Blackcaps: a new winter visitor to our gardens
Why are blackcaps - usually summer visitors to the bird table - turning up in British gardens now? Kate Bradbury finds out Blackcaps are becoming more frequent winter visitors to our gardens....
View ArticleResearch could help improve bird conservation methods (The University of...
3 October 2012 Scientists at the University of Sheffield have developed a new method of testing the fertility of critically endangered birds which could make captive breeding programmes more effective...
View ArticleGoldfinches are nature's 'turncoats'
Goldfinches have a strange, tie-dyed look these days, while they're in the process of exchanging winter's olive-drab feathers for a bright yellow coat. This happens slowly as spring advances, first...
View ArticleGreat tits 'more susceptible' to new avian pox than other British birds
Three studies show how tit species have been affected by a new strain of the bird virus that has swept across Britain While all tit species are affected by the new form of avian pox, great tits are...
View ArticleWhy some birds of prey become transvestites
Birds of prey may be thought of as fierce foes, but scientists find that some males disguise themselves as peaceful females. These males belong to a species of raptor known as the marsh harrier. Using...
View ArticleFaithful females key to evolution of bird societies
--> The promiscuous vermillion flycatcher wont receive help from other adult birds in raising its chicks. Credit: Joe Tobias. (PhysOrg.com) -- Females with fewer sexual partners can explain where...
View ArticleMystery bird: marsh wren, Cistothorus palustris
This North American mystery bird has a distinctive behaviour that is thought to be associated with predators Marsh wren, Cistothorus palustris (synonym, Telmatodytes palustris; protonym, Certhia...
View ArticleWeekend Appeal For Garden Bird Survey
The RSPB is appealing to people throughout the nation to take an hour out this weekend to count bird numbers in their garden. The survey, organised by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds...
View ArticleA born cheater: Infidelity could be hereditary, says study
Promiscuity has run in the family with humans - shamed golfer Tiger Woods is believed never to have forgiven his father Earl for cheating on his mother He was clearly born with a significant amount of...
View ArticleRed birds flaunt their color in springtime
Q Is it just my imagination, or are the cardinals extra bright this spring? A You may have some particularly bright males in your neighborhood. Although we tend to think of all cardinal males as being...
View ArticleBird feeders can entertain, make you friends
If you feel like you could use a friend, just put out a little seed. A water dish. A little birdhouse. Songbirds, both resident and the migratory vagabonds, will literally flock to you. They can even...
View ArticleNesting birds observe quiet time
It's quieter in the morning these days, meaning that many of us are no longer being jolted awake by the exuberant bird song that burst forth in early summer just before dawn. Male birds who were...
View ArticleBorn cheater? Why being unfaithful could be in your genes
Genetic analysis of the birds revealed promiscuous males tend to sire promiscuous daughters - and this explanation for 'playing away' may also apply to humans, believe scientists. The shamed golfer...
View ArticleIn a noisy world, birds are changing their tune
When bombarded by noise pollution, some male birds begin to sing higher tunes, a new study has found. And that tonal shift makes them less attractive to females. The findings suggest that birds must...
View ArticleHelp for Migrating Birds
, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Each spring approximately 350 species of migratory birds travel between non-breeding grounds in , and the and nesting habitats in . Although birds are uniquely adapted...
View ArticleEavesdropping on Arctic Birds
Natalie Boelman, an ecosystem ecologist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, writes from the North Slope of Alaska, where she is studying the effects of climate change on...
View ArticleOne-eyed wooing
GrrlScientist: a newly published study shows that beauty is in the right eye of the beholder for birds, providing the first demonstration in any animal of visual lateralization of mate choice A trio...
View ArticleTestosterone regulates solo song of tropical birds
In species of the temperate zone, circannual rhythms are triggered by seasonal fluctuations in day length. The longer days in spring are accompanied by an increase of steroid hormone levels that lead...
View ArticleThere's more than one way to chat up a good-looking bird
ETHNA VINEY ANOTHER LIFE:�SPRING HAS SPRUNG on the acre, the dawn chorus is tuning up and the garden is as hormonal as a disco. Cock birds are calling to proclaim their presence, claim a territory and...
View ArticleCuckolded males sing louder
A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen and the University of Copenhagen has now found that the tempo, the pitch, and the amplitude of song reflect male...
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