Gyps fulvus gliding out from les Rocher des Aigles ornithological centre, France, carrying bio-logging tag.
Hannah Williams
Even when birds are not flying in a flock, they may observe each other to sense the world around them.
Zhao Chuang and PNSO
A new type of Archaeopteryx fossil helps build the case for this creature being called ‘the first bird’.
The composition of black and white in a magpie’s poo differs between species. Some splatter more of the uric acid (white), some have more black (indigestible solids). It depends on their diet.
Gisela Kaplan
Like reptiles, birds do not have two separate exits from the body. They have one, called the cloaca. It is quite similar to the human anus but the cloaca expels both indigestible bits and toxins.
On the fence.
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As both beneficiary and victim of EU policies, yellowhammers are apt symbols for Brexit’s divisions.
The majestic White Ibis.
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The ibis has become an Australian cultural phenomenon. The birds’ tenacity and fearlessness as environmental refugees mean they attract love and hate alike.
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Not all birds have eyes on the sides of their heads – but even those that do can see straight in front of them.
Could music one day be something we experience through augmented reality, responding to the way we move through the world? Sound supplemented with colours and shapes?
Mavis Wong/The Conversation NY-BD-CC
Today, we're hearing about a researcher who records birdsong, how tech changes music and why song might help address Indigenous language loss.
Birds don’t fly across wide Amazonian rivers like the Rio Negro.
Marcos Amend www.marcosamend.com (for use with this article only)
Rivers are natural boundaries for evolving populations. But scientists don’t agree whether they create new species or just help maintain them. Research using birds’ molecular clocks provides some answers.
Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do!
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Both male and female birds sing to impress other birds, but as well as that, they do it for pleasure!
The Canada jay recently had its name restored, but Canada still doesn’t have a national bird.
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Until very recently the Canada jay was called the gray jay. How did the bird lose its original name in the 1950s, and gain it back again, just in time for Canada Day?
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London should be one giant pigeon cemetery, but you rarely see the bodies.
Male spiny leaf insect, Extatosoma tiaratum.
James O’Hanlon
Stick insects may be using birds to disperse their eggs, just as plant do.
Nik Borrow/Flickr
For decades, state and federal governments have shed environmental budgets and staff. Now it’s up to volunteers to fill the gap.
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The bird faces a wave of challenges – from climate change to human hunters.
Resurrecting dinosaurs might not be so easy.
pixabay/azdude
Jurassic Park’s dinosaur DNA premise is not so simple in real life
Phillip M Krzeminski
New research shows that ground-dwelling birds were more likely to survive the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period.
A white-throated swallow, one of several intra-African migratory birds.
MartinMaritz/Shutterstock
There are hundreds of variations on the basic ‘flavour’ of bird migration.
Thomas Alerstam
Migrating to Europe changed the immune systems of birds who no longer needed to worry about African diseases.
The male cardinal tenderly feeding his mate is just one example of the hard work wild animals undertake in springtime. That work often benefits humans.
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Wild animals are hard at work this spring. Here’s how their hard labour benefits humans, and why we should be more appreciative.
Great tit takes off.
IURII FEDOROV/Shutterstock
City living isn’t for everyone, but certain birds can prosper in the environment.