years
and all birds taste things the same way that mammals do: with sensory receptors for salty sour bitter sweet
More bird genomes were sequenced and still no sweet receptor. So began Baldwin's quest to understand how hummingbirds detected sugar
Back at the feeding stations the birds answered yes. They spat out the water but they siphoned up both the sweet nectar
Researchers in the Wildlife Toxicology Laboratory necropsied hundreds of birds throughout a 19-million-acre area of land
and discovered large numbers of parasitic eyeworms in many of the birds they sampled. The study part of multi-million-dollar Operation Idiopathic Decline and funded by the private Rolling Plains Quail Research Foundation is titled Evidence of an Oxispirura petrowi Epizootic in Northern bobwhites
Throughout the Rolling plains Kendall and others found a significant infection rate with the birds they trapped.
Once inside the birds they move freely from eye to eye through the sinus cavity where they suck the blood of the birds mate
These birds need to be 100 percent performance ready to get away from a Cooper's hawk. If you are a quail in the wild
Eggs from eyeworms in quail would be left behind in the birds'feces which in turn would be eaten by more crickets.
The standoff between grouse managers and hen harrier conservationists is one of the UK's most bitter and contentious wildlife conflicts.
Grouse managers want to maximize the number of birds available for shooting and see any predation by hen harriers as a threat.
despite being protected legally the birds have disappeared all but on moorland managed for intensive grouse shooting. There were no breeding harriers in England in 2013.
Many fish marine mammals and birds are also found in kelp forest communities including rockfish seals sea lions whales gulls terns snowy egrets as well as some shore birds.
In addition they tend to be highly intelligent birds that adapt quickly to changing environments and have been shown to transmit learned behaviors from one generation to the next.
and birds to numerous worked and unworked deer antlers--suggest that the Cetamura well like other water sources in antiquity was regarded as sacred.
his former doctoral advisors at Stanford university--senior author Douglas Bird and his spouse Rebecca Bliege Bird--and Peter Kauhanen formerly of Stanford and now at the San francisco Estuary Institute.
Snakes turtles prairie chickens and other nesting birds are less likely to be destroyed during fall and winter burns as wildlife is often hibernating underground
Surprisingly they found that the number of bird species can actually increase in selectively logged areas likely
because birds lost as a result of the disturbance are replaced by other more generalist species. Burivalova calls on logging companies to respect logging intensity thresholds that take biodiversity into account.
#Light pollution may affect love lives of birds in the Viennese Forestsartificial light in cities exerts negative effects on humans animals and their environment.
The study might help to understand effects of light-at-night on reproductive behavior of birds.
Light is an important Zeitgeber especially for birds Based on light birds know when it is time to mate breed forage
and Herbert Hoi from the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology at the Vetmeduni Vienna are interested in the effects of light-at-night in wild birds.
There are studies investigating the effect of artificial light on the orientation and activity of birds.
but also activity patterns in birds to a great extent study coordinator Mahr explains. The Viennese research team is one of the first to experimentally test the effects of artificial light in the natural environment of animals by actively manipulating ambient light conditions.
In this period scientists examined activity patterns such as singing and mating behavior growth and development of the nestlings as well as stress hormones.
but does it also affect the development of nestlings? Mahr states. A well-known phenomenon that can be found in chicken farming is the manipulation of the day
We assume that light at night affects the birds'strategies of choosing partners. Males for instance like to be in the limelight
and thus impose additional stress on the fledglings. Light possibly has impact on the entire ecological system of the woodsmore light may also affect other living beings in the Viennese Forests.
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