and The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in Bedfordshire UK via the Across the River Project together with experienced rangers from the Forestry Development Authority in Liberia local research assistants from Liberia and Sierra leone
for the Protection of Birds in the Gola Forests Sierra leone and Liberia. With this study we provide an accurate and comprehensive data-based platform for local wildlife protection authorities policy-makers
Sage grouse are picky birds Arkle and colleagues found preferring a sagebrush steppe environment featuring very little human development and dwarf sagebrush (Artemisia arbuscula A. nova or A. tripartita) but not cheatgrass or other nonnative plants.
if just 2. 5%of the land is developed within five kilometers of a site the birds will be half as likely to use it.
Forest harvest creates a temporary opening that is needed by forest species such as butterflies and some birds and deer before it regrows to large trees.
#Climate change will improve survival rates of British bird--the long-tailed titclimate change may be bad news for billions
but scientists at the University of Sheffield have discovered one unlikely winner--a tiny British bird the long-tailed tit.
or three years these birds had until now been thought to die in large numbers during cold winters.
During spring birds must work their socks off to raise their chicks said Philippa Gullett.
For most small birds that live for only two or three years not raising any chicks one year is a disaster.
No surprise then that these birds are willing to invest everything and risk death if it means their young survive.
The research discovered that birds trying to breed in warm and dry springs have much better chances of surviving to the next year--a novel result that counters common assumptions about the cause of death for small birds.
The result is that by the end of the breeding season the adult birds are exhausted.
We're not saying that birds never die in winter--in harsh years there are bound to be explained some fatalities Dr Karl Evans
. However it seems that in most years autumn weather plays a bigger role perhaps acting as a filter that weeds out weaker birds before the real winter hits.
While many species struggle to adjust to climate change these delightful birds seem likely to be winners.
Most tree species are dispersed by birds and mammals but also by ants. A study published today in the Journal of Ecology by a team from the LOEWE Biodiversity
In this context the team conducted experiments to find out to what extent ants contribute to the dispersal of a widespread primarily bird-dispersed tree (Clusia trochiformis)
Birds are the primary dispersers. They feed on the nutritious part of the fruits the fleshy aril
if the less is more effect also occurs in less socially organized species such as rats or non-mammalian species such as birds.
After the fireit is the first time that a study compares different responses of a set of animal organisms to fire (snails spiders beetles ants grasshoppers bugs birds and reptiles.
Surprisingly the study also demonstrates that high-mobility species--such as birds that move to unburnt areas
and two genes probably came from a wild bird isolate he says. We felt a major knowledge gap in the outbreak was that we didn't know which poultry species was maintaining the virus
when infected with H7n9 making detection of the virus that much more difficult in the birds says Suarez.
The Chinese correctly closed the live bird markets where they had human infections and that reduced the number of cases for a while.
There will be a high turnover in the species composition of bird and plant-life. By the end of the century increasingly unsuitable climatic conditions will for example be endangering the survival of spruce and beech
#Strange bird, sea turtle hatchlings released on protected Indonesian beachworking on a remote and protected beach in Indonesia conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society
and an extraordinary bird called the maleo. On February 23 on Sulawesiâ##s Binerean Cape conservation managers released two newly hatched maleo chicks
The most threatened of the beach nestersâ#he maleoâ#s a chicken-sized bird with a black helmet (or casque) yellow facial skin a red-orange beak
The maleoâ##s entire range is limited to the islands of Sulawesi and Buton and the estimated population numbers 8000-14000 mature individual birds (4000-7000 breeding pairs.
The bird is listed as Endangered on the IUCNÂ##s Red List and is threatened by egg harvesting and habitat loss.
Dr. Chris Seabury and research associates (Yvette Halley and Eric Bhattarai) along with members of the Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center (Drs.
One of the most prized American hunting birds and a cultural icon among outdoor enthusiasts the bobwhite quail has undergone a mysterious decline that has been documented for more than 50 years.
The bird was named recently the No. 1 bird in decline in North america by the Audubon Society.
Loss of natural habitat changes in land use pesticides the potential for bird diseases and even climate change have all been mentioned
or draw important inferences regarding bobwhite physiological interactions with their environmentâ#Seabury explains. â#oewe now have a formal resource for studying the bird and identifying new or perhaps even more specific reasons for its serious decline.
#Deer feeding puts birds at risk, research showsby comparing the fate of artificial nests close
When accounting for all feeding sites in the study region (ca 2000 km2) this would mean that in one fifth of the area ground-nesting birds will have little chance to see their eggs hatching.
Therefore this management practice widespread in Central europe comes into conflict with the conservation of ground-nesting birds such as grouse species
The study recommends to avoid ungulate feeding in the breeding areas of bird species of conservation concern such as capercaillie
or black grouse and to stop feeding before the bird nesting season starts. We urge for sensible feeding practices
#Birds of all feathers and global flu diversitya group of international scientists have completed the first global inventory of flu strains in birds by reviewing more than 50 published studies
and performed as part of the USAID PREDICT project identified over 116 avian flu strains in wild birds.
This is roughly twice the number that were found in domestic birds and more than ten times the number found in humans.
Additionally an analysis of studies that sampled more than 5000 birds suggested some regions may have more viral diversity than others.
This year another strain known to infect birds H10n8 has caused human cases for the first time. As was the case in the H7n9 outbreak most direct bird-to-human spillover events
(when a virus jumps from one species to another) of avian flu can be traced back to human contact with domestic poultry.
Although avian flu strain diversity often originates in wild birds it is the mixing of viruses among poultry pigs
Completing the first global inventory of flu strains in birds is a key step in building that understanding.
This snapshot of the world of flu virus diversity in birds is the outcome of many years of ecology
The scientists also looked at patterns of flu diversity in different bird hosts. Mallards carry the highest number of strains at 89
The more a strain was shared across wild bird types the more likely it was to be found in domestic birds a risk factor for spillover events.
They also noted that some strains could be specific to certain bird types. For example gulls and shorebirds (Charadriiformes) carried ten strains that have not been identified in any other bird order.
According to Dr. Olson This inventory isn't about blaming wild birds but it allows us to map
what we know and informs our understanding of what drives viral diversity and the emergence of rare viral strains that can infect people.
and warding off predatory birds who might catch sight of the vulnerable female lizard. Story Source:
Many smaller animals birds elk and moose (which browse shrubs instead of grazing on grass) would have been in the shrub tundra he adds.
The researchers studied the light-sensitive cells known as cones that are in the eyes of chickens and most other birds active in daytime.
These birds have four types of cones for color--violet blue green and red--and one type for detecting light levels and each cone type is a different size.
Yet birds with the arrangement studied here--including chickens--have impeccable vision Corbo said. These findings are significant
because they suggest that the arrangement of photoreceptors in the bird although not perfectly regular are in fact as regular as they can be given the packing constraints in the epithelium Corbo said.
We still know nothing about the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie this beautiful and highly organized arrangement in birds.
and provide a huge nursery for a variety of algae fish shellfish and birds. But a variety of human influences from bridge building to runoff pollution to smothering loads of sediment have threatened these grass beds globally.
In addition to dissecting how the virus evolves at different rates in different host species the study challenges several tenets of conventional wisdom--for example the notion that the virus moves largely unidirectionally from wild birds to domestic birds rather than with spillover
We now have a really clear family tree of theses viruses in all those hosts--including birds humans horses pigs
Just like branches on a real tree you can see that the branches on the evolutionary tree grow at different rates in humans versus horses versus birds.
These mix and match for example H1n1 H7n9 with the greatest diversity seen in birds. Using the new family tree of the flu virus as a map showed
and other domestic birds Worobey said. That's another unexpected link in the history and the there is a possibility that the two might be connected given
whether the virus jumped from horses to birds or vice versa but a close relationship between the two virus species is clearly there.
It is now clear that most of its genome jumped from birds very close to 1918 in the Western hemisphere
The results also challenge the accepted wisdom of wild birds as the major reservoir harboring the flu virus from where it jumps to domestic birds
Instead the genetic diversity across the whole avian virus gene pool in domestic and wild birds often appears to trace back to earlier outbreaks of the virus in domestic birds Worobey explained.
People tend to think of wild birds as the source of everything but we see a very strong indication of spillover from domestic birds to wild birds he said.
It turns out the animals we keep for food and eggs may be substantially shaping the diversity of these viruses in the wild over time spans of decades.
Makira contains an estimated one percent of the world's biodiversity including 20 lemur species hundreds of species of birds
This isolated sanctuary is popular for its rich bird -and wildlife such as the Blue-banded Kingfisher and Whitehanded Gibbons as well for its rare and beautiful flora like Rafflesia's--known to hold some of the largest flowers on earth.
More biodiversity, better harvestbees birds and bats make a huge contribution to the high yields produced by coffee farmers around Mount kilimanjaro â#an example of how biodiversity can pay off.
Teamwork on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjarosteffan-Dewenter and his doctoral student Alice Classen therefore wanted to understand how bees birds bats and other animals contribute to pollination
Contribution of animals to coffee cultivationthe results revealed that where birds and bats had access to the plants there was almost a ten percent higher fruit set. â#oewe believe that this is due to the fact that the animals eliminate pests that would
Given that much of the landscape is divided into small parcels pollinators birds and bats still could find a suitable habitat with nesting places and from there spread into the plantations.
These afflictions cause significant economic losses to the poultry industry due to the costs of treatment for infected birds lowered rates of egg production and mortality.
Colibacillosis caused by APEC in birds leads to serious illness often attacking the avian respiratory system producing systemic
or localized infections depending on the age and gender of bird immunologic health and various environmental factors.
study showsscientists have known for more than 40 years that the synthetic pesticide DDT is harmful to bird habitats and a threat to the environment.
and birds that live in snowy areas Simonis says as it provides them with both warmth and camouflage against the white snow.
#No-till soybean fields give (even some rare) birds foothold in Illinoisresearchers report in a new study that several bird species--some of them relatively rare--are making extensive use of soybean fields in Illinois. The team found significantly more birds
and a greater diversity of bird species nesting roosting and feeding in no-till soybean fields than in tilled fields.
The team found more bird nests and greater species diversity in the no-till fields than in the tilled soybeans.
High mortality is fairly common in bird nests however and while the losses in no-till soybean fields were greater than those seen in pristine grasslands they were not much worse the researchers said.
I was surprised to see all the different birds that are using these agricultural fields--especially during spring migration said Kelly Vanbeek a wildlife biologist at the Wisconsin Department of Natural resources who conducted the study while a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Some of the birds using no-till fields are grassland species that have been in decline across the Midwest for decades said Michael Ward a professor of natural resources and environmental sciences at Illinois and an author of the study.
The study adds to the evidence that agricultural practices can have a broad influence on bird abundance
If you look at birds in general or wildlife in general the ones that did occupy grassland habitat are the ones
But birds are very resilient they're very resourceful and they're very flexible and we can take advantage of that.
The study points to a major opportunity for bird conservation Ward said. Rather than buying up modest tracts of land for wildlife preservation an approach that is minimally effective he said farmers
If farmers could be convinced to plant their soybeans a few days later in the spring for example it would increase the nesting success of several bird species that are out there now Ward said.
Instead management practices focused on maintaining the complex web of ecological interactions among coffee plantation organisms--including insects fungi plants birds
#Old bird, New world: Did the South american hoatzins originate in Europe? The oldest fossil discoveries from France show that hoatzins once existed in Europe.
These unusual birds only one species of which exists in South america today originated in the Old world.
Studies of the oldest known fossils of Hoatzin ancestors have shown now that these birds existed around 34 million years ago in Europe.
Its relationship among birds is as unclear as its evolutionary history. Until recently South america was considered to be the area of origin of these birds.
Then however fossils from Africa were described and new discoveries from Africa and Europe now prove conclusively that hoatzins reached South america from the Old world.
The disappearance of these birds might be connected to a period when numerous new animal species migrated from Asia to Europe during the so-called Grande Coupure around 34 million years ago.
These included tree-dwelling carnivorous mammals who may have posed a threat to hoatzin nestlings which are raised in open nests.
Because hoatzins can fly short distances only the adult birds are also easy prey. In Africa by contrast similar tree-dwelling carnivorous mammals are shown to have existed much later.
Similar to the rumen of a cow--a digestive knack that has not been mastered by any other bird.
and beneficial insects birds and microbes that consume methane a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
Methane consumption pest suppression pollination and bird populations were higher in perennial grasslands. In addition the team found that the grass crops'ability to harbor such increased biodiversity is linked strongly to the fields'location relative to other habitats.
and elsewhere in Massachusetts including flowering dates butterfly flight times and migratory bird arrivals. Founded in 1839 Boston University is recognized an internationally institution of higher education and research.
The devices send text messages back to the researcher detailing individual bird's location and altitude.
In recent years these large movements have spelled disaster for the birds. White-backed vultures and Ruppell's vultures two of the species studied have been listed up to Endangered status by the IUCN due to dramatic declines seen throughout the African continent.
Dr. Steve Zack Coordinator of Bird Conservation at WCS who is working with Dr. Kendall
and the addition of makeshift perches such as transmission polls in sagebrush ecosystems are creating preferred habitat for common ravens that threaten sensitive native bird species including greater sage grouse.
Along with the eggs and nestlings of greater sage grouse ravens also prey on the federally endangered Desert tortoise the endangered San Clemente Loggerhead shrike and the California Least Tern.
and depredate nests of other bird species. The authors summarized that among all variables the distance to transmission lines distance to edge
During the Cretaceous new lineages of mammals and birds were beginning to appear along with the flowering plants.
resources necessary for the production of the birds will also be wasted, including  105 billion gallons of water (that's enough to supply New york city...
the sheep could prove extremely useful in making sure vegetation doesn â¢t grow into habitats for birds
Cyber-rain, Rain Bird & Hydropoint all offer smart sprinkler systems, which take into account plant type and use weather data
Smithsonian tracks bird strikes for military, airline industrydr. Carla Dove using a comparison microscope to study feather structure in the Birds Division at the Museum of Natural history.
Photo: Chip Clark When I visited the Feather Identification Lab at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural history,
filled with reports of bird strikes from around the world. Each included a form and a Ziploc bag.
but were in fact bird remains. These are all from last week, Dove said. The lab--the world only full-time department that studies bird strikes--was created in the 1960s, by Dove predecessor
Roxie Laybourne. Working for Laybourne, Dove was so enthusiastic about the field that she went to graduate school and studied environmental science and public policy,
It didn t take her long to realize that the work performed in this little lab is a big help to the military, the aviation industry and of course, the birds.
if we know the birds on the airfield, Dove said, they can change the habitat.
Not only can bird strikes threaten the safety of a flight, but they can cause millions of dollars in damage to the aircraft.
The culprit is usually a bird, but Dove reports have included also bats, deer and â on overseas U s. military bases â animals including goats and pigs.
and whether it was a resident or visitor bird. In fact pilots don t necessarily know that a strike even happens;
we can take it out to the collection the 150-year-old Smithsonian bird collection, identify it and then email the field person with the ID,
whether it a duck or a bird. Carla Dove, Nancy Rotzel and Marcy Heacker use the museum bird collection to identify birds that are involved in bird strikes.
Photo: James Diloreto Once the bird is identified, the information is entered into a database and sent to the airfield where the strike occurred.
This information helps biologists build airfield habitats that are unfriendly to the types of birds causing problems.
If you let the grass grow, that will deter some birds, Dove said. But that may not work at another airfield.
You might have long grasses that attract mice and a bird that eats mice. You have to know how to manage it.
Dove and her team worked on the remains of the geese from the 2009 US AIRWAYS landing in the Hudson river.
and determine there were at least one or two birds, eight pounds each, from a migratory population.
the public became more aware of the danger that birds can pose to aviation safety.
I love birds, but when it comes to the airports, they have got to control these geese,
Airplane engines â which go through bird tests â are designed to handle strikes with certain weights of birds
but only one bird, she said, not four. How much would it cost to design an engine for eight-pound birds?
How heavy would it be? There are all questions that are being asked. In the meantime, the number of eight-pound geese have grown.
Out of 10,000 species of birds, only about 350 to 400 are involved in strikes, but it can still be tricky to identify them.
We re always looking out the window for birds, she said. But we feel safe because of the people on the field who are working to make it safer
include mandates such as working with the seasons, no artificial ingredients, no antibiotics for animals, cage free birds and no GMO ingredients or hormones.
Lincoln Park is another Chicago institution, with a lakefront theatre, a zoo, a bird sanctuary, and a lagoon with paddleboats.
and chickens believe the energy efficient lighting has calmed the birds and helped them gain more weight.
Save a bird: Turn off a light
To cut fire risk, San francisco airport hires 400 goatsshrubs and small trees around airports could become fire hazards for nearby homes
000 demonstration project funded by the U s. Energy department, the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructure and the BIRD Foundation.
from chirping birds to rustling trees, can tell humans a lot about the world --if they listen.
We no longer listen to the birds or other critters. What are we missing when we don't hear these natural sounds?
You only have a few birds singing. But you hear something in the background and you can't quite detect what it is.
Listen to the birds. Listen to the water, if you have a stream nearby. Try to observe things that you've never listened to before.
For example, the production and transport involved in a cup of coffee impacts myriad species, from invertebrates to birds to fish.
Building for the birds and the bees and batsbuildings are designed usually to house people, but a few recent examples provide shelter and protection for the fuzzier fellow citizens of planet Earth.
China While guidelines for designs that don't harm birds have been published in the US, a library in China takes the idea one step further.
The Liyuan Library by architect Li Xiaodong encourages birds to build nests on its structure. The exterior is clad with more than 400,000 locally sourced sticks of firewood
which Li hopes will attract birds that will contribute mud and droppings to help plant-life grow.
birds and even bats are ecologically important since they prey on pests, disperse seeds, and pollinate plants.
maybe Angry Birds is good but something medical might actually change the world. From NPR and Wired.
But the bird won't go back and find every cache, so some seeds will either become new oak trees or food for other animals.
For example, bees, birds and some bats might all visit the same flower for nectar, but at different times of the day and year.
For The Bird Tree, which is 52 feet tall and the biggest exhibit that has been done,
Smartplanet spoke with Dr. Richard Webby, Director of the World health organization Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds at St jude Children's Research Hospital.
That is why we continue to monitor this in the bird populations, control it and reduce the number of human infections.
So with the H5n1 you see a lot of disease in your birds and you know the virus is there.
You have to be swabbing these birds regularly to find it. That obviously makes it harder to control.
With the H5 you eventually see sick birds. With the H7 they do not get sick at all.
The bird made famous in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner can fly incredible distances with a single flap of the wings.
Battery cage battle Nearly all eggs in the United states come from large facilities where hens are kept in small pens called battery cages.
because the birds have little room to move and can get caught and injured in the cages metal wires.
the voters made it clear that they wanted changes in the hen habitat, "she says."
JS West became the first company in the United states to install so-called oeenriched cages for its hens.
The birds get twice as much space as in the old battery cages. And the enriched cages have perches,
and nesting boxes where the hens lay their eggs. Jill Benson company, JS West, became the first in the United states to install enriched cages.
While she doesn't think the hens were unhappy in the old cages Benson she says they definitely like the new cages. oewhat was a surprise is that the hens are producing just as many eggs, if not more,
and they re living better. In fact, there less mortality. The company has installed even live webcams so the public can see the hens in the new cages in real time.
Now the humane society is pushing for a federal law that would require these cages nationwide. oethe laws
Hens peck each other less in smaller cages, for example. And since enriched cages cost more they push up the cost of eggs.
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