tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/australian-birds-25366/articlesAustralian birds – The Conversation2023-11-16T19:03:39Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2163582023-11-16T19:03:39Z2023-11-16T19:03:39ZGiant eagles and scavenging vultures shared the skies of ancient Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/555992/original/file-20231026-21-xbm5tb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C7507%2C3686&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A flock of vultures (_Cryptogyps lacertosus_) and Australian ravens watch and wait (left), as an adult eagle _Dynatoaetus pachyosteus_ feeds on the carcass of a dead _Diprotodon_ (centre), while a younger bird seeks to join in. In the nearby treetops, a second adult _D. pachyosteus_ feeds its hungry chick (right).</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Barrie</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Today, Australia is home to 17 species of hawks and eagles. But the fossil record shows some other, rather special raptors were present in the relatively recent past. </p>
<p>Tens of thousands of years ago, Australia was home to species such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-extinct-giant-eagle-was-big-enough-to-snatch-koalas-from-trees-200341"><em>Dynatoaetus gaffae</em>, the largest eagle ever to have lived in Australia</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/it-was-long-thought-these-fossils-came-from-an-eagle-turns-out-they-belong-to-the-only-known-vulture-species-from-australia-187017"><em>Cryptogyps lacertosus</em>, our only known vulture</a>. </p>
<p>Now, we have discovered another ancient eagle shared the skies with these prehistoric predators. In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03115518.2023.2268780">new paper in the journal Alcheringa</a>, we describe the formidable <em>Dynatoaetus pachyosteus</em>, based on fossils found in the Naracoorte Caves in South Australia.</p>
<h2>A new eagle unearthed</h2>
<p><em>Dynatoaetus pachyosteus</em> (the name means “powerful eagle with thick bones”) lived during the Pleistocene (a time period spanning from 2.5 million to 11,700 years ago). It had a wingspan similar to that of a wedge-tailed eagle, but with much more robust and powerful wings and legs. It was slightly smaller than its cousin, the massive <em>Dynatoaetus gaffae</em>. </p>
<p>This formidable predator would most likely have preyed on medium to large marsupials and birds. It may even have attacked juveniles and weakened individuals of huge megafaunal species like the <a href="https://theconversation.com/fossil-find-reveals-giant-prehistoric-thunder-birds-were-riddled-with-bone-disease-173745">giant flightless bird</a> <em>Genyornis</em>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556402/original/file-20231028-30-aal6zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An illustration of an eagle feeding a chick, together with photos of four bones." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556402/original/file-20231028-30-aal6zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556402/original/file-20231028-30-aal6zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556402/original/file-20231028-30-aal6zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556402/original/file-20231028-30-aal6zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556402/original/file-20231028-30-aal6zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556402/original/file-20231028-30-aal6zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556402/original/file-20231028-30-aal6zi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The large extinct eagle <em>Dynatoaetus pachyosteus</em> (left) and comparison of its humerus or upper arm/wing bone (centre) to that of a modern female wedge-tailed eagle (right). Scale bar = 10mm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Barrie (reconstruction) / Ellen Mather (photos)</span></span>
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<p><em>Dynatoaetus pachyosteus</em> shared the Pleistocene landscape with at least two other large eagles, the huge <em>Dynatoaetus gaffae</em> and the wedge-tailed eagle we know today. For these species to coexist, they would have likely needed to have slightly different ecological roles to avoid outright competition. </p>
<p>“Niche separation” typically occurs by <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/resource-partitioning-and-why-it-matters-17362658/">exploiting different kinds of food or habitats</a>. These three eagles most likely coexisted by specialising in hunting different prey and nesting in different places.</p>
<p>The occurrence of both species of the <em>Dynatoaetus</em> genus in Australia (and nowhere else) has implications for the evolution of eagles. <em>Dynatoaetus gaffae</em> and <em>D. pachyosteus</em> presumably evolved from a common ancestor in Australia that diverged into two species, a process that typically takes a very long time. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-extinct-giant-eagle-was-big-enough-to-snatch-koalas-from-trees-200341">Australia's extinct giant eagle was big enough to snatch koalas from trees</a>
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<p>This suggests the ancestor of this genus was already ensconced on our continent millions of years before the two Pleistocene species arose. <em>Dynatoaetus pachyosteus</em> and <em>D. gaffae</em> together form a rare example of a raptor genus diversifying into multiple species entirely on the Australian continent (what scientists call “endemic evolutionary radiation”). </p>
<p>There are only two raptor genera today restricted to Australia, and both consist of only a single species: <em>Hamirostra</em> (the black-breasted buzzard) and <em>Lophoictinia</em> (the square-tailed kite).</p>
<h2>Primitive vultures of ancient Australia</h2>
<p>Our research has also revealed intriguing new information about another extinct raptor, the vulture <em>Cryptogyps lacertosus</em>. </p>
<p>Fossils from the Green Waterhole (also known as Fossil Cave), in the Tantanoola district near Mt Gambier, give us a more complete picture of this species. We found several paired wing bones, two shoulder bones, a vertebra and a toe bone, all probably from a single individual. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-was-long-thought-these-fossils-came-from-an-eagle-turns-out-they-belong-to-the-only-known-vulture-species-from-australia-187017">It was long thought these fossils came from an eagle. Turns out they belong to the only known vulture species from Australia</a>
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<p>The additional bones of <em>Cryptogyps</em> indicate it was a rather primitive vulture, less adapted for the long periods of soaring flight characteristic of modern vultures.</p>
<p>Thanks to the sediment around the fossils, we also have a very precise date of when <em>Cryptogyps</em> was alive. Many of the Green Waterhole fossils were buried in a deposit of calcite rafts – crystals that form on the surface of still bodies of water in caves. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556401/original/file-20231028-24-5h6thl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Photos of several bones and an illustration of a vulture-like bird" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556401/original/file-20231028-24-5h6thl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556401/original/file-20231028-24-5h6thl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556401/original/file-20231028-24-5h6thl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556401/original/file-20231028-24-5h6thl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556401/original/file-20231028-24-5h6thl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556401/original/file-20231028-24-5h6thl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556401/original/file-20231028-24-5h6thl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fossil bones from the wing and shoulder of the extinct vulture <em>Cryptogyps lacertosus</em>, recovered from Green Waterhole, South Australia. Scale bar = 50mm. Life reconstruction top right.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ellen Mather (photos) / John Barrie (reconstruction)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today, most of the cave is submerged because of a high water table, but in the past, it was mostly dry. A pool of water deeper in the cave was where these calcite rafts formed. </p>
<p>The water was likely what attracted animals into the cave in the first place. These animals then died, and their bones sank to the bottom of the pool along with the calcite rafts. Our team dated these calcite rafts – and thus the entombed <em>Cryptogyps</em> fossils – at approximately 60,000 years old.</p>
<h2>Mammal extinctions affect birds of prey</h2>
<p>When we think of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/did-people-or-climate-kill-off-the-megafauna-actually-it-was-both-127803">mass extinction</a> of Australian megafauna, we tend to think about the demise of large mammals, such as the “giant wombat” <em>Diprotodon optatum</em>, the “marsupial lion” <em>Thylacoleo carnifex</em>, and the giant short-faced kangaroo <em>Procoptodon goliah</em>. Some large reptiles are also commonly recognised as victims: the giant goanna (Megalania) <em>Varanus priscus</em>, the constricting snake <em>Wonambi naracoortensis</em>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-the-biggest-and-most-bizarre-skink-ever-found-in-australia-it-became-extinct-47-000-years-ago-206764">even a giant armoured skink</a> <em>Tiliqua frangens</em>.</p>
<p>But as we can see from the case of our large eagles and vultures, other groups of animals were also affected. Birds of prey, especially large and scavenging species, <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Late-Pleistocene-Continental-Avian-extinction-Tyrberg/6cfc6bfea30c8b5635d5250eede1556c4d654402">went extinct around the world during the Late Pleistocene</a>, their food supply likely affected by the loss of large mammalian species. Australia appears to have been no exception to the rule.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556394/original/file-20231028-27-4hz9e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two photos of eagles in flight, one with a white belly and the other with dark, patterned wings." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556394/original/file-20231028-27-4hz9e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556394/original/file-20231028-27-4hz9e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556394/original/file-20231028-27-4hz9e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556394/original/file-20231028-27-4hz9e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556394/original/file-20231028-27-4hz9e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556394/original/file-20231028-27-4hz9e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556394/original/file-20231028-27-4hz9e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The wedge-tailed eagle (<em>Aquila audax</em>) and the white-bellied sea eagle (<em>Icthyophaga leucogaster</em>) are the largest birds of prey found in modern Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Lee</span></span>
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<p>The new fossils reveal many of Australia’s large birds of prey did not survive the megafaunal extinction event in the Late Pleistocene, roughly 50,000 years ago. The two largest species that managed to persist to the present are the wedge-tailed eagle, which is a generalist hunter found throughout the continent, and the white-bellied sea eagle, which targets fish and has a coastal distribution. </p>
<p>It is likely our three extinct large raptors – two giant eagles and a vulture – were too specialised as hunters and scavengers of megafauna to adapt to a rapidly changing world. Their extinction likely caused a further cascade of effects through the ecosytem: in Asia, for instance, more recent loss of vultures has led to increased populations of scavenging feral dogs and higher prevalance of <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220214095744.htm">diseases such as rabies</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216358/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ellen K. Mather received funding from BirdLife Australia Raptor Group.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Lee receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Flinders University and the Royal Society of South Australia</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Trevor H. Worthy has received funding from The Australian Research Council for research on fossil birds. He has previously worked for Flinders University and now has an adjunct status there.</span></em></p>New fossils reveal Australia was once home to a much greater diversity of huge eagles and vultures, which died off alongside ‘giant wombats’ and ‘marsupial lions’.Ellen K. Mather, Adjunct Associate Lecturer in Palaeontology, Flinders UniversityMike Lee, Professor in Evolutionary Biology (jointly appointed with South Australian Museum), Flinders UniversityTrevor H. Worthy, Associate Professor, Vertebrate Palaeontology Group, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2158092023-11-12T19:15:42Z2023-11-12T19:15:42ZAustralia has more native bird species than almost anywhere else. What led to this explosion of diversity?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554661/original/file-20231019-17-zkff5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C62%2C3465%2C2727&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An Opalton grasswren.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barry Baker</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When you went out today, did you see any birds? A galah perhaps, or a crow?</p>
<p>If you did, there’s a decent chance the bird you saw lives nowhere but Australia. Out of about <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/env/pages/2ee3f4a1-f130-465b-9c7a-79373680a067/files/nlsaw-2nd-complete.pdf">850 species</a> found in Australia, 45% are “endemic”, which means they’re unique to Australia. The only other country with <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/473/1/012064">more endemic species</a> is Indonesia.</p>
<p>Thanks to their wings, birds are the world’s greatest travellers. So why is it that such a high proportion of Australian birds aren’t found anywhere else?</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554664/original/file-20231019-21-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554664/original/file-20231019-21-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554664/original/file-20231019-21-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554664/original/file-20231019-21-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554664/original/file-20231019-21-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554664/original/file-20231019-21-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=869&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554664/original/file-20231019-21-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=869&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554664/original/file-20231019-21-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=869&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A little raven (<em>Corvus mellori</em>) in the Nullarbor. These birds are native to South-East Australia and are related to Australia’s crows.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barry Baker</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Climate rules</h2>
<p>The story starts <a href="https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/geography-and-geology/geology/">more than 45 million</a> years ago, when Australia first split from Antarctica and started to head north. It was the events that occurred during this trip – particularly in relation to our climate – that led to the diversity in Australia’s birds today. </p>
<p>When it first set out, Australia was covered in lush rainforest. As it drifted, however, the climate became much drier. Our distinctive flora of grasslands and eucalypt woodlands started to spread across the continent. </p>
<p>But this drying trend wasn’t consistent. Particularly in the last million years, dry periods associated with the ice ages alternated with wetter times, such as the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-is-the-anthropocene-and-are-we-in-it-164801414/">Holocene epoch</a> – which is what we’ve had for the past 10,000 or so years.</p>
<p>But the climate didn’t just vary over thousands of years. It also varied, as we know too well, from year to year. Australia has long been the land of long droughts, sometimes lasting decades, interspersed with flooding rains.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554662/original/file-20231019-23-dlbl1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554662/original/file-20231019-23-dlbl1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554662/original/file-20231019-23-dlbl1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554662/original/file-20231019-23-dlbl1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554662/original/file-20231019-23-dlbl1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554662/original/file-20231019-23-dlbl1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554662/original/file-20231019-23-dlbl1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554662/original/file-20231019-23-dlbl1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Opalton grasswrens (<em>Amytornis rowleyi</em>) can be found in the Forsyth Range in Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barry Baker</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s climate got to do with birds?</h2>
<p>The diversity in Australia’s birds arose partly because of the list of passengers aboard the good ship of Australia. This included ancient parrots and the ancestors of what were to become the world’s first songbirds: the <a href="https://www.unediscoveryvoyager.org.au/2022/05/30/lyrebirds-really-are-superb/">lyrebirds and scrub-birds</a>. Both groups are highly adaptable and have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1071/MU13034">bigger brains</a> than other birds relative to their size.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554673/original/file-20231019-17-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554673/original/file-20231019-17-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554673/original/file-20231019-17-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554673/original/file-20231019-17-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554673/original/file-20231019-17-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554673/original/file-20231019-17-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1076&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554673/original/file-20231019-17-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1076&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554673/original/file-20231019-17-pyeh6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1076&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lyrebirds are known for their incredible mimicry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barry Baker</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, it was ultimately the climate that gave us so many endemic species. Every time the climate dried, birds that preferred forests were pushed to the damper margins of the continent, where they evolved into separate species. In wetter times, some forests spread and reconnected – but now there were two or more species, not just one. </p>
<p>The same was true for the arid land birds, which got divided when it became extra dry. One ancient group called grasswrens <a href="https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/grass-wrens">has different species</a> in almost all the isolated blocks of arid habitat across the country.</p>
<p>The parrots and cockatoos also diversified into a huge range of species, from tiny budgerigars to <a href="https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2019/03/australias-five-black-cockatoos/">huge black cockatoos</a>.</p>
<h2>One-way traffic</h2>
<p>But that’s only part of the story. You might have heard of the original supercontinent, Pangaea, which <a href="http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/eoc/teachers/t_tectonics/p_pangaea2.html">split into Gondwana and Laurasia</a> about 200 million years ago. When <a href="https://nre.tas.gov.au/Documents/Gondwana.pdf">Gondwana eventually split</a>, some of the continents moved north and shared their faunas with the regions they ran into in the Northern Hemisphere.</p>
<p>As Africa and India collided with Asia and Europe, the species from the old supercontinents of Gondwana and Laurasia mixed. <a href="https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/when-did-the-isthmus-of-panama-form-between-north-and-south-america">North and South America</a> also exchanged plants and animals when their land masses joined. Australia was different. And once again, it came down to the climate. </p>
<p>As Australia pushed north, the shifting tectonic plates threw up islands that acted as stepping stones to Asia. These allowed Australian songbirds to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-songbirds-island-hopped-their-way-from-australia-to-colonise-the-world-64616">head out into</a> the wider world, where they did exceptionally well. In fact, <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1813206116">researchers think</a> all the world’s 5,000 or songbird species came from Australia.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OGdPqpzYD4o?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This animation shows the continent of Pangaea breaking into the land masses we have today.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The question is, why was this traffic one way? Why didn’t Asian and American birds such as woodpeckers hop on over to Australia? One reason could be that by that time Australia was already full of tough birds that had evolved to cope with a pretty mean climate. </p>
<p>In contrast, the birds from Asia had evolved in fertile rainforests. Any that did disperse south along the chain of islands leading to Australia would have been ill-equipped to cope with its aridity. They would also have had to compete with parrots and songbirds that already knew how to take full advantage of the resources available.</p>
<p>A few did make it, including a lovely <a href="https://www.australiaswonderfulbirds.com.au/finches">set of finches</a>, but they are an exception proving the rule. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554688/original/file-20231019-17-sm97lb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554688/original/file-20231019-17-sm97lb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554688/original/file-20231019-17-sm97lb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554688/original/file-20231019-17-sm97lb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554688/original/file-20231019-17-sm97lb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554688/original/file-20231019-17-sm97lb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554688/original/file-20231019-17-sm97lb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554688/original/file-20231019-17-sm97lb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Zebra finches (<em>Taeniopygia castanotis</em>) are the most common of Australia’s grassfinches, found across most of the mainland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Budgies are the best</h2>
<p>It’s probably no coincidence the world’s most popular cage birds come from Australia. Cage living isn’t for every bird; most birds are delicate creatures that need constant care if bred in captivity.</p>
<p>In contrast, budgerigars, cockatiels and zebra finches from Australia’s fickle arid zone know they must do what it takes while the going’s good, because the next El Niño may start next week. And it helps if you can cope with temperatures that vary from -10°C to more than 40°C. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554666/original/file-20231019-17-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554666/original/file-20231019-17-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554666/original/file-20231019-17-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=735&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554666/original/file-20231019-17-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=735&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554666/original/file-20231019-17-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=735&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554666/original/file-20231019-17-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554666/original/file-20231019-17-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554666/original/file-20231019-17-r60wx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=923&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The budgerigar (<em>Melopsittacus undulatus</em>) is a colourful native parrot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Australia also shares many bird species with New Guinea. This isn’t surprising, given we’re on the same continental plate. </p>
<p>The Torres Strait is so shallow that drops in sea levels during an ice age would form a land bridge that even a cassowary could walk across (which is why cassowaries are shared with New Guinea).</p>
<p>For most other Australian birds found elsewhere, such as shorebirds and seabirds, water is no barrier.</p>
<p>But most of our birds are ours alone. Ours to enjoy and ours to care for – because they have no other home.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554674/original/file-20231019-17-q5axer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554674/original/file-20231019-17-q5axer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554674/original/file-20231019-17-q5axer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554674/original/file-20231019-17-q5axer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554674/original/file-20231019-17-q5axer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554674/original/file-20231019-17-q5axer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554674/original/file-20231019-17-q5axer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554674/original/file-20231019-17-q5axer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A superb lyrebird (<em>Menura novaehollandiae</em>) in the Dandenong Ranges.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barry Baker</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/listen-to-the-alberts-lyrebird-the-best-performer-youve-never-heard-of-177627">Listen to the Albert’s lyrebird: the best performer you’ve never heard of</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215809/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Garnett receives funding from the Australian Research Council. I am an active member of BirdLife Australia. </span></em></p>Our birds are tough. They went through some mean climatic conditions to make Australia home.Stephen Garnett, Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2000582023-03-21T00:43:49Z2023-03-21T00:43:49ZOur mysterious night parrot has terrible vision – but we discovered it might be able to hear like an owl<p>One bird bucks the stereotype of Australia’s raucous parrots – the mysterious and critically endangered night parrot (<em>Pezoporus occidentalis</em>). Rather than flying around in noisy flocks or eating fruit in trees, the night parrot roosts all day in a clump of sharp spinifex grass. When darkness falls, it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn5QXs7WHi8">scurries about</a> on the ground to forage, almost like a little rodent. </p>
<p>For eight decades, we thought it might be extinct. But then, in 2013, it was photographed. Now we know this vanishingly rare nocturnal bird still lives in parts of the remote outback.</p>
<p>Because it’s so rare, it’s very hard to study. In our work in palaeontology, we recently identified some fossil leg bones as probably belonging to the night parrot. Because there were no modern skeletons to compare them with, we had to CT-scan a museum specimen. </p>
<p>What we intended to do was compare the leg anatomy to our fossil leg bones. But then we found something bizarre. The night parrot’s skull was wonky and the ears were asymmetrical. Predatory owls have this too, as a way to boost their hearing and hunt better. But why would a seed-eating parrot need superb hearing? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516533/original/file-20230321-240-zw9gr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="night parrot illustration" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516533/original/file-20230321-240-zw9gr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516533/original/file-20230321-240-zw9gr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516533/original/file-20230321-240-zw9gr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516533/original/file-20230321-240-zw9gr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516533/original/file-20230321-240-zw9gr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516533/original/file-20230321-240-zw9gr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516533/original/file-20230321-240-zw9gr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The night parrot is one of only two nocturnal parrots, alongside New Zealand’s kakapo. This 1890 illustration is by Elizabeth Gould, illustrator and wife of ornithologist John Gould.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_parrot#/media/File:Pezoporus_occidentalis_Bird_illustration_by_Elizabeth_Gould_for_Birds_of_Australia,_digitally_enhanced_from_rawpixel's_own_facsimile_book666.jpg">Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Of wonky skulls and offset ears</h2>
<p>In our new research, we offer <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01584197.2023.2181185">the first</a> anatomical description of the night parrot’s skull. In this, we were fortunate to be allowed to scan the precious type specimen held by the Natural History Museum in London. This is the original skin used by <a href="https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/gould-john-2113">John Gould</a>, the preeminent 19th century English ornithologist, to formally describe and name the night parrot in 1861. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/still-here-night-parrot-rediscovery-in-wa-raises-questions-for-mining-75384">Still here: Night Parrot rediscovery in WA raises questions for mining</a>
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<p>We used high-resolution CT scans to <a href="https://youtu.be/P0d_rGni5ZI">look inside</a> this museum “skin”, a dried specimen with internal organs removed, feathers on the outside and a partial skeleton on the inside.</p>
<p>The scans showed the left side of the skull did not mirror the right. <a href="https://youtu.be/wpXobSqxKrI">Skull asymmetry</a> isn’t unheard of in nocturnal birds. Many species of owl have offset ears and dramatically distorted skulls, which allows them to pinpoint any sound made by intended prey. But we certainly weren’t expecting it in a parrot. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512383/original/file-20230227-28-atkjkh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C9%2C3205%2C2423&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The type specimen of the night parrot" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512383/original/file-20230227-28-atkjkh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C9%2C3205%2C2423&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512383/original/file-20230227-28-atkjkh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512383/original/file-20230227-28-atkjkh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512383/original/file-20230227-28-atkjkh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512383/original/file-20230227-28-atkjkh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512383/original/file-20230227-28-atkjkh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512383/original/file-20230227-28-atkjkh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We CT-scanned the night parrot’s type specimen – and found something unexpected about its skull.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mark Adams, copyright Natural History Museum, UK</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Wired for sound?</h2>
<p>When we looked closely at the night parrot’s skull, we spotted telltale clues of a bird specialising in hearing. Asymmetry is part of it: the left ear opening is flat while the right one arches out to the side.</p>
<p>In uneven-eared owls, one ear is typically placed higher than the other. In flight, sound waves travelling from ground level hit each ear at slightly different times. This tiny difference in timing allows the owl’s brain to calculate precisely the sound’s origin on a vertical plane. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512387/original/file-20230227-194-atkjkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512387/original/file-20230227-194-atkjkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512387/original/file-20230227-194-atkjkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512387/original/file-20230227-194-atkjkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512387/original/file-20230227-194-atkjkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512387/original/file-20230227-194-atkjkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512387/original/file-20230227-194-atkjkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512387/original/file-20230227-194-atkjkh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You can see the ears of the night parrot in this digital model created from a CT scan of the night parrot skull.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But night parrots don’t hunt fast-moving prey. They mostly eat seeds, so they probably don’t use asymmetrical ears to locate food. </p>
<p>While owl ears are positioned at different heights on the skull, this isn’t the case for the night parrot. The major difference between the parrot’s ears is how far they stick out sideways. This might help them locate the direction a sound comes from horizontally, which would make sense for a bird living almost entirely at ground level. </p>
<p>This could be useful to listen for predators, keep contact with their mates and young, find new potential mates, or to scan their habitat for competitors. </p>
<p>Adding to the evidence for excellent hearing is the size of this parrot’s ear chambers. Compared to other parrots, an unusually large volume of the night parrot’s skull is devoted to the external ear chamber – fully one third of the length of its head. These enlarged ear chambers may act like amplifiers, increasing the volume of sound transferred to the inner ears. This suggests it would be wise to keep the noise down in their habitat until we know more about their hearing. </p>
<h2>Bigger ears, smaller eyes</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-65156-0">previous study</a> found the night parrot has small optic nerves and reduced optic lobes in the brain for processing vision. From this, the researchers inferred the nocturnal parrot probably sees poorly in the dark. Despite this, it expertly navigates its dark world, flying up to a 30 kilometre round trip in a night to find food and water, before returning home to the same spinifex hummock where it roosts before sunrise. </p>
<p>Now that we’ve examined the skull, we can see the same clues. Vision appears to have been traded for hearing. Inside an animal skull, real estate is precious. Heads are heavy and cumbersome, and there’s only so much you can evolve to fit inside one. Enlarged ear chambers appear to constrain the maximum size of a night parrot’s eyes.</p>
<p>Even so, this bird has crammed in as much as it can. It has an outsized head compared to its body. Gould described the parrot’s “thick bluffy head” as one of the features defining the species. </p>
<p>When we measured the scleral ring – the circular bone supporting the eyeball – and compared it to other birds, we found telling differences. A night parrot’s cornea is about as small as it can possibly be while still allowing visually guided nocturnal flight. A millimetre or two smaller and they wouldn’t get enough light into their eyes to see in the dark. </p>
<p>This remarkable parrot is one of 22 threatened birds prioritised by the federal government for recovery. We hope ecologists can make the most of this to find out what we need to do to bring night parrots back from the brink. We’re only beginning to learn how unusual they are. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/found-worlds-most-mysterious-bird-but-why-all-the-secrecy-18000">Found: world's most mysterious bird, but why all the secrecy?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200058/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elen Shute previously received a PhD scholarship from Flinders University and a fee-waiver scholarship via the Federal Government. She is employed by Flinders University and the Nature Conservation Society of South Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Clement receives funding from the Australian Research Council and is employed by Flinders University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gavin Prideaux receives funding from the Australian Research Council and is employed by Flinders University.</span></em></p>A wonky skull. Enlarged ear chambers. Asymetrical ears. It looks like the elusive night parrot has traded off vision for excellent hearingElen Shute, Researcher, Flinders UniversityAlice Clement, Research Associate in the College of Science and Engineering, Flinders UniversityGavin Prideaux, Associate professor, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1981592023-01-23T01:04:57Z2023-01-23T01:04:57ZAustralia’s iconic black swans have a worrying immune system deficiency, new genome study finds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505731/original/file-20230122-8930-yqnx7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C10%2C3418%2C2603&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/npYQqEqiu3o">Conor O'Reagan/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For years, scientists have known bird flu kills every black swan it infects. This means if the disease made it to the Australian continent, it would be an existential threat to this iconic Aussie species.</p>
<p>A new study <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-022-02838-0">published today in Genome Biology</a> finally reveals the gene contributions that make black swans particularly prone to falling victim to infectious diseases.</p>
<p>The relative geographic isolation of the black swan (<em>Cygnus atratus</em>) may have resulted in a limited immune toolbox, making them more susceptible to the infectious avian diseases Australia <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/pests-diseases-weeds/animal/avian-influenza">has been largely shielded from</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505746/original/file-20230123-38684-rfuj6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black swan standing among at least 20 white swans" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505746/original/file-20230123-38684-rfuj6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505746/original/file-20230123-38684-rfuj6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505746/original/file-20230123-38684-rfuj6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505746/original/file-20230123-38684-rfuj6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505746/original/file-20230123-38684-rfuj6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505746/original/file-20230123-38684-rfuj6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505746/original/file-20230123-38684-rfuj6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mute swans are the iconic white species found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, while black swans are native to Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Wishart/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A DNA puzzle</h2>
<p>Unlike mallard ducks (<em>Anas platyrhynchos</em>) and the white-coloured mute swan (<em>Cygnus olor</em>), the black swan is extremely sensitive to highly pathogenic avian influenza or HPAI, commonly known as “bird flu”. </p>
<p>In May 2021 a collaborative effort between University of Western Australia and University of Queensland mapped the DNA puzzle of the black swan, which was released open-source <a href="https://www.dnazoo.org/post/emblem-of-western-australia">through DNA Zoo</a>. </p>
<p>To understand whether the geographically-isolated black swan has a different immune gene repertoire compared to its relatives, for the past two years we have worked on comparing the black swan genome to that of the closely related – yet genetically distinct – Northern Hemisphere mute swans. This work was done by a large team of scientists from Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Germany, Japan, USA and UK.</p>
<p>Harnessing the power of high-performance computing, we mapped and compared tens of thousands of genes between the two species, to better understand why black swans fall victim to the virus so easily while mute swans do not. Such work is akin to finding a needle in a haystack.</p>
<p>Our work has now provided insights into how these species diverge genetically in response to the deadly bird flu and other viruses in the same family.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505698/original/file-20230121-15434-hny19b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black swan with a red beak against a light background of rippling water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505698/original/file-20230121-15434-hny19b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505698/original/file-20230121-15434-hny19b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505698/original/file-20230121-15434-hny19b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505698/original/file-20230121-15434-hny19b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505698/original/file-20230121-15434-hny19b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505698/original/file-20230121-15434-hny19b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505698/original/file-20230121-15434-hny19b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black swans aren’t just a different colour from the white ones – the differences in genome run much deeper.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Parwinder Kaur</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Some missing genes</h2>
<p>Notably, we found the black swan showed undetectable gene expression in toll-like receptor (TLR-7), a class of proteins responsible for the immune system’s reaction to foreign viruses. In other words, they have the gene for it, but it’s not turning on for some reason. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505700/original/file-20230121-8930-3no87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a dark salwar kameez dress standing next to a black swan on a grassy background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505700/original/file-20230121-8930-3no87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505700/original/file-20230121-8930-3no87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505700/original/file-20230121-8930-3no87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505700/original/file-20230121-8930-3no87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505700/original/file-20230121-8930-3no87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505700/original/file-20230121-8930-3no87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505700/original/file-20230121-8930-3no87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dr Parwinder Kaur pictured with a black swan in Matilda Bay, Perth. The birds are the subject of a major collaboration in genome comparison studies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Parwinder Kaur</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The TLR-7 family has been extensively studied in humans, as it is known to play a role in virus and tumour cell recognition. A 2021 study showed TLR-7 is crucial to the pattern recognition receptors (the molecules that can detect pathogens) <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.756262/full">of SARS-CoV-2 in humans</a>.</p>
<p>In infected endothelial cells – the cells lining blood vessels and the heart – of the black swan, we found a dysregulated (abnormal) pro-inflammatory response. When the immune system reacts to a threat, some inflammatory response is normal, but it’s possible it can cause a more severe reaction if dysregulated. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/black-swans-and-other-deviations-like-evolution-all-scientific-theories-are-a-work-in-progress-95544">Black swans and other deviations: like evolution, all scientific theories are a work in progress</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Risking a wipe-out</h2>
<p>Our work has also found the black swan genome was contractive. This means that from their last common ancestor with mute swans, black swans lost more genes in total than they gained.</p>
<p>Specifically, 39 immune-related gene families of the black swan were contractive as compared to the mute swan. This could be because being relatively isolated in Australia, they were less exposed to infectious bird diseases.</p>
<p>The data gathered by this sequencing project indicate the immune system of the black swan is more susceptible to any avian viral infection if it were to arrive in its native habitat. In other words, bird flu could even risk wiping out this species. </p>
<p>Now that we understand the potential underlying mechanism for black swans’ susceptibility to bird flu – and given TLR-7 is such an extensively studied gene in humans – there are several ways we can save our precious swans.</p>
<p>One way would be to look for natural variation that exists for this particular gene family in different black swan populations across Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. There are likely to be individuals with higher resistance to bird flu, and we could use them to develop a strategic breeding program for this species.</p>
<p>Otherwise – and a more expensive path – would be to develop immunotherapy treatments, such as we have developed for humans. The good news is we now know what could be done to protect these swans.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-a-rare-bird-how-europeans-got-the-black-swan-so-wrong-161654">Friday essay: a rare bird — how Europeans got the black swan so wrong</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198159/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Parwinder Kaur does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Why are Australian black swans so quick to die from bird flu? A new genome study comparing them to their bird brethren helps to unravel the mystery.Parwinder Kaur, Associate Professor | Director, DNA Zoo Australia, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1902262022-09-23T00:34:16Z2022-09-23T00:34:16ZWant noisy miners to be less despotic? Think twice before filling your garden with nectar-rich flowers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483365/original/file-20220907-15616-uce7s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C20%2C4457%2C2964&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/australian-noisy-miner-sitting-on-a-native-blooming-flower-13024717/">Photo by Vlad Kutepov/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Noisy miners are complicated creatures. These Australian native honeyeaters live in large cooperative groups, use alarm calls to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/28/3/724/3076238">target specific predators</a>, and sometimes <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/29/6/1380/5076038">help raise the young of other miners</a>. But they’re perhaps best known for their aggressive and coordinated attacks on other birds – a behaviour known as “mobbing”.</p>
<p>We conducted a study investigating some of the possible factors that influence mobbing. We were interested in whether access to human food left on plates at cafes, or a high nectar supply thanks to planted gardens, might give urban miners extra energy and time to mob other species more often. We also examined whether miners were more aggressive towards some species over others. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01584197.2022.2049608">study</a>, published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01584197.2022.2049608">Emu - Austral Ornithology</a>, found it wasn’t cafes with access to sugar-rich food that led to more miner aggression. In fact, gardens were where we recorded the highest amount of aggressive behaviour.</p>
<p>Understanding mobbing is important, because this behaviour can drive out other birds and reduce diversity. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2003.12292.x">Smaller birds with a similar diet</a> to noisy miners are particularly vulnerable.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483366/original/file-20220907-14-a7czet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A noisy miner sits on a plant with bright red flowers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483366/original/file-20220907-14-a7czet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483366/original/file-20220907-14-a7czet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483366/original/file-20220907-14-a7czet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483366/original/file-20220907-14-a7czet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483366/original/file-20220907-14-a7czet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=722&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483366/original/file-20220907-14-a7czet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=722&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483366/original/file-20220907-14-a7czet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=722&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Noisy miners can drive out other birds and reduce diversity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-grey-white-yellow-bird-near-on-pink-petal-flower-105805/">Photo by Mark Broadhurst/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-cull-noisy-miners-after-decades-of-research-these-aggressive-honeyeaters-are-still-outsmarting-us-169524">Should we cull noisy miners? After decades of research, these aggressive honeyeaters are still outsmarting us</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What we did</h2>
<p>The noisy miner’s preferred habitat is along the edges of open eucalypt forest, including cleared land and urban fringes. Their numbers have <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ddi.12128">grown</a> in recent decades, presenting a significant <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/threatened/key-threatening-processes/overabundant-noisy-miners">conservation problem</a>.</p>
<p>We know from <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0310.2011.01902.x">previous research</a> that urban noisy miners tend to be more aggressive compared with rural populations. </p>
<p>But to examine mobbing behaviour more closely, we placed museum taxidermies (stuffed animals) of different species of birds in three different types of habitat around Canberra:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>urban cafes with lots of food leftovers</p></li>
<li><p>urban gardens that had higher-than-usual supplies of nectar </p></li>
<li><p>bush areas more typical of “natural” miner habitat.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>For each habitat, we then presented the resident noisy miners with three different types of museum taxidermy models of birds:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>food competitors with a similar diet to miners, both of the same size (musk lorikeets) and a much smaller species (spotted pardalote)</p></li>
<li><p>potential predators, including a dangerous species that preys on miners (brown goshawk) and a species that robs nests but poses less of a risk to adult miners (pied currawong)</p></li>
<li><p>neutral species, meaning a bird that does not prey upon nor compete with miners for food (in our study, we used a model of an eastern rosella).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>We wanted to see how miners responded to these “intruders” in various settings. We also set up a speaker nearby to broadcast alarm calls, to see how miners reacted.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484208/original/file-20220913-6373-ohyjed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two noisy miners mob a magpie." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484208/original/file-20220913-6373-ohyjed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484208/original/file-20220913-6373-ohyjed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484208/original/file-20220913-6373-ohyjed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484208/original/file-20220913-6373-ohyjed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484208/original/file-20220913-6373-ohyjed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484208/original/file-20220913-6373-ohyjed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484208/original/file-20220913-6373-ohyjed.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Noisy miners are known for their aggressive and coordinated attacks on other birds – a behaviour known as ‘mobbing’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>We found interesting differences in how miners responded to our taxidermy models and the broadcasted alarm calls.</p>
<p>Noisy miners exhibited aggressive behaviours for a much longer time in gardens and cafés in comparison to natural bush areas.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, however, access to sugar-rich food from cafes didn’t yield the most aggressive behaviour. Rather, we recorded the highest levels of aggressive behaviour near garden sites.</p>
<p>Nectar-rich plants (such as grevilleas and bottlebrushes) are attractive to birds with a sweet tooth, and miners are no exception. Newer cultivars flower for longer, meaning miners living in our gardens may have access to an almost year-round source of food. </p>
<p>Ready access to these flowering shrubs may affect aggression by providing more time, energy or reward to noisy miners defending these uber-rich resources. </p>
<p>The type of model presented also impacted miner response.</p>
<p>More miners were attracted to an area and mobbed the subject for longer when the model was of a predator.</p>
<p>Miners showed even greater aggression to food competitor models, however. They were more likely to physically strike food competitor models with a peck or swoop compared to predator models. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485205/original/file-20220919-60305-bzy2aj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485205/original/file-20220919-60305-bzy2aj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485205/original/file-20220919-60305-bzy2aj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485205/original/file-20220919-60305-bzy2aj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485205/original/file-20220919-60305-bzy2aj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485205/original/file-20220919-60305-bzy2aj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485205/original/file-20220919-60305-bzy2aj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Noisy miners are often drawn to cafes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jade Fountain</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What can gardeners do with these findings?</h2>
<p>Our research shows the importance of considering how gardens – whether in back yards, in parks or new housing estates – can affect local ecosystems, including bird behaviour. Previous <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20019">studies</a> have drawn a link between the types of plants humans choose to plant and the local mix of bird species.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484210/original/file-20220913-12035-z31cbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484210/original/file-20220913-12035-z31cbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484210/original/file-20220913-12035-z31cbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484210/original/file-20220913-12035-z31cbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484210/original/file-20220913-12035-z31cbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484210/original/file-20220913-12035-z31cbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484210/original/file-20220913-12035-z31cbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484210/original/file-20220913-12035-z31cbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grevilleas look lovely but how does their presence affect miner behaviour?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To reduce the risk of creating a perfect habitat for despotic miners in your garden, aim to:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>plant multi-layered levels in your garden – that means including ground cover, small shrubs, medium shrubs and trees to provide shelter at different heights for various birds and animals</p></li>
<li><p>consider planting plenty of dense shrubs with small flowers to attract insects and provide shelter for small birds</p></li>
<li><p>use a mix of nectar-rich and non-flowering shrubs and grasses (instead of focusing too heavily on flowering plants)</p></li>
<li><p>try to avoid planting too many exotic species; opt instead for native plants <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/WR96078">local to your area and suited to the climate</a>, as these benefit native plants and animals whilst minimising benefits to aggressive noisy miners.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-hate-certain-birds-and-why-their-behaviour-might-be-our-fault-54404">Why we 'hate' certain birds, and why their behaviour might be our fault</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190226/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our study found it wasn’t cafes with access to sugar-rich food that led to more miner aggression. In fact, gardens were where we recorded the highest amount of aggressive behaviour.Jade Fountain, PhD Student, University of AdelaidePaul McDonald, Professor of Animal Behaviour, University of New EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1745382022-01-12T16:43:33Z2022-01-12T16:43:33ZRegent honeyeaters were once kings of flowering gums. Now they’re on the edge of extinction. What happened?<p>Less than 80 years ago, regent honeyeaters ruled Australia’s flowering gum forests, with huge raucous flocks roaming from Adelaide to Rockhampton. </p>
<p>Now, there are less than 300 birds left in the wild. Habitat loss has pushed the survivors into little pockets across their once vast range. </p>
<p>Sadly, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320721004821?via%3Dihub">our new research</a> shows these birds are now heading for rapid extinction. Unless we urgently boost conservation efforts, the regent honeyeater will follow the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/111/29/10636.short">passenger pigeon</a> into oblivion within the next 20 years. </p>
<p>If we let the last few die, the regent honeyeater will be only the second bird extinction on the Australian mainland since European colonisation, following the <a href="https://theconversation.com/100-years-ago-this-man-discovered-an-exquisite-parrot-thought-to-be-extinct-what-came-next-is-a-tragedy-we-must-not-repeat-171939">paradise parrot</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440139/original/file-20220110-17-i5hkd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440139/original/file-20220110-17-i5hkd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440139/original/file-20220110-17-i5hkd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440139/original/file-20220110-17-i5hkd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440139/original/file-20220110-17-i5hkd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440139/original/file-20220110-17-i5hkd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440139/original/file-20220110-17-i5hkd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1055&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Regent honeyeaters are one of the most endangered birds in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lachlan Hall.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How did it come to this?</h2>
<p>With vivid yellow and black wings, embroidered body and warty faces, these honeyeaters are among Australia’s most spectacular birds.</p>
<p>John Gould, one of Australia’s earliest European naturalists, observed these birds in “immense flocks amongst the brushes of New South Wales”. He described the regent honeyeater as “the most pugnacious bird he ever saw”, noting they “reigned supreme in the largest, most heavily-flowering trees.” Their success in securing nectar supplies made them vital pollinators. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/only-the-lonely-an-endangered-bird-is-forgetting-its-song-as-the-species-dies-out-156950">Only the lonely: an endangered bird is forgetting its song as the species dies out</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The world Gould saw is sadly a thing of the past. Regent honeyeater populations have plummeted, with the loss of over 90% of their <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jpe/article/5/1/109/1294916?login=true">preferred woodland habitats</a> to farmland. </p>
<p>You might wonder how this could be, given there are still large tracts of forest in Australia. But these are invariably on poorer soils and hilltops. Our remaining forests do not yield the rich nectar regent honeyeaters require for breeding. </p>
<p>As their habitat has declined, the surviving regent honeyeaters have been forced to compete with larger species – without the safety of their huge flocks. The result? The once common species <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01584197.2017.1333392">no longer reigns supreme</a>. </p>
<h2>Gone within 20 years</h2>
<p>Unless conservation actions are urgently stepped up, our research shows these birds will be extinct within 20 years. </p>
<p>We’ve known about the decline of regent honeyeaters since the <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.629962143894936">late 1970s</a>. In response, a recovery team including BirdLife Australia and Taronga Conservation Society launched a <a href="https://www.awe.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-recovery-plan-regent-honeyeater.pdf">long-term recovery effort</a> to protect habitat, plant new trees and release zoo-bred birds. These efforts have slowed but not arrested the decline of these birds. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439989/original/file-20220110-19-1y7oxfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439989/original/file-20220110-19-1y7oxfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=730&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439989/original/file-20220110-19-1y7oxfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=730&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439989/original/file-20220110-19-1y7oxfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=730&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439989/original/file-20220110-19-1y7oxfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439989/original/file-20220110-19-1y7oxfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439989/original/file-20220110-19-1y7oxfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Regent honeyeaters are important pollinators of eucalypts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Liam Murphy.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2015, we began a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/aec.13104">large-scale survey</a> to better understand their population decline. Regent honeyeaters are a notoriously <a href="https://www.difficultbirds.com/about-us">difficult bird</a> to study in the wild. As nomads, they wander long distances throughout their vast range in search of nectar in their <a href="https://woodiwild.org/tree-species/yellow-box-eucalyptus-melliodora/">favoured tree species</a>. Finding these birds is hard enough, let alone monitoring the population in detail.</p>
<p>After six years of intensive fieldwork, and with data from research in the 1990s and long term bird banding, we have finally gathered enough information to be able to understand the challenges for the few remaining wild birds. We now know their <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ibi.12659">breeding success has declined</a> because their nests are raided and the chicks killed by aggressive native species, with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ddi.12128">noisy miners a particular problem</a>. </p>
<p>We also know the wild birds are <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.0225">losing their song culture</a> because of a lack of older birds for fledglings to learn their songs.</p>
<p>Our fieldwork has given us accurate estimates of vital breeding data, such as how many young birds fledge for each adult female, how many birds are breeding and how well juveniles are surviving. We combined this with data from the decades of monitoring of zoo-bred and released birds to create <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cobi.13414">population models</a>, which allow us to predict the future for the wild population under different conservation scenarios.</p>
<h2>Habitat is king</h2>
<p>What do the models show? That time is critical. To have any chance of getting the regent honeyeater back, we must build its numbers up enough for them to be able to roam in large flocks for protection. </p>
<p>How? First, we have to nearly double the nesting success rate for both wild and released zoo-bred birds. Too many young birds are dying early. That means we have to find nesting birds early in the breeding season and protect them from noisy miners, pied currawongs and even possums. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439991/original/file-20220110-15-qmhcqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/439991/original/file-20220110-15-qmhcqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439991/original/file-20220110-15-qmhcqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439991/original/file-20220110-15-qmhcqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439991/original/file-20220110-15-qmhcqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439991/original/file-20220110-15-qmhcqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/439991/original/file-20220110-15-qmhcqw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Regent honeyeater nests need protection from predators.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nathan Sherwood</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Next, we have to boost the numbers of zoo-bred birds released in the Blue Mountains, and maintain these numbers for at least twenty years. Staff at Taronga Conservation Society are preparing zoo-bred birds for the trials of the wild by exposing them to competition in flight aviaries, song tutoring young males and improving <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2021.669563/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Conservation_Science&id=669563">husbandry practices in zoos</a> to increase survival in the wild.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-cull-noisy-miners-after-decades-of-research-these-aggressive-honeyeaters-are-still-outsmarting-us-169524">Should we cull noisy miners? After decades of research, these aggressive honeyeaters are still outsmarting us</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Finally, our models clearly show regent honeyeaters will only become self-sustaining if we do much more to secure their habitat. Their remaining pockets of habitat are simply too small. We must protect all remaining habitat, restore degraded habitat and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/aec.12878">control noisy miners</a>. </p>
<p>Without habitat, other conservation efforts will be pointless. The honeyeater will simply never reach flock sizes large enough to muscle their way back into the surprisingly competitive business of drinking nectar. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, we continue to destroy essential regent honeyeater habitat in some areas even as we attempt to restore lost habitat elsewhere. For example, if the Warragamba Dam in the Blue Mountains is <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/cracks-in-warragamba-dam-plan-revealed-by-leaked-documents-20200721-p55e3e.html">raised</a> it will flood essential habitat and make it even harder to bring back our iconic honeyeater. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440140/original/file-20220110-19-19g9ykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440140/original/file-20220110-19-19g9ykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440140/original/file-20220110-19-19g9ykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440140/original/file-20220110-19-19g9ykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440140/original/file-20220110-19-19g9ykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440140/original/file-20220110-19-19g9ykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440140/original/file-20220110-19-19g9ykm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ongoing destruction of the habitat of regent honeyeaters is likely to lock-in their extinction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lachlan Hall</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The status quo is not enough</h2>
<p>For decades, conservationists and researchers have worked to save the regent honeyeater. Despite this tireless work, the species is inching towards the exit. If we maintain the status quo, we will lose it. </p>
<p>We must think bigger. Nest protection and release of zoo-bred birds can help get flock sizes up, but these efforts will be pointless if there are no blossoms for them to drink from. </p>
<p>Like the regent honeyeater, the passenger pigeon sought safety in numbers. We now know its extinction <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320714003401">could have been predicted</a>, if modern risk assessments had been available. Those same assessments and models tell us very clearly what will happen to the regent honeyeater. </p>
<p>It is too late for the passenger pigeon. It is not too late to save the regent honeyeater. But only if we act now. </p>
<p><em>Monique Van Sluys (Taronga Conservation Society) and Dean Ingwersen (Birdlife Australia) contributed to this article</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174538/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Heinsohn receives funding from the Australian Research Council. The study reported here was funded by an Australian Government Wildlife and Habitat Bushfire Recovery Program grant to Birdlife Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dejan Stojanovic receives funding from an Australian Government Natural Heritage Trust grant. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross Crates receives funding from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, BirdLife Australia, CWP renewables and the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment.</span></em></p>These iconic honeyeaters once ruled the flowering gum trees in massive numbers. But habitat loss means they’re on the edge of extinction.Rob Heinsohn, Professor of Evolutionary and Conservation Biology, Australian National UniversityDejan Stojanovic, Postdoctoral Fellow, Australian National UniversityRoss Crates, Postdoctoral fellow, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1714942022-01-10T02:02:04Z2022-01-10T02:02:04Z(The most social) bird of the year: why superb fairy-wren societies may be as complex as our own<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434664/original/file-20211130-27-gu8liu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C54%2C3024%2C1970&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kaspar Delhey</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One mystery many biologists want to solve is how complexity develops in nature. And among the many social systems in the natural world, multilevel societies stand out for their complexity. Individuals first organise into families, which are members of bands, which are organised into clans. </p>
<p>At each level, associations between components (individuals, families and clans) are structured and stable. In other words, individuals within families usually stay together, and families usually interact with other specific families in a predictable way, to form stable clans.</p>
<p>Such social organisation has probably characterised much of human evolution (and is still common among many hunter-gatherer societies around the world). </p>
<p>In fact, multilevel societies likely <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aax5913">played a fundamental role</a> in human history, by accelerating our cultural evolution. Organising into distinct social groups would have reduced the transmission of cultures and allowed for multiple traditions to coexist.</p>
<p>In our research, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.13950">published today</a> in Ecology Letters, we studied social behaviours in a wild population of superb fairy-wrens. We found these birds also organise into multilevel societies – a level of complexity once thought to be exclusive to big-brained mammals. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433017/original/file-20211121-17-n0d15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433017/original/file-20211121-17-n0d15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433017/original/file-20211121-17-n0d15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433017/original/file-20211121-17-n0d15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433017/original/file-20211121-17-n0d15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433017/original/file-20211121-17-n0d15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433017/original/file-20211121-17-n0d15p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Male superb fairy-wrens are noticeable due to their brilliant blue breeding plumage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jenna Diehl</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Cooperatively breeding birds</h2>
<p>Although we have ideas about the advantages of multilevel societies, we know relatively little about how and why they form in the first place. </p>
<p>Of the few species known to live in multilevel societies, there is one characteristic shared among all. That is, they live in stable groups, in environments where food availability is inconsistent and difficult to predict.</p>
<p>This is also true for many cooperatively breeding birds, including the superb fairy-wren – familiar across southeastern Australia’s parks and gardens. They breed in small family groups, with non-breeding helpers assisting a dominant breeding pair. And this social system is common among Australian bird species.</p>
<p>The superb fairy-wren is a well-studied species and is beloved by Australians, even being crowned bird of the year in this year’s Guardian/BirdLife Australia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/08/superb-fairywren-crowned-2021-australian-bird-of-the-year-winner-in-hotly-contested-vote">poll</a>. </p>
<p>These birds are notorious for their polyamorous approach to sex, despite being socially monogamous. Breeding pairs form exclusive social bonds, yet each partner will still mate with other individuals.</p>
<p>Our work now reveals this complex arrangement during the breeding season is just the tip of the iceberg. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-isnt-easy-being-blue-the-cost-of-colour-in-fairy-wrens-80006">It isn't easy being blue – the cost of colour in fairy wrens</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Associating by choice</h2>
<p>We tracked almost 200 birds over two years, by attaching different-coloured leg bands to each individual. We recorded the birds’ social associations and, from our observations, built a complex social network that let us determine the strength of each relationship.</p>
<p>We found that during the autumn and winter months, some breeding groups – (which include the breeding pair, one or more helpers and last summer’s offspring), stably associated with other breeding groups to form supergroups. And this was usually done with individuals they were genetically related with. </p>
<p>In turn, these supergroups associated with other supergroups and breeding groups on a daily basis, forming large communities. In the following spring, these communities split back into the original breeding groups inhabiting well-defined territories – only to join again next winter. </p>
<p>Just like humans, these little birds don’t associate with each other randomly during the long winter months. They have specific individuals and/or groups they choose to be with (but we’re currently not sure how they make this choice).</p>
<p>While it’s not yet clear why superb fairy-wrens form upper social units (supergroups and communities), we suspect this might allow individuals to exploit larger areas during winter, when food is scarce. It would also provide additional safety against predators, such as hawks and kookaburras. </p>
<p>This theory is supported by our literature study, which shows that multilevel societies are likely common among other Australian cooperatively breeding birds, such as the noisy and bell miners and striated thornbills.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433395/original/file-20211123-17-101uvj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433395/original/file-20211123-17-101uvj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433395/original/file-20211123-17-101uvj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433395/original/file-20211123-17-101uvj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433395/original/file-20211123-17-101uvj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433395/original/file-20211123-17-101uvj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433395/original/file-20211123-17-101uvj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433395/original/file-20211123-17-101uvj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Striated thornbills form larger flocks outside of breeding season.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kaspar Delhey</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cooperative breeding is another strategy to deal with harsh condition such as food scarcity. So the conditions that favour cooperative breeding are the same as those that favour multilevel societies. </p>
<h2>Multilevel societies in other animals</h2>
<p>There are several other species which seem to have a similar social organisation. They include primates such as baboons, and other large mammals that exhibit rich animal cultures, such as killer whales, sperm whales and elephants. </p>
<p>For a long time, researchers thought <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257363532_A_Papionin_Multilevel_Society_as_a_Model_for_Hominin_Social_Evolution">living in complex societies</a> might be how humans evolved large brains. They also thought this characteristic may be exclusive to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19575315/">mammals with large brains</a>, since keeping track of many different social relationships is not easy (or so the reasoning went). </p>
<p>Consequently, other animals with whom we are less closely related have mostly been excluded from this field of investigation. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433394/original/file-20211123-25-gcoznu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433394/original/file-20211123-25-gcoznu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=791&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433394/original/file-20211123-25-gcoznu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=791&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433394/original/file-20211123-25-gcoznu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=791&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433394/original/file-20211123-25-gcoznu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=994&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433394/original/file-20211123-25-gcoznu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=994&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433394/original/file-20211123-25-gcoznu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=994&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The bell miner is endemic to south-eastern Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kaspar Delhey</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This might reflect a bias that we, humans, have towards our own species and species which are similar to us. </p>
<p>As it turns, you don’t need to be a mammal with a big brain to evolve complex multilevel societies. Even small-brained birds such as the tiny superb fairy-wren can do this – as well as the vulturine guineafowl <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/science/birds-society-vulturine-guineafowl.html">a chicken-like bird from northeast Africa</a>. </p>
<p>We strongly suspect quite a few birds will join their ranks in the coming years as more research is done. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Acknowledgement: we would like to thank our colleagues Alexandra McQueen, Kaspar Delhey, Carly Cook, Sjouke Kingma and Damien Farine who are co-authors on this research.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171494/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ettore received funding from the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment and the Ecological Society of Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Peters receives funding from the Australian Research Council Discovery Program.</span></em></p>The hidden social lives of fairy-wrens are just as complex as those of animals with much larger brains, including monkeys, whales and even humans.Ettore Camerlenghi, PhD student, Monash UniversityAnne Peters, Professor, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1723912021-11-25T04:05:03Z2021-11-25T04:05:03ZCurious Kids: how do birds make their nests?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433857/original/file-20211125-13-1p1fiu3.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=74%2C67%2C4419%2C2930&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p><strong>I would please like to know how birds make their nests? How do they know how to weave the twigs together and what makes the twigs stick together? – Miguel, age 10, Brisbane</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/curious-kids-36782"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291898/original/file-20190911-190031-enlxbk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=90&fit=crop&dpr=1" width="100%"></a></p>
<p>Hi Miguel, thanks for this great question!</p>
<p>The first thing to know is not all birds make nests. For example, emperor penguin fathers carry their precious egg on their feet (to keep it off the frozen ground). </p>
<p>Some birds, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo">cuckoos</a>, will lay their eggs in someone else’s nests. Others lay them on the ground among leaves or pebbles, or on cliffs with very little protection.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433852/original/file-20211125-25-1be6ny0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Eggs among pebbles" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433852/original/file-20211125-25-1be6ny0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433852/original/file-20211125-25-1be6ny0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433852/original/file-20211125-25-1be6ny0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433852/original/file-20211125-25-1be6ny0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433852/original/file-20211125-25-1be6ny0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433852/original/file-20211125-25-1be6ny0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433852/original/file-20211125-25-1be6ny0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some birds will lay their eggs among pebbles on the ground, which doesn’t offer them much physical protection.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For the birds that do build nests, there is one main goal: to keep their eggs and chicks safe. </p>
<h2>Many places to build a nest</h2>
<p>Many birds also make their nests in tree hollows, including parrots. That’s just one reason it’s important to not cut trees down! </p>
<p>Meanwhile, kookaburras use their powerful beaks to burrow into termite nests and make a cosy nest inside. And the cute <a href="https://www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/spotted-pardalote">spotted pardelote</a> will dig little burrows in the side of earth banks – with a safe and cosy spot for its eggs at the end of the tunnel.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433827/original/file-20211125-19-1en7ivf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433827/original/file-20211125-19-1en7ivf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433827/original/file-20211125-19-1en7ivf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433827/original/file-20211125-19-1en7ivf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433827/original/file-20211125-19-1en7ivf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433827/original/file-20211125-19-1en7ivf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433827/original/file-20211125-19-1en7ivf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433827/original/file-20211125-19-1en7ivf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The tiny spotted pardalote is one of the smallest Australian birds, and measures about 8 to 10 centimetres in length.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some birds, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_brushturkey">brush turkeys</a>, spend months building huge mounds on the ground which can heat up from the inside. The male turkey makes sure the ground is exactly the right temperature inside the mound, and then lets the female lay the eggs inside. He’ll take big mouthfuls of dirt surrounding the eggs to check it’s not too hot or cold. </p>
<h2>What materials do they use?</h2>
<p>Birds construct many different types of nests. There are floating nests, cups, domes, pendulums and basket-shaped nests. They can be made out of sticks, twigs, leaves, grasses, mosses or even mud. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/white-winged-chough">Magpie-larks</a> (also called “peewees”), <a href="https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/apostlebird">apostlebirds</a> and <a href="https://www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/white-winged-chough">choughs</a> make mud bowl nests that look like <a href="http://www.birdway.com.au/corcoracinae/apostlebird/source/apostlebird_100486.php">terracotta plant pots</a>. To do this, they gather mud and grasses in their beaks and shake it around to mix it with their saliva. They can then attach it to a branch and build upwards until the nest is complete. </p>
<p>In fact, bird saliva is a really strong and sticky material to build nests with. Birds will often mix saliva and mud to make a type of glue. And some swiftlets make their nests entirely out of solidified saliva. People will even eat these nests in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-12/birds-nest-soup-bird-blown-to-australia/11953830">bird’s nest soup</a>! </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433823/original/file-20211125-23-7mufq4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433823/original/file-20211125-23-7mufq4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433823/original/file-20211125-23-7mufq4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433823/original/file-20211125-23-7mufq4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433823/original/file-20211125-23-7mufq4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433823/original/file-20211125-23-7mufq4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433823/original/file-20211125-23-7mufq4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433823/original/file-20211125-23-7mufq4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some swiftlets will make their nest entirely out of solidified saliva.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Willie wagtails use another type of glue - sticky spiderwebs. They “sew” grasses together using spider webs and the webs help keep the nests strong against wind and water, too. They have to perfect the technique of gathering the spiderweb though, otherwise it can get tangled in their feathers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433824/original/file-20211125-19-3ejs71.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433824/original/file-20211125-19-3ejs71.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433824/original/file-20211125-19-3ejs71.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433824/original/file-20211125-19-3ejs71.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433824/original/file-20211125-19-3ejs71.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433824/original/file-20211125-19-3ejs71.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433824/original/file-20211125-19-3ejs71.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433824/original/file-20211125-19-3ejs71.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Willy wagtail’s nest is a neatly-woven cup of grasses, covered with spider’s web on the outside and is lined with soft grasses, hair or fur.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Magpies and crows, both common visitors to our gardens, are also clever nest builders. Not only can they expertly layer their sticks into a bowl, but they also use many human-made materials in their nests. You might find them using fabric, string or a wire to hold a nest together. </p>
<p>Some birds such as red kites have even been seen “decorating” their nests with human rubbish. And Australian babblers line the inside of their nests with a thick wall of kangaroo poo, followed by soft fluff, to keep their chicks warm.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433851/original/file-20211125-23-ljn8ga.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433851/original/file-20211125-23-ljn8ga.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433851/original/file-20211125-23-ljn8ga.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433851/original/file-20211125-23-ljn8ga.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433851/original/file-20211125-23-ljn8ga.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433851/original/file-20211125-23-ljn8ga.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433851/original/file-20211125-23-ljn8ga.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/433851/original/file-20211125-23-ljn8ga.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The chestnut-crowned babbler lives in the desert and can have up to 23 birds roosting in one nest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/headphones-saw-blades-coat-hangers-how-human-trash-in-australian-bird-nests-changed-over-195-years-164316">Headphones, saw blades, coat hangers: how human trash in Australian bird nests changed over 195 years</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The building process</h2>
<p>To actually weave the nests, birds will usually create a base by layering sticks or twigs in the place they want it. Then they use their beaks and feet to weave a chosen materials through, to hold the sticks in place. </p>
<p>They can pull strips of material with their beaks over and under, just like weaving a rug. They can even tie knots! Nests can take a really long time to make, so they’re often reused year after year. Weaver birds are so good at weaving, they can build complex nests that <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/08/absurd-creature-of-the-week-the-bird-that-builds-nests-so-huge-they-pull-down-trees/">cover entire trees</a> and have several chambers.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kVlyUNRtQmY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Check out this baya weaver bird build an incredible hanging nest using the weaving method. These birds are found across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To summarise, birds are really intelligent animals. They use their intelligence, along with their beaks and feet, to find the most clever ways to make nests with whatever materials are available. And they get better at this by learning from others, such as their parents or peers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-birds-eggs-colourful-new-research-shows-its-linked-to-the-shape-of-their-nests-169095">Why are birds' eggs colourful? New research shows it's linked to the shape of their nests</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172391/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kiara L'Herpiniere does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The heaviest bird nest ever discovered weighed more than 2,000kg. It was built by bald eagles. The tiniest nest, built by a bee hummingbird, was just over 2cm wide.Kiara L'Herpiniere, PhD Candidate, Wildlife Biologist, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1690952021-10-27T19:11:56Z2021-10-27T19:11:56ZWhy are birds’ eggs colourful? New research shows it’s linked to the shape of their nests<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425142/original/file-20211006-15-b30uh7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C61%2C2150%2C2635&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Of all the vertebrates on Earth – that is, animals with backbones – birds are the only ones that lay colourful eggs. Scientists are still unsure why, but new research brings us a step closer to finding out. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427409/original/file-20211020-23-1ud4f77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427409/original/file-20211020-23-1ud4f77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427409/original/file-20211020-23-1ud4f77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427409/original/file-20211020-23-1ud4f77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427409/original/file-20211020-23-1ud4f77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427409/original/file-20211020-23-1ud4f77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427409/original/file-20211020-23-1ud4f77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427409/original/file-20211020-23-1ud4f77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Although most reptiles lay eggs, and even some mammals (such as the platypus) too, birds are the only backboned animals alive today that can lay colourful and patterned eggs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14375">study</a> published today in the journal Evolution, my colleagues and I reveal how the colours of songbird eggs diversified alongside the evolution of “open cup” nests, more than 40 million years ago. </p>
<h2>Why are eggs colourful?</h2>
<p>Scientists are not entirely sure why birds lay such colourful eggs. Current <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1017/S1464793106007044?casa_token=rVWsE2UoW1cAAAAA:XRVTVbEe1lY_TlM9FPw3zMdHwDDZkiGp2SjlGIVej6XE6T4gA0sUVvKSABr3ZhiwMUM6hE3H8-Vdz34">theories</a> fall into two main categories.</p>
<p>The first is that colour helps protect the eggs from environmental factors such as extreme cold or rain. Eggs with darker pigments <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-019-1003-2">heat up faster</a> and maintain heat longer than white eggs. Pigments have also been shown to help <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.3184/175815511X13207833399666?casa_token=HiN3QnhKbo4AAAAA:3Asv0MtnKLcedUJmSJ8Ejsg3qIyFBrB__5OUwCA2qA582JL1oK6u5fWj-dzEU32bWAa6E5_J4fdd">strengthen thinner eggshells</a>. </p>
<p>Eggshells can show areas of thinning, usually when the female’s diet is lacking calcium. This can often result from the use of pesticides, including DDT, in the wild – as they can dissolve or contaminate otherwise nutritious food such as snail shells.</p>
<p>Females have been shown to deposit pigments in the same spots where a shell is thinner (and more prone to breaking) – a bit like covering it with plaster. This may reinforce the shell and help keep it structurally sound. </p>
<p>We know the pigments are produced in the female’s uterus during the shell’s formation, but it’s still not known how different colours and complex patterns are applied to the shell while the egg is still inside the female. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hot-as-shell-birds-in-cooler-climates-lay-darker-eggs-to-keep-their-embryos-warm-125921">Hot as shell: birds in cooler climates lay darker eggs to keep their embryos warm</a>
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<p>The second theory is that colour provides a survival advantage, either by camouflaging the eggs from predators or parasites, or by signalling the female’s reproductive fitness to potential partners. More colourful eggs, particularly blue, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/cond.2008.8634">signify</a> the mother is healthy and can spare resources for her babies.</p>
<h2>How is the colour made?</h2>
<p>All the colours we see in bird eggs stem from just two pigments, one brown and the other blue. Different concentrations of these two pigments create the vast range of egg colours we see today.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427410/original/file-20211020-15-1qi1fmk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427410/original/file-20211020-15-1qi1fmk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427410/original/file-20211020-15-1qi1fmk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427410/original/file-20211020-15-1qi1fmk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427410/original/file-20211020-15-1qi1fmk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427410/original/file-20211020-15-1qi1fmk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427410/original/file-20211020-15-1qi1fmk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427410/original/file-20211020-15-1qi1fmk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some eggs have intricate and delicate patterns. We still don’t know how the female birds apply the pigments to the eggshell in this way.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Until 2017, scientists believed laying colourful eggs was a trait unique to birds. But as it turns out, the same pigments can be found in fossilised <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/3706/">dinosaur eggs</a> too.</p>
<p>Researchers also found a link between dinosaurs’ nesting behaviour and egg colour. Specifically, they discovered dinosaurs that laid their eggs in partially open nests (rather than burying them like crocodiles) had colour in their eggshells. </p>
<h2>Nest-building through time</h2>
<p>Until about 40 million years ago, songbirds built complex dome-shaped nests with insulated walls and roofs. Over time, however, they evolved the ability to create the open cup nests we see more commonly today. </p>
<p>Birds exhibit fantastic dexterity when building nests. Using only their beaks and feet, they can weave an array of nests ranging from relatively rudimentary designs to substantial, intricately woven structures. </p>
<p>The nests must have enough structural integrity to hold both the eggs and the weight of an incubating parent without being punctured. They must also stay intact while parents move around, hatched chicks start wriggling, and during rainfall and harsh winds. </p>
<p>Now, our research has found a link between eggshell colour and changes in nest construction. Specifically, birds have gone from laying a narrower range of coloured eggs (mainly white or dark brown) in closed dome nests, to a wider variety of colours (white, pink, olive, blue, pink and brown) in cup nests.</p>
<p>The transition to cup nests means the eggs are exposed when the incubating parent leaves to forage. During these foraging bouts, eggs are much more vulnerable to falling outside the temperature range needed to survive. </p>
<p>If they get too cold or hot, the embryos die. They’re also more exposed to passing predators looking for a snack. </p>
<p>Parasitic cuckoos lay their eggs inside other birds’ nests, and match their eggs to those already in the nest. Perhaps colour started playing an essential role in host parents’ evolutionary attempts to thwart the cuckoos?</p>
<p>Back when nests were mostly closed, and eggs hidden, the host wouldn’t have needed to produce colourful eggs to distinguish them from the cuckoo’s. Similarly, cuckoos wouldn’t have needed to match their eggs with the host’s.</p>
<p>Our research found that laying colourful eggs is a flexible trait, and was lost and regained multiple times during songbirds’ evolutionary history. Moreover, birds that evolved to make cup nests lost and regained this trait twice as many times as birds that still make closed nests today.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-would-win-in-a-fight-between-an-emu-and-a-cassowary-one-has-a-dagger-like-claw-the-other-explosive-agility-160540">Who would win in a fight between an emu and a cassowary? One has a dagger-like claw, the other explosive agility</a>
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<h2>Onward, upward</h2>
<p>In the 1800s naturalists had a fascination with birds’ eggs, and it became common to own extensive egg collections. The ultimate goal for collectors, other than prestige, was to have as many different species as possible. </p>
<p>Today, collecting specimens is quite understandably illegal. But those old collections do come in handy. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427408/original/file-20211020-19-1i8tpcb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A collection of bird eggs, in various colours and patterns, in a museum tray." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427408/original/file-20211020-19-1i8tpcb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427408/original/file-20211020-19-1i8tpcb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427408/original/file-20211020-19-1i8tpcb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427408/original/file-20211020-19-1i8tpcb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427408/original/file-20211020-19-1i8tpcb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427408/original/file-20211020-19-1i8tpcb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427408/original/file-20211020-19-1i8tpcb.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Today, it’s illegal to collect or trade native bird eggs in Australia without a permit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For our work, we were able to draw on extensive egg collections donated to museums in Australia. We measured the egg colours of more than 250 different species of Australian songbird, took photographs, and analysed them against their evolutionary histories. </p>
<p>Many of the eggs from museum collections also come with geographical locations. We’re grateful to early naturalists for making extensive notes on where, when and how they collected each clutch.</p>
<p>Moving forward, we want to use this data to investigate how climatic variables interact with egg colour — as well as whether a female’s diet impacts egg colour. Egg-citing stuff! </p>
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<p><em>We would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land from which these eggs were taken, and pay our respects to the Elders, past and present and emerging.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169095/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kiara L'Herpiniere does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s still not known exactly how female birds produce such colourful and intricately-patterned eggs. But we do have some theories about the survival advantage this provides.Kiara L'Herpiniere, PhD Candidate, Wildlife Biologist, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1677092021-09-17T05:22:02Z2021-09-17T05:22:02Z‘Bloody fool!’: why Ripper the musk duck, and many other talkative Aussie birds, are exciting biologists<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421734/original/file-20210917-25-ix7rfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Recently, two native Australian birds have stolen the limelight with their impressive vocal imitations. </p>
<p>A superb lyrebird called Echo at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo has produced a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tarongazoo/videos/introducing-echo-taronga-s-resident-lyrebird/450117696460920">painfully realistic</a> vocal rendition of a human baby crying. Lyrebirds are <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-385372/The-nations-favourite-Attenborough-moment.html">already world-famous</a> for their astonishingly accurate vocal mimicry, but these new recordings show their abilities can still surprise.</p>
<p>Then a new paper <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2020.0249">announced</a> the arrival of an unexpected newcomer to Australia’s vocal imitation scene. A male musk duck (<em>Biziura lobata</em>) named Ripper was recorded imitating two stereotypical Australian sounds: a loudly shutting gate and a person exclaiming “you bloody fool!”. </p>
<p>The gate sound, at least, proved a hit with one of Ripper’s male colleagues who also ended up mimicking the sound. Excitingly, these recordings — originally from the 1980s and dug out from archives — provide <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2020.0249">the first material evidence</a> of any duck species copying a sound in its environment, disrupting current understandings of the evolution of vocal learning in birds.</p>
<p>So what’s the big fuss about crying and swearing birds?</p>
<h2>Why musk ducks are odd</h2>
<p>Vocal production learning is a <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2020.0243#d1e254">highly specialised trait</a> that’s <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2020.0234">rare among animals</a>.
It requires flexible and sophisticated control over vocal production, and can be associated with enlarged regions of the brain relative to non-vocal learners. </p>
<p>For a long time, the only other animals known to possess similar vocal learning abilities to humans were parrots and male <a href="https://www.audubon.org/news/what-songbird-exactly">songbirds</a>. But today, the musk duck joins a broad, but relatively small, list of non-human animals <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2020.0234">capable of vocal learning</a>, including some bats, elephants, dolphins, whales and seals. <a href="https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.proxy.library.cornell.edu/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12713">Belatedly</a>, we can now add <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0059">female songbirds</a> to the list of vocal production learners. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421790/original/file-20210917-25-13f1n5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421790/original/file-20210917-25-13f1n5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421790/original/file-20210917-25-13f1n5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421790/original/file-20210917-25-13f1n5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421790/original/file-20210917-25-13f1n5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421790/original/file-20210917-25-13f1n5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421790/original/file-20210917-25-13f1n5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421790/original/file-20210917-25-13f1n5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Dolphins are among few animals with capacity for vocal learning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>The loquacious “Ripper” was a captive-reared male musk duck at the <a href="https://www.tidbinbilla.act.gov.au/wildlife/overview">Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve</a> near Canberra. When he hatched, with the help of a foster bantam hen, he was the only musk duck there. </p>
<p>But even in the wild, musk ducks are odd. Male musk ducks are up to three times larger than females and have a distinctive <a href="https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?taxonCode=musduc1&mediaType=p&sort=rating_rank_desc">bulbous lobe of skin</a> hanging from their bills. Their name comes from the musky smell emitted by dominant males. </p>
<p>In the breeding season, males group together (in “<a href="https://www.audubon.org/news/what-heck-lek-quirkiest-mating-party-earth">leks</a>”) and perform an exciting aquatic courtship displays for females, performing both day and night. <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/201317571?_gl=1*z6acwt*_ga*MTYwMDA5MzgzNC4xNjMxNjc1ODI4*_ga_QR4NVXZ8BM*MTYzMTg1Mzk5MS40LjEuMTYzMTg1NDAyNy4yNA..#_ga=2.255102476.504785029.1631770056-1600093834.1631675828">Each male performs</a> a structured, audio-visual display with his tail over his back, inflating his throat lobe, and splashing water while whistling loudly. </p>
<p>In the wild, male display whistles seem to form local dialects — a signature of vocal learning. But this doesn’t involve imitations of other species. </p>
<p>Ripper produced many elements of wild display, but would avidly display to people. His bizarre mimicry of anthropogenic sounds formed part of this display.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KiroDhDr5Js?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Listen to Ripper say ‘you bloody fool’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mimicking in captivity</h2>
<p>The story of Ripper is part of a long scientific tradition. Captive-reared parrots and some songbirds mimicking human speech feature in ancient European writings, including the works of <a href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/aristotle/histanimals8.html">Aristotle</a> and <a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137:book=10:chapter=58&highlight=parrot">Pliny the Elder</a>. </p>
<p>More recently, the possible complexities of parrot communication were explored in a pioneering study of “<a href="https://alexfoundation.org/the-birds/alex/">Alex</a>”, the captive African grey parrot, who had a vocabulary of more than 100 words. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7yGOgs_UlEc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Alex video caption.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By and large, such accounts of human imitations involve a captive individual raised in isolation from others of its own kind, but in close association with a human caretaker. The human caretaker then becomes the social model for the captive bird’s vocal development. </p>
<p>So while these examples reveal an animal’s capacity for vocal production learning, they don’t show that wild animals imitate sounds from their environment. Indeed, very few of the animal species that mimic people in captivity produce anything other than their own, species-specific vocalisations in the wild. </p>
<p>However, this is not true of Australia’s lyrebirds and other <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12129">avian vocal mimics</a>. </p>
<h2>Mimicry in wild Australia</h2>
<p>Two lyrebird species are famous for the diversity and accuracy of their vocal mimicry: the superb lyrebird of the wet eucalypt forests of southeast Australia, and the Albert’s lyrebird of Australia’s subtropical east. </p>
<p>In captivity, male superb lyrebirds have been recorded mimicking anthropogenic sounds ranging from chainsaws, emergency vehicle sirens to this new recording of a crying human baby. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421737/original/file-20210917-21-1c3f8p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Superb lyrebird" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421737/original/file-20210917-21-1c3f8p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421737/original/file-20210917-21-1c3f8p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421737/original/file-20210917-21-1c3f8p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421737/original/file-20210917-21-1c3f8p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421737/original/file-20210917-21-1c3f8p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421737/original/file-20210917-21-1c3f8p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421737/original/file-20210917-21-1c3f8p5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Superb lyrebirds have been recorded mimicking chainsaws, sirens and more.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the wild, both <a href="https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?userId=USER562295&searchField=user&_gl=1*1uduc3o*_ga*MTYwMDA5MzgzNC4xNjMxNjc1ODI4*_ga_QR4NVXZ8BM*MTYzMTg1MTkzOC4zLjAuMTYzMTg1MTkzOC42MA..#_ga=2.95651352.504785029.1631770056-1600093834.1631675828">males</a> and <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2016.00034/full">females</a> are proficient mimics of the vocalisations and wingbeats of other bird species — and occasionally mammals. A single individual male superb lyrebird can even mimic <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/914740">a flock of alarm-calling birds</a>.</p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://theconversation.com/lyrebirds-mimicking-chainsaws-fact-or-lie-22529">many rumours</a>, it remains a <a href="https://www.themessageofthelyrebird.com/">bit of a mystery</a> when and how often wild lyrebirds mimic sounds of human origin.</p>
<p>Lyrebirds aren’t the only ones. Australia is the lucky home to a surprisingly large number of songbird species that regularly mimic in the wild, from tiny thornbills to the large enigmatic bowerbirds that, even in the wild, occasionally produce startlingly accurate renditions of humans. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-mimics-among-us-birds-pirate-songs-for-personal-profit-30195">The mimics among us — birds pirate songs for personal profit</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>But not all mimics are what they seem. In a heartbreaking example, the mimetic song of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-regent-honeyeater-11294">Regent honeyeater</a> is both a consequence and a cause of <a href="https://theconversation.com/only-the-lonely-an-endangered-bird-is-forgetting-its-song-as-the-species-dies-out-156950">the species’ decline</a>. Wild males copy other species because there aren’t enough males left to pass on their song to the next generation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421739/original/file-20210917-27-1f7a1up.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421739/original/file-20210917-27-1f7a1up.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421739/original/file-20210917-27-1f7a1up.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421739/original/file-20210917-27-1f7a1up.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421739/original/file-20210917-27-1f7a1up.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421739/original/file-20210917-27-1f7a1up.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421739/original/file-20210917-27-1f7a1up.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/421739/original/file-20210917-27-1f7a1up.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Regent honeyeater are critically endangered songbirds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Threatened archival treasures</h2>
<p>Ripper the swearing musk duck, Echo the bawling lyrebird, and the forgotten songs of the Regent honeyeater show us how much we still have to discover about Australia’s extraordinary birds. Far from being the biogeographical oddity, Australian birds are still <a href="https://wheresongbegan.com/">destabilising biological theory</a>.</p>
<p>Ripper was a bird of the 80s, and we only know of his bizarre mimicry because Rippers’ recordist, Dr Peter Fullagar, was on a mission to establish a <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/Collections/ANWC/Our-wildlife-sound-archive">natural history sound archive</a> for Australia. Like all good 80s singers, Ripper was recorded on cassette tape before Peter digitised it. </p>
<p>It’s only from historical archives that researchers could discover that original song of the Regent honeyeater was unique to the species and <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2021.0225#d1e771">more elaborate</a> than the songs of contemporary males. Simply listening to captive-reared birds or the dwindling singers in the wild is no longer enough to reveal the Regent honeyeater’s natural song: the <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.1794">baseline has shifted</a>. </p>
<p>What other treasures lie gathering dust in forgotten sheds or library stacks? We must be quick, before those cassette tapes degrade too far to be heard.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/only-the-lonely-an-endangered-bird-is-forgetting-its-song-as-the-species-dies-out-156950">Only the lonely: an endangered bird is forgetting its song as the species dies out</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167709/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anastasia Dalziell receives funding from the National Science Foundation (USA). She was recently a postdoctoral research fellow with the Macaulay Library: a scientific archive of natural history audio, video, and photographs.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin A. Welbergen receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Science Foundation (USA).</span></em></p>The internet exploded after a musk duck was recorded saying “you bloody fool” , and a lyrebird cried like a human baby. So what’s the fuss all about?Anastasia Dalziell, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of WollongongJustin A. Welbergen, President of the Australasian Bat Society | Associate Professor in Animal Ecology, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1659732021-08-23T20:10:20Z2021-08-23T20:10:20ZCockatoos and rainbow lorikeets battle for nest space as the best old trees disappear<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417171/original/file-20210820-19-18i0nus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C3888%2C2580&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The housing market in most parts of Australia is notoriously competitive. You might be surprised to learn we humans are not the only ones facing such difficulties.</p>
<p>With spring rapidly approaching, and perhaps a little earlier due to climate change, many birds are currently on the hunt for the best nesting sites. </p>
<p>This can be hard enough for birds that construct nests from leaves and twigs in the canopies of shrubs and trees, but imagine how hard it must be for species that nest in <a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/nature/Factsheet5TreeHollows.pdf">tree hollows</a>. </p>
<p>They are looking for hollows of just the right size, in just the right place. Competition for these prime locations is cut-throat.</p>
<h2>Sulphur-crested cockatoos battling for spots</h2>
<p><a href="https://backyardbuddies.org.au/backyard-buddies/sulphur-crested-cockatoo/">Sulphur-crested cockatoos</a>, <em>Cacatua galerita</em>, are relatively large birds, so naturally the hollows they nest in need to be quite large. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, large hollows are <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-disturb-the-cockatoos-on-your-lawn-theyre-probably-doing-all-your-weeding-for-free-154265">only found in old trees</a>.</p>
<p>It can take 150 years or more before the hollows in the eucalypts that many native parrot species nest in are large enough to accommodate nesting sulphur-crested cockatoos. Such old trees are becoming rarer as old trees on farms die and old trees in cities are cleared for urban growth.</p>
<p>In late winter, early spring you quite often find sulphur crested-cockatoos squabbling among themselves over <a href="https://www.ari.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/328191/Nest-box-fact-sheet-general-guide.pdf">hollows in trees</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417183/original/file-20210820-15-xxomtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A cockatoo sits in a hollow." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417183/original/file-20210820-15-xxomtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417183/original/file-20210820-15-xxomtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417183/original/file-20210820-15-xxomtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417183/original/file-20210820-15-xxomtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417183/original/file-20210820-15-xxomtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417183/original/file-20210820-15-xxomtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417183/original/file-20210820-15-xxomtp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It can take 150 years or more before the hollows in the eucalypts that many native parrot species nest in are large enough to accommodate nesting sulphur-crested cockatoos.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These squabbles can be very loud and raucous. They can last from a few minutes to over an hour, if the site is good one. Once a pair of birds takes possession and begins nesting, they defend their spot and things tend to quieten down. </p>
<p>The stakes are high, because sulphur-crested cockatoos <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248902220_Overlap_and_competition_for_nest_holes_among_Eclectus_Parrots_Palm_Cockatoos_and_Sulphur-Crested_Cockatoos">cannot breed</a> if they don’t have a nesting hollow.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-disturb-the-cockatoos-on-your-lawn-theyre-probably-doing-all-your-weeding-for-free-154265">Don't disturb the cockatoos on your lawn, they're probably doing all your weeding for free</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Enter the rainbow lorikeets</h2>
<p>In parts of southeastern Australia, <a href="https://www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/rainbow-lorikeet">rainbow lorikeets</a>, <em>Trichoglossus moluccanus</em> (and/or <em>Trichoglossus haematodus</em>), have expanded their range over the past couple of decades. It is not uncommon to see sulphur-crested cockatoos in dispute with them over a hollow.</p>
<p>The din can be deafening and if you watch you will see both comedy and drama unfold. The sulphur-crested cockatoos usually win and drive the lorikeets away, but all is not lost for the lorikeets. </p>
<p>Sometimes the hollows prove unsuitable — usually if they are too small for the cockatoos — and a few days later the lorikeets have taken up residence. Larger hollows are rarer and so more highly prized.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417173/original/file-20210820-27-1tm0503.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A rainbow lorikeet shelters in the hollow of a tree." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417173/original/file-20210820-27-1tm0503.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417173/original/file-20210820-27-1tm0503.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417173/original/file-20210820-27-1tm0503.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417173/original/file-20210820-27-1tm0503.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417173/original/file-20210820-27-1tm0503.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417173/original/file-20210820-27-1tm0503.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417173/original/file-20210820-27-1tm0503.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It is not uncommon to see sulphur-crested cockatoos in dispute with rainbow lorikeets over a hollow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How hollows form</h2>
<p>Many hollows begin at the stubs of branches that have been shed either as part of the tree’s growth cycle or after storm damage. The wood at the centre of the branch often lacks <a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/nature/Factsheet5TreeHollows.pdf">protective defences</a> and so begins to decay while the healthy tree continues to grow over and around the hollow. </p>
<p>Other hollows develop after damage to the trunk or on a large branch, following lightning damage or insect attack. Parrots will often peck at the hollow to expand it or stop it growing over completely. Just a bit of regular home maintenance.</p>
<p>Sulphur-crested cockatoos can often be seen pecking at the top of large branches on old trees, where the branch meets the trunk. They can do considerable damage. When this area begins to decay, it can provide an <a href="https://treenet.org/resources/how-much-do-you-need-vascular-connection-between-roots-and-crown/">ideal hollow</a> for future nesting.</p>
<p>Sadly, for the cockatoo, it may take another century or so and the tree might shed the limb in the interim. Cockatoos apparently play a long game and take a very long term perspective on future nesting sites.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417187/original/file-20210820-23-1bqcje5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A cockatoo sits in a hollow." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417187/original/file-20210820-23-1bqcje5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417187/original/file-20210820-23-1bqcje5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417187/original/file-20210820-23-1bqcje5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417187/original/file-20210820-23-1bqcje5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417187/original/file-20210820-23-1bqcje5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417187/original/file-20210820-23-1bqcje5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417187/original/file-20210820-23-1bqcje5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Every effort must be made to ensure old, hollow-forming trees are preserved.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Which trees are best for hollows?</h2>
<p>In watching the local battles for parrot nesting sites, some tree species are the scenes of many a conflict. </p>
<p>Sugar gums, <em><a href="https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/e03f7916-3683-4b87-b9b0-3043b9ccc72d">Eucalyptus cladocalyx</a></em>, were widely planted as wind breaks in southern Australia and they were often lopped to encourage a bushier habit that provided greater shade. </p>
<p>Poor pruning often leads to hollows and cavities, which are now proving ideal for nesting — but it also resulted in poor tree structure. Sugar gums are being removed and <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0059332">nesting sites lost</a> in many country towns and peri-urban areas (usually the areas around the edges of suburbs with some remaining natural vegetation, or the areas around waterways).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417186/original/file-20210820-13-r3hhz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A rainbow lorikeet hides in a hollow." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417186/original/file-20210820-13-r3hhz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417186/original/file-20210820-13-r3hhz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417186/original/file-20210820-13-r3hhz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417186/original/file-20210820-13-r3hhz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417186/original/file-20210820-13-r3hhz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417186/original/file-20210820-13-r3hhz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417186/original/file-20210820-13-r3hhz8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many species need hollows for nests.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Old river red gums, <em>(Eucalyptus camaldulensis)</em> growing along our creeks and rivers are also great nesting sites. They are so big they provide <a href="http://theconversation.com/the-river-red-gum-is-an-icon-of-the-driest-continent-118839">ideal sites</a> for even the largest of birds.</p>
<p>These, too, are ageing and in many places are declining as riverine ecosystems suffer in general. Even the old elms, <em>Ulmus</em>, and London plane trees, <em>Platanus x acerifolia</em> — which were once lopped back to major branch stubs each year, leading hollows to develop — are disappearing as they age and old blocks are cleared for townhouses.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-river-red-gum-is-an-icon-of-the-driest-continent-118839">The river red gum is an icon of the driest continent</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<h2>Protecting tree hollows</h2>
<p>Cavities in trees are not that common. Large cavities are especially valuable assets. They are essential to maintaining biodiversity because <a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/nature/Factsheet5TreeHollows.pdf">it is not just birds</a>, but mammals, reptiles, insects and arachnids that rely on them for nesting and refuge. </p>
<p>If you have a tree with a hollow, look after it. And while some trees with hollows might be hazardous, most are not. Every effort must be made to ensure old, hollow-forming trees are preserved. Just as importantly, we must allow hollow-forming trees to persist for long enough to from hollows.</p>
<p>We consider our homes to be our castles. Other species value their homes just as highly, so let’s make sure there are plenty of tree hollows in future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165973/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory Moore does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Spring is rapidly approaching and many birds are hunting for the best nesting sites. Competition is fierce — especially for species that nest in tree hollows.Gregory Moore, Doctor of Botany, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1464842020-10-20T01:46:22Z2020-10-20T01:46:22ZHard to spot, but worth looking out for: 8 surprising tawny frogmouth facts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361266/original/file-20201002-24-wkstt2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C35%2C7856%2C5194&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://australian.museum/learn/animals/birds/tawny-frogmouth/?gclid=CjwKCAjw_NX7BRA1EiwA2dpg0sqSuSf8dkALMbiMCj657VwrMiusEVI7FDOUNL4IWhyXVpIjBOKXkxoCfqoQAvD_BwE">tawny frogmouth</a> is one of Australia’s most-loved birds. In fact, it was first runner-up in the Guardian/BirdLife Australia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/15/black-throated-finch-wins-2019-bird-of-the-year-as-tawny-frogmouth-comes-second">bird of the year</a> poll (behind the endangered black-throated finch).</p>
<p>Tawny frogmouths are found throughout Australia, including cities and towns, and population numbers are healthy. We’re now in the breeding season – which runs from August to December – so you may have been lucky enough to see some pairs with chicks recently.</p>
<p>Here are eight fascinating things about tawny frogmouths that you might not know.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358771/original/file-20200918-18-97cfqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C1125%2C894&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Tawny Frogmouth and its chick." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358771/original/file-20200918-18-97cfqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C1125%2C894&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358771/original/file-20200918-18-97cfqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358771/original/file-20200918-18-97cfqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358771/original/file-20200918-18-97cfqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358771/original/file-20200918-18-97cfqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358771/original/file-20200918-18-97cfqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/358771/original/file-20200918-18-97cfqa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You might have been lucky enough to see a tawny frogmouth chick recently.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Carol Smith</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-australian-birds-can-teach-us-about-choosing-a-partner-and-making-it-last-125734">What Australian birds can teach us about choosing a partner and making it last</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>1. They are excellent parents</h2>
<p>Tawny frogmouths are excellent parents. Both males and females share in building the nest and incubating the eggs, generally one to three. The eggs take 30 days to hatch, with the male incubating during the day and both sexes taking turns during the night. </p>
<p>Once hatched, both parents are very involved in feeding the fledglings. A young bird’s wings take about 25 to 35 days to develop enough strength for flight (a process known as “fledging”).</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1310872114178662401"}"></div></p>
<h2>2. They mate for life</h2>
<p>Tawny frogmouths pair for life. Breeding pairs spend a great deal of time roosting together and the male often gently strokes the female with his beak. Some researchers <a href="https://theconversation.com/laughs-cries-and-deception-birds-emotional-lives-are-just-as-complicated-as-ours-69471">report</a> seeing tawny frogmouths appear to “grieve” when their partner dies.</p>
<p>For example, renowned bird behaviour expert Gisela Kaplan <a href="https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/arts-and-culture/the-inner-lives-of-birds--on-show-in-mornington-20161118-gssuc9">tells of</a> rearing a male tawny frogmouth on her property then releasing it to the wild. It found a female mate and raised nestlings. One day, the female was run over on the highway; Kaplan recognised its markings. </p>
<p>She found the male “whimpering” on a nearby post. Kaplan reportedly said: “It sounds like a baby crying. It affects you to listen to it.” According to Kaplan, the male stayed there for four days and nights, and did not eat or drink.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361251/original/file-20201002-16-4opbvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A pair of Tawny Frogmouths in a tree." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361251/original/file-20201002-16-4opbvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361251/original/file-20201002-16-4opbvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361251/original/file-20201002-16-4opbvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361251/original/file-20201002-16-4opbvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361251/original/file-20201002-16-4opbvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361251/original/file-20201002-16-4opbvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361251/original/file-20201002-16-4opbvx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Breeding pairs spend a great deal of time roosting together.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. They’re not owls</h2>
<p>Although tawny frogmouths are often referred to as owls, they are not. But they do resemble owls with their large eyes, soft plumage and camouflage patterns, because both owls and frogmouths hunt at night. This phenomenon (where two species develop the same attributes, despite not being closely related) is called “convergent evolution”.</p>
<p>Unlike owls, tawny frogmouths do not have powerful feet and talons with which to capture prey. Instead, they prefer to catch prey with their beaks. Their soft, wide, forward-facing beaks are designed for catching insects. They will also feed on small birds, mammals and reptiles.</p>
<h2>4. They are masters of disguise</h2>
<p>Tawny frogmouths are extremely well camouflaged and when staying statue-still on a tree branch they appear to be part of the tree itself. They often choose to perch near a broken tree branch and thrust their head at angle, further mimicking a tree branch.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361244/original/file-20201002-13-17aa6o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A tawny frogmouth sits still on a branch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361244/original/file-20201002-13-17aa6o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361244/original/file-20201002-13-17aa6o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361244/original/file-20201002-13-17aa6o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361244/original/file-20201002-13-17aa6o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361244/original/file-20201002-13-17aa6o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361244/original/file-20201002-13-17aa6o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361244/original/file-20201002-13-17aa6o5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tawny frogmouths are extremely well camouflaged and when staying statue-still on a tree branch they appear to be part of the tree itself.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. They make strange noises</h2>
<p>Tawny frogmouths are quite vocal at night and have a range of calls from deep grunting to soft “wooing”. When threatened, they make a loud hissing sound. Their vocalisations have also variously been described as purring, screaming and crying.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ohu9mPFMXEk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>6. They can survive extremes</h2>
<p>In colder regions of Australia, tawny frogmouths are able to survive the winter months by going into torpor for a few hours. In this state, an animal slows its heart rate and metabolism and lowers its body temperature to conserve energy. </p>
<p>On very hot summer days tawny frogmouths will produce mucus in their mouths which cools the air they breathe in, thereby cooling their whole body. </p>
<h2>7. They need old trees</h2>
<p>It’s not that uncommon to see tawny frogmouths dead on the road; they often flit across the road chasing insects at night and can be hit by cars. </p>
<p>Tawny frogmouth populations are holding relatively steady, but there is a shortage of old trees for nesting. They especially like trees with old branches as they mimic old branches and stick out like sore thumbs on young branches. </p>
<p>When one NSW council chopped down a suburban tree that a tawny frogmouth pair had reportedly used for years as a nesting site, one of the birds was <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/owl-tawny-frogmouth-central-coast-council-hides-on-wood-chipper-as-last-tall-tree-on-street-felled-101536900.html?guccounter=1">photographed</a> sitting on a nearby woodchipper — a poignant image. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1186824740029132801"}"></div></p>
<h2>8. They’re not good at building nests.</h2>
<p>Tawny frogmouths are pretty slack when it comes to nest building. They simply dump twigs and leaves in a pile and that is it. Chicks and eggs have even fallen out of the nest when parents are swapping brooding duties.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361249/original/file-20201002-19-cfyrw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three tawny frogmouths in a tree" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361249/original/file-20201002-19-cfyrw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361249/original/file-20201002-19-cfyrw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361249/original/file-20201002-19-cfyrw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361249/original/file-20201002-19-cfyrw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361249/original/file-20201002-19-cfyrw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361249/original/file-20201002-19-cfyrw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361249/original/file-20201002-19-cfyrw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tawny frogmouths especially like trees with old branches.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/laughs-cries-and-deception-birds-emotional-lives-are-just-as-complicated-as-ours-69471">Laughs, cries and deception: birds' emotional lives are just as complicated as ours</a>
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</em>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146484/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les Christidis was Senior Curator of Ornithology at the Museum Victoria from 1987 to 1996.</span></em></p>Breeding pairs spend a great deal of time roosting together and the male often gently strokes the female with his beak.Les Christidis, Professor, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1388182020-07-12T20:12:01Z2020-07-12T20:12:01ZOur helicopter rescue may seem a lot of effort for a plain little bird, but it was worth it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341661/original/file-20200614-153812-wyw1vf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C12%2C4023%2C2676&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Harrison/WIkimedia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of Flora, Fauna, Fire, a special project by The Conversation that tracks the recovery of Australia’s native plants and animals after last summer’s bushfire tragedy. Explore the project <a href="https://bushfires2020.netlify.app/">here</a> and read more articles <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=%23bushfire+recovery+2020&sort=relevancy&language=en&date=all&date_from=&date_to=">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>As we stepped out of a military helicopter on Victoria’s east coast in February, smoke towered into the sky. We’d just flown over a blackened landscape extending as far as the eye could see. Now we were standing in an active fireground, and the stakes were high. </p>
<p>Emergency helicopter rescues aren’t usually part of a day’s work for conservation scientists. But for eastern bristlebirds, a potential disaster loomed. </p>
<p>Our mission was to catch 15-20 bristlebirds and evacuate them to Melbourne Zoo. This would provide an insurance population of this globally endangered species if their habitat was razed by the approaching fire.</p>
<p>As climate change grows ever worse, such rescues will be more common. Ours showed how it can be done.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337542/original/file-20200526-106842-1yqqds8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337542/original/file-20200526-106842-1yqqds8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337542/original/file-20200526-106842-1yqqds8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337542/original/file-20200526-106842-1yqqds8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337542/original/file-20200526-106842-1yqqds8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337542/original/file-20200526-106842-1yqqds8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337542/original/file-20200526-106842-1yqqds8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A Chinook helicopter, with the bristlebird field team on board, lands in far eastern Victoria.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tony Mitchell</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The plight of the eastern bristlebird</h2>
<p>Such a rescue may seem like a lot of effort for a small, plain brown bird. But eastern bristlebirds are important to Australia’s biodiversity.</p>
<p>They continue an ancient lineage of songbirds that <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2004/07/20/1157172.htm">dates back to</a> the Gondwanan supercontinent millions of years ago. They’re reminders of wild places that used to exist, unchanged by humans.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-the-australian-bush-is-recovering-from-bushfires-but-it-may-never-be-the-same-131390">Yes, the Australian bush is recovering from bushfires – but it may never be the same</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<hr>
<p>These days, coastal development has shrunk the eastern bristlebird’s habitat. The birds are feeble flyers, and so populations die out when their habitat patches become too small.</p>
<p>Fewer than 2,500 individuals remain, spread across three locations on Australia’s east coast including a 400-strong population that straddles the Victoria-New South Wales border at Cape Howe. Losing them would be a huge blow to the species’ long term prospects.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341681/original/file-20200614-153858-177m527.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341681/original/file-20200614-153858-177m527.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=615&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341681/original/file-20200614-153858-177m527.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=615&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341681/original/file-20200614-153858-177m527.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=615&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341681/original/file-20200614-153858-177m527.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341681/original/file-20200614-153858-177m527.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341681/original/file-20200614-153858-177m527.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of 15 eastern bristlebirds caught and evacuated from Cape Howe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A rollercoaster ride</h2>
<p>On the day of our rescue, bushfires had been raging on Australia’s east coast for several months. The so-called Snowy complex fire that started in late December had razed parts of Mallacoota on New Year’s Eve then burnt into NSW. Now, more than a month later, that same fire had crossed back over the state border and was burning into Cape Howe.</p>
<p>Our 11-person field team had two chances over consecutive mornings. Using special nets, we caught nine eastern bristlebirds on one morning, and six the next. As we worked, burnt leaves caught in our nets – a tangible reminder of how close the fire was.</p>
<p>The captured birds were health-checked then whisked – first by 4WD, then boat and car – to a waiting flight to Melbourne. From there they were driven to special enclosures at Melbourne Zoo. </p>
<p>On the second day a wind change intensified the bushfire and cut short our time. As we evacuated under a darkening sky, it seemed unlikely Cape Howe would escape the flames.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338135/original/file-20200528-143720-dknnve.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338135/original/file-20200528-143720-dknnve.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338135/original/file-20200528-143720-dknnve.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338135/original/file-20200528-143720-dknnve.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338135/original/file-20200528-143720-dknnve.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338135/original/file-20200528-143720-dknnve.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338135/original/file-20200528-143720-dknnve.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A box containing eastern bristlebirds about to be loaded onto a boat.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the ensuing days, the fire moved agonisingly close to the site until a favourable wind change spared it. </p>
<p>But tragedy struck days later when fire tore through eastern bristlebird habitat on the NSW side of Cape Howe. Many of the 250 individuals that lived there are presumed dead. </p>
<p>And despite the best efforts of vets and expert keepers at Melbourne Zoo, six of our captive birds succumbed to a fungal respiratory infection in the weeks after their arrival, which they were all likely carrying when captured.</p>
<h2>Return to Cape Howe</h2>
<p>Against the odds, bristlebird habitat on the Victorian side of Cape Howe remained unburnt. So in early April, we released a little flock of seven back into the wild.</p>
<p>We’d initially planned to attach tiny transmitters to some released bristlebirds to monitor how they settled back into their home. But COVID-19 restrictions forced us to cancel this intensive fieldwork. </p>
<p>Instead, each bristlebird was fitted with a uniquely coloured leg band. As restrictions ease, our team will return to Cape Howe to see how the colour-banded birds have fared.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338109/original/file-20200528-20219-1te0dwz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338109/original/file-20200528-20219-1te0dwz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338109/original/file-20200528-20219-1te0dwz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338109/original/file-20200528-20219-1te0dwz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338109/original/file-20200528-20219-1te0dwz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338109/original/file-20200528-20219-1te0dwz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338109/original/file-20200528-20219-1te0dwz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eastern bristlebirds released back into the wild at Howe Flat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darryl Whitaker/DELWP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A model for the future</h2>
<p>The evacuation involved collaboration between government agencies and non-government organisations, with especially important coordination and oversight by Zoos Victoria, the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, and Parks Victoria. </p>
<p>This team moved mountains of logistical hurdles. A rescue mission that would ordinarily take more than a year to plan was completed in weeks.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-the-bushfires-we-helped-choose-the-animals-and-plants-in-most-need-heres-how-we-did-it-138736">After the bushfires, we helped choose the animals and plants in most need. Here's how we did it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>So was it all worth it? We strongly believe the answer is yes. The team did what was needed for the worst-case scenario; ultimately that scenario was avoided by a mere whisker.</p>
<p>But climate change is heightening fire danger and increasing the frequency of extreme weather events. Soberingly, further emergency wildlife evacuations will probably be needed to prevent extinctions in future. Our mission will serve as a model for these interventions.</p>
<p><a href="https://bushfires2020.netlify.app"><img src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1103/Explore.gif?1594552012" width="100%"></a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138818/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rohan Clarke receives funding from Zoos Victoria, Parks Victoria, Parks Australia, Victorian Department of Environment Land, Water and Planning, and the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katherine Selwood works for Zoos Victoria, a non-for-profit zoo-based conservation organisation. The Eastern Bristlebird rescue was funded by the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and Zoos Victoria with significant support from Parks Victoria, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Victorian State Control Centre, Australian Defence Force, Victorian Fisheries Authority.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rowan Mott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Scientists and bureaucrats moved logistical mountains to rescue the eastern bristlebird from bushfires this year. As climate change worsens, wildlife evacuations will become more common.Rohan Clarke, Director, Monash Drone Discovery Platform, and Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Monash UniversityKatherine Selwood, Threatened Species Biologist, Wildlife Conservation & Science, Zoos Victoria and Honorary Research Fellow, Biosciences, The University of MelbourneRowan Mott, Biologist, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1262782019-11-26T18:40:58Z2019-11-26T18:40:58ZHow weather radar can keep tabs on the elusive magpie goose<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300811/original/file-20191108-10910-g6m8jt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C659%2C5137%2C2778&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Magpie Geese taking off from a mango orchard in the Northern Territory</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rebecca Rogers</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>You’re probably familiar with weather radar that shows bands of rain blowing in to ruin your plans for the day, or the ominous swirling pattern of a cyclone. </p>
<p>But rain isn’t the only thing that shows up on the radar screen. Anything moving through the sky will – like a large group of birds in flight. </p>
<p>Ecologists have begun to realise that weather radar data have <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/aec.12823">huge potential</a> to reveal the movements of flying animals all over the country. </p>
<p>At the forefront of this research is the <a href="http://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/magpie-goose">magpie goose</a>, an occasionally <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-08/magpie-goose-hunting-quota-reduced-as-numbers-fall/6759458">controversial</a> waterbird prized by some and detested by others.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301009/original/file-20191111-194624-2ozkzy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301009/original/file-20191111-194624-2ozkzy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301009/original/file-20191111-194624-2ozkzy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301009/original/file-20191111-194624-2ozkzy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301009/original/file-20191111-194624-2ozkzy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301009/original/file-20191111-194624-2ozkzy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301009/original/file-20191111-194624-2ozkzy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s a lovely day in northern Australia, and you are a magpie goose. These waterbirds are an ideal test case for weather-radar tracking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Chasing angels</h2>
<p>To understand how we got to this point, first we need to go back 80 years. Prior to World War II, engineers were racing to improve radar systems to detect enemy aircraft when they noticed strange unexplained rings on their screens that they called angels. </p>
<p>Some of these angels, they realised later, were caused by groups of birds and bats taking off and flying through the radar beam. Since this discovery, there has been a steady increase in researchers using weather radar to understand how and why animals move through the air.</p>
<h2>How weather radar works</h2>
<p>Radar works by sending out a sweeping beam of radio waves and listening for echoes. It processes these echoes to map the positions of objects around it.</p>
<p>With weather radar, the radar beam won’t only bounce off raindrops – it will also reflect back from birds. Some weather radars send out these pulses at a precise frequency, which allows them to use the <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-doppler-effect-7475">Doppler effect</a> to determine how fast objects are moving towards or away from the radar. </p>
<p>Meteorologists have ways to filter out clutter caused by flying animals, so they can see where it is raining. Ecologists are doing the reverse, filtering out rain from the raw data collected by weather radars in order to track the movements of birds, bats and even insect swarms. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301003/original/file-20191110-194641-1q1coev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301003/original/file-20191110-194641-1q1coev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301003/original/file-20191110-194641-1q1coev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301003/original/file-20191110-194641-1q1coev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301003/original/file-20191110-194641-1q1coev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301003/original/file-20191110-194641-1q1coev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301003/original/file-20191110-194641-1q1coev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301003/original/file-20191110-194641-1q1coev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Weather radars cover a good part of the Australian continent, which makes them very useful for tracking birds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rogers et al. (2019) - Austral Ecology</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most weather radars can give us a three-dimensional picture of what is happening in the air every 5–10 minutes. In Australia the data is archived for years and even decades in some places, and it is all available free of charge for researchers. This means we can not only understand how animals are using the airspace now, but also how these movement patterns may have changed over time.</p>
<h2>Is it a bird? Is it a plane?</h2>
<p>So how do we actually tell whether those pixels on the screen are caused by rain, birds or something less common like bushfire smoke? </p>
<p>This is where things can get a bit more tricky. For some cases, like tracking <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14022018/bat-migration-climate-change-texas-agriculture-weather-radar-global-warming-animal-impact">bats coming out of a cave</a> or roost tree, the job for the ecologist is fairly simple. For roosting species like these, we often observed very characteristic rings on the radar similar to the angels described by those early radar engineers. Examples of the rings can be found all over Australia caused by <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-46549-2">flying foxes</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301004/original/file-20191110-194637-1obei6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301004/original/file-20191110-194637-1obei6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301004/original/file-20191110-194637-1obei6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=205&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301004/original/file-20191110-194637-1obei6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=205&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301004/original/file-20191110-194637-1obei6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=205&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301004/original/file-20191110-194637-1obei6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301004/original/file-20191110-194637-1obei6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301004/original/file-20191110-194637-1obei6s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Flying animals leave traces in weather radar images. The image at left shows an ‘angel echo’ caused by flying foxes coming out of a roost in NSW, while the one on the right reveals ‘blooms’ of activity on the Darwin radar, likely to be caused by magpie geese and other waterbirds taking off for their morning feeding flights.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rogers et al. (2019) - Austral Ecology</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For broadly distributed species, like the magpie geese found all across northern Australia, the picture is not so easy to interpret. These animals tend to produce patterns best described as blooms of activity: they appear across the radar image, spreading out and then blending together like a bunch of flowers blooming all at once. </p>
<p>These patterns can look similar to rain clouds to the untrained eye. However, with some understanding of how the radar works and the behaviour of the birds – like when they are active or how high they fly – we can quickly begin to narrow down what might be causing different patterns on radar images. </p>
<h2>Why track magpie geese?</h2>
<p>Magpie geese cross paths with humans in many different ways.</p>
<p>They are hunted by Indigenous people for food, they are considered a <a href="https://www.cdu.edu.au/enews/stories/mango-meetings">pest for mango farmers</a> and a <a href="https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/5772313/ar2016063_final-report.pdf">strike risk</a> for planes, and they could be <a href="https://denr.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/441526/Magpie-Goose-Management-Program-2009-2014.pdf">vectors for disease</a>. </p>
<p>Tracking magpie geese can help us better understand this native species and ensure it thrives long into the future. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/most-native-bird-species-are-losing-their-homes-even-the-ones-you-see-every-day-123007">Most native bird species are losing their homes, even the ones you see every day</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Like many waterbirds, magpie geese have distinct daily patterns of movement, which makes them ideal candidates for trialling the use of weather radar to track Australian birds. </p>
<p>In Darwin, blooms of activity occur all over the radar in the morning and evening when magpie geese are taking off from wetlands and mango orchards for their daily feeding flights. </p>
<p>By using GPS tracking collars and annual survey data, we are starting to see how these patterns in the radar data correspond to real behaviour. These results are showing how weather radar could be repurposed to track the movement of magpie geese – and after that, many other kinds of birds in Australia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126278/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Rogers receives funding from the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment – Equity Trustees Charitable Foundation & the Ecological Society of Australia. </span></em></p>Weather radar archives hold decades of data about the movements of birds and other flying animals.Rebecca Rogers, PhD Candidate, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1074322018-11-26T19:02:37Z2018-11-26T19:02:37ZFor the first time we’ve looked at every threatened bird in Australia side-by-side<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247223/original/file-20181126-140522-1v2gsvv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Success with conservation of Kangaroo Island’s Glossy Black-Cockatoos can now be compared with other bird conservation efforts around the country.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iansand/117486036/in/photolist-bo9vj-bo9kc-AnHBu-axyr6T-5m3FS8-5Ti77z-d1QNu9-5ThoMF-5MrP2n-d1QNK7-da6KKo-fmbUyD-hNWjeP-5Mw615-dJdfDw-5yvUdT-5B8WmD-6zLMDX">Ian Sanderson/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Glossy Black-Cockatoos used to be common on South Australia’s Kangaroo Island until possums started eating their eggs and chicks. After volunteers helped protect nest hollows and erect safe nest boxes, the population more than doubled. </p>
<p>But how do you measure such success? How do you compare cockatoo nest protection with any other investment in conservation?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, we have few ways to compare and track the different efforts many people may be making to help conserve our natural treasures. </p>
<p>That’s why a group of us from a dozen Australian universities along with scientists and private researchers around the world have created <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.13220">metrics of progress</a> for both our understanding of how to manage threats of different intensity, and how well that management has been implemented. We also provide guidance on what still needs doing before a threat no longer needs active management.</p>
<p>For the first time, we looked at every threatened bird in Australia to see how well – or not – they are managed. Hopefully, we can use this to avoid compounding our disastrous <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/13/a-national-disgrace-australias-extinction-crisis-is-unfolding-in-plain-sight">recent track record</a> of extinctions in Australia.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-whom-the-bell-tolls-cats-kill-more-than-a-million-australian-birds-every-day-85084">For whom the bell tolls: cats kill more than a million Australian birds every day</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The state of Australian birds</h2>
<p>What we did differently was collect the same data across different species, which meant we could compare conservation efforts across all bids. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246799/original/file-20181122-182062-zfg4ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246799/original/file-20181122-182062-zfg4ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246799/original/file-20181122-182062-zfg4ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246799/original/file-20181122-182062-zfg4ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246799/original/file-20181122-182062-zfg4ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246799/original/file-20181122-182062-zfg4ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246799/original/file-20181122-182062-zfg4ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246799/original/file-20181122-182062-zfg4ry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The mallee emu-wren is unique to Australia and endangered due to habitat loss.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/128578170@N06/24288853338/in/photolist-D1jHTq-4b9JJc">Nik Borrow/Flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When we applied these metrics to Australia’s 238 threatened bird species, the results were both encouraging and daunting. The good news is that we <em>understand</em> how to reduce the impact of about 52% of the threats – although of course that means we know little about how to deal with the other 48%.</p>
<p>But the situation is decidedly worse when we consider how effectively we are putting that research into practice. Only 43% of threats are being managed in any way at all – and just a third of the worst threats – and we are achieving good outcomes for just 20%. </p>
<p>But at least we now know where we are. We can celebrate what we have accomplished, appreciate how much needs doing, and direct our efforts where they will have the greatest benefit. </p>
<h2>The threats to our birds</h2>
<p>Introduced mammals, particularly <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320717302719">cats</a>, have been (and continue to be) a significant threat to Australian birds. Although we have successfully eradicated feral animals on many islands, saving many species, they remain a grave threat on the mainland. </p>
<p>The effect of climate change is becoming the top priority threat for the future. About half of all threatened birds are likely to be affected by increases in drought, fire, heat or sea level. Given the policy prevarication at a global level, targeted research is essential if birds are to be helped to cope.</p>
<p>By looking at multiple species, we can also identify what helps successful conservation. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/emr.12335">Monitoring</a>, for instance, has a big impact on threat alleviation – better monitored species receive more attention.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246792/original/file-20181122-182053-1nj0fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246792/original/file-20181122-182053-1nj0fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246792/original/file-20181122-182053-1nj0fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246792/original/file-20181122-182053-1nj0fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246792/original/file-20181122-182053-1nj0fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246792/original/file-20181122-182053-1nj0fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246792/original/file-20181122-182053-1nj0fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246792/original/file-20181122-182053-1nj0fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The orange-bellied parrot is amongst Australia’s most critically endangered birds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/orange-bellied-parrot-neophema-chrysogaster-australian-627492968?src=hI7Na9JZcv1ng8C10kn5Rg-1-0">sompreaw/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is also – unsurprisingly – a strong connection between knowledge of how to manage a threat and successful application of that knowledge. Often policy people want instant action, but our work suggests that action before knowledge will squander money. </p>
<h2>Where to from here?</h2>
<p>So what can we use this analysis for? One use is helping species <a href="http://www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au/news/no-surprises-no-regrets-identifying-australias-most-imperilled-animal-species">close to extinction</a>.</p>
<p>Using the same approach for multiple species groups, it is apparent that, while birds and mammals are in a parlous state, the most threatened fish are far worse off. We can also identify some clear priorities for action. </p>
<p>Finally, we must acknowledge this work emerged not from a government research grant, but from a non-government organisation (NGO). BirdLife Australia needed an overview of the country’s performance with threatened birds and was able to draw on the volunteered skills of biologists and mathematicians from around the country, and then the world.</p>
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<p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-relies-on-volunteers-to-monitor-its-endangered-species-97532">Australia relies on volunteers to monitor its endangered species</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Indeed, one of the future projects will be using the new assessment tool to see just how much of the conservation action around the country is being driven by volunteers, from the many people who contributed their knowledge and skills to this paper through to those keeping glossy black-cockatoo chicks safe on Kangaroo Island.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107432/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Garnett receives funding from the National Environment Science Program and the Australian Research Council. He coordinates the BirdLife Australia Threatened Species Committee</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>April Reside is a scientific advisor for the Black-throated Finch Recovery Team and is on Birdlife Australia's Research and Conservation Committee and Threatened Species Committee.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Wintle receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Parks Victoria, and the Australian Government through the National Environmental Science Program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Lindenmayer receives funding from the Government of Victoria, the Australian Government (the National Environmental Science Program Threatened Species Recovery Hub) and the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David M Watson receives funding from the ARC, the NSF, and Hermon Slade Flundation</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elisa Bayraktarov receives funding from the National Environmental Science Program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hayley Geyle receives funding from the National Environmental Science Program </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hugh Possingham receives funding from the Australian Research Council and The Australian Federal Government Environment Department. He is employed by The Nature Conservancy (USA) and The University of Queensland (20%)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Watson receives funding from the National Environmental Science Program and the Australian Research Council. He is Director of Science and Research Initiative at the Wildlife Conservation Society. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jim Radford receives funding from the Victorian Government's Virtual Centre for Climate Change Innovation. He is Chair of Birdlife Australia's Research and Conservation Committee. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Woinarski receives funding from the Australian government's Threatened Species Recovery Hub of the National Environmental Science Program </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les Christidis receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is Head of the Coffs Harbour Campus of Southern Cross University and Dean of Graduate Studies. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martine Maron receives funding from The Australian Research Council and the Australian Government's National Environmental Science Program's Threatened Species Recovery Hub. She is Vice-President of BirdLife Australia and Governor of WWF-Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Molly K Grace receives funding from the Natural Environment Research Council as a Knowledge Exchange Fellow. She is a postdoctoral researcher in the Zoology Department at the University of Oxford.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul McDonald receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is a Councillor on the board of the Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Legge receives funding from the National Environmental Science Program. She is a Deputy Director of the Threatened Species Recovery Hub. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alienor Chauvenet and Ian Leiper do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research has shown how to measure conservation progress for Australia’s 238 endangered bird speciesStephen Garnett, Professor of Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods, Charles Darwin UniversityAlienor Chauvenet, Lecturer, Griffith UniversityApril Reside, Researcher, Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of QueenslandBrendan Wintle, Professor Conservation Ecology, The University of MelbourneDavid Lindenmayer, Professor, The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National UniversityDavid M Watson, Professor in Ecology, Charles Sturt UniversityElisa Bayraktarov, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Conservation Biology, The University of QueenslandHayley Geyle, Research Assistant, Charles Darwin UniversityHugh Possingham, Professor, The University of QueenslandIan Leiper, Geospatial Scientist, Charles Darwin UniversityJames Watson, Professor, The University of QueenslandJim Radford, Principal Research Fellow, Research Centre for Future Landscapes, La Trobe UniversityJohn Woinarski, Professor (conservation biology), Charles Darwin UniversityLes Christidis, Professor, Southern Cross UniversityMartine Maron, ARC Future Fellow and Associate Professor of Environmental Management, The University of QueenslandMolly K Grace, Postdoctoral Fellow in Zoology, University of OxfordPaul McDonald, Associate professor, University of New EnglandSarah Legge, Associate Professor, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/656462016-09-22T20:25:14Z2016-09-22T20:25:14ZHow the Australian galah got its name in a muddle<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138402/original/image-20160920-11103-1aw2jea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Western galahs in flight.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Andrea Izzotti</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Galahs are the pink and grey cockatoos that are one of the most familiar of all Australian birds. They’ve have been at the centre of a curious debate: what should their scientific name really be?</p>
<p>It’s a tale that spans centuries and continents, and has clues hidden in museums, diaries of 19th century travellers and evolution’s own diary of DNA sequences.</p>
<p>When biologists formally publish a scientific description of a new species, they give it a unique scientific name that is forever linked to a single, preserved specimen in a natural history collection. This specimen is known as the holotype. </p>
<p>The galah’s scientific name is <em>Eolophus roseicapilla</em>. Its holotype was collected in Australia in 1801 by biologists on the Expedition led by France’s <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/baudin-nicolas-thomas-1753">Nicolas Baudin</a> and is held in the Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle, in Paris.</p>
<h2>East and west</h2>
<p>Much later, Australian ornithologists realised galahs in the continent’s west look very different from galahs in the east.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138403/original/image-20160920-11134-1q92pzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138403/original/image-20160920-11134-1q92pzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138403/original/image-20160920-11134-1q92pzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138403/original/image-20160920-11134-1q92pzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138403/original/image-20160920-11134-1q92pzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138403/original/image-20160920-11134-1q92pzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138403/original/image-20160920-11134-1q92pzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138403/original/image-20160920-11134-1q92pzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An eastern galah.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Chris Ison</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Eastern galahs became known as the subspecies <em>Eolophus roseicapilla roseicapilla</em>, the holotype of that name automatically being the original held in Paris because it was assumed to have been collected in the east.</p>
<p>The subspecies in the west was named <em>Eolophus roseicapilla assimilis</em> and that name was also linked to a new holotype, a bird from the west.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138405/original/image-20160920-11120-dieq1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138405/original/image-20160920-11120-dieq1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138405/original/image-20160920-11120-dieq1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138405/original/image-20160920-11120-dieq1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138405/original/image-20160920-11120-dieq1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138405/original/image-20160920-11120-dieq1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138405/original/image-20160920-11120-dieq1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138405/original/image-20160920-11120-dieq1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A western galah.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/GunnerL</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But was the bird collected back in 1801 really from the east? The name <em>roseicapilla</em> means pink or rosy “hair” and so refers to the general pink colour of the species. It does not refer to the dark-pink headed galahs from the west as distinct from the pale-pink almost whitish-headed galahs from the east.</p>
<h2>Expedition route</h2>
<p>In the late 1980s, Dr Richard Schodde, then the Director of CSIRO’s Australian National Wildlife Collection, realised the route of the <a href="http://museum.wa.gov.au/fc/aos/dj">Baudin Expedition</a> wouldn’t have passed anywhere near where eastern galahs occurred at that time.</p>
<p>Galahs were originally birds of arid, inland Australia, only expanding into their present, vast range in the early- to mid-20th century.</p>
<p>The biologists of the Baudin Expedition were more likely to have encountered galahs around Shark Bay in Western Australia. The holotype was more likely a western bird, Schodde reasoned.</p>
<p>Schodde further reasoned that if the holotype in Paris was a western galah, its name, <em>Eolophus roseicapilla roseicapilla</em>, actually belonged to the western galahs. This left the eastern galahs, one of the most familiar birds in all of Australia, without a scientific name.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138408/original/image-20160920-11131-1y34a96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138408/original/image-20160920-11131-1y34a96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138408/original/image-20160920-11131-1y34a96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138408/original/image-20160920-11131-1y34a96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138408/original/image-20160920-11131-1y34a96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138408/original/image-20160920-11131-1y34a96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138408/original/image-20160920-11131-1y34a96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138408/original/image-20160920-11131-1y34a96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Galahs in flight in outback Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/John Carnemolla</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Schodde named them <em>Eolophus roseicapilla albiceps</em> and designated a holotype that was collected in Canberra and is held in CSIRO’s Australian National Wildlife Collection.</p>
<p>His detective work at that time didn’t settle the debate. Simple examination of the holotype in Paris should reveal whether it is an eastern or western bird. But the specimen is more than 200 years old and not in great shape.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, two recent papers published by Australian ornithologists, including a further <a href="http://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4067.4.9">one</a> by Richard Schodde, and another by <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MU16061">our team</a>, have argued that despite the specimen’s condition it is identifiable as a western bird.</p>
<h2>What the DNA says</h2>
<p>Enter DNA to solve the mystery. Australian natural history collections contain hundreds of specimens of galahs from across their modern range.</p>
<p>If these specimens show detectable genetic differences between eastern and western subspecies, and if we can get a DNA result from the Paris holotype, we could find out whether it belongs to the eastern or western group.</p>
<p>With a colleague in Germany, Thomas Wilke, we mapped genetic diversity of galahs from 192 <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MU15018">museum specimens</a>. We found that galahs were likely isolated during the last several hundred thousand years into western, northern and eastern subpopulations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138409/original/image-20160920-18705-aaufc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138409/original/image-20160920-18705-aaufc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138409/original/image-20160920-18705-aaufc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138409/original/image-20160920-18705-aaufc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138409/original/image-20160920-18705-aaufc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138409/original/image-20160920-18705-aaufc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138409/original/image-20160920-18705-aaufc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138409/original/image-20160920-18705-aaufc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A couple of western galahs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/David Steele</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even today, with the modern range expansions, any galah can be assigned to either of these three genetic groups regardless of where it occurs.</p>
<p>Colleagues at the Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle kindly allowed us to snip some skin from the toe pads of the holotype. One of us (Jeremy Austin) obtained DNA sequences and dropped them into our analysis.</p>
<p><em>Et voila!</em> The Paris holotype is identical in its DNA sequence to the most common variant found in western birds.</p>
<p>Schodde’s theory holds. Galahs in the west should indeed be named <em>Eolophus roseicapilla roseicapilla</em> and those in the east <em>Eolophus roseicapilla albiceps</em>.</p>
<p>There is a third, northern variant but it is not part of our story here. </p>
<p>And what of the original scientific name for the western galahs, <em>Eolophus roseicapilla assimilis</em>? That name is not currently necessary but if anyone ever finds differences within the western birds, it may still be needed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65646/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeremy Austin receives funding from the Australian Research Council and Nature Foundation South Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leo Joseph does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When is a galah not a galah? That depends on which scientific name is attached to the Australian bird. There’s been some confusion over this, which DNA testing has finally solved.Leo Joseph, Research Director and Curator, Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIROJeremy Austin, Deputy Director and ARC Future Fellow, Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/597302016-06-10T02:46:00Z2016-06-10T02:46:00ZCity sparrows came to Australia via India<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/124441/original/image-20160530-7713-at6liw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sparrows are one of the five most common birds in Australian cities. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sparrow image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In Australia, like so many other countries, the house sparrow is one of the five most commonly seen birds in backyards and gardens. This is a result of intentional introductions over the past two centuries. </p>
<p>The story of how house sparrows came to Australia has several new twists. Recent <a href="http://avianres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40657-016-0044-3">research</a> shows just how much effort was made to introduce the species as an early form of bio-control (almost a century before the cane toad was introduced to help control the cane beetle). </p>
<p>Most surprisingly, historical documents reveal that the first house sparrows to arrive and breed in Australia actually arrived from India, not England as has been believed for more than 100 years. </p>
<p>Alongside them came the most vilified introduced bird in Australia, the common myna. </p>
<h2>Introduced birds</h2>
<p>Over the past two centuries Australia has become a new home for <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/invasive-species">hundreds of introduced species of plants and animals</a>. Many of these have become serious pests, causing major losses to agricultural production and threatening Australia’s endemic biodiversity. </p>
<p>The house sparrow and myna dominate many urban areas in Australia but, on account of their dependence on people, have mostly stayed in human-modified environments. They have apparently caused little damage to native species. </p>
<p>While species have been introduced to Australia for a variety of reasons, many people assume that these birds were introduced for very frivolous ones. </p>
<p>Common belief is that English songbirds were introduced by homesick colonists so they could once again hear the familiar sounds of home, in a land where the birds were unfamiliar. But our research reveals a different story. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/124444/original/image-20160530-7695-1t0kgbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/124444/original/image-20160530-7695-1t0kgbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/124444/original/image-20160530-7695-1t0kgbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124444/original/image-20160530-7695-1t0kgbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124444/original/image-20160530-7695-1t0kgbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124444/original/image-20160530-7695-1t0kgbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124444/original/image-20160530-7695-1t0kgbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/124444/original/image-20160530-7695-1t0kgbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">If you have mynas nearby, you’ll know about it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Myna image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The sparrow campaign</h2>
<p>The first sparrows arrived in Australia in late 1862. They were shipped after a prolonged campaign led by Edward Wilson, editor of the Melbourne Argus. </p>
<p>Wilson had established the Victorian Acclimatisation Society, set up with the support of the Victorian government to import useful species. Sparrows, it was thought, could help the struggling agricultural sector. </p>
<p>A series of articles and editorials in 1860-61 drew attention to famines in Hungary and France that were reportedly caused by the destruction of so many songbirds in the farming districts of those countries. </p>
<p>Studies in Switzerland showed that while sparrows do cause some damage to fruit crops, this is outweighed by the number of insect pests that the birds feed to their nestlings (3,000 per nest). </p>
<p><a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5695247">In 1860 Wilson called</a> for farmers to “wage war” on insects pests with sparrows and starlings. He also confessed that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I like to see a bird in the streets, and I have a kindly feeling for the sparrow for his friendly confidence in this way.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This attitude may explain accusations of frivolity, but the sparrow was valued above other birds because they associated more strongly with people than other birds, and their worth had been demonstrated in Europe and New York where they had been <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13195315">introduced to attack insects defoliating city trees</a>. </p>
<p>By today’s standards, however, efforts to ascertain the ecological and agricultural risks were very poor. The same people are also to blame for the introduction of the rabbit, fox and carp – to mention just three major pests. </p>
<h2>Indian arrivals</h2>
<p>So, in the early 1860s, Wilson and the Acclimatisation Society went to great efforts to transport birds from Europe. Birds were kept alive during the long voyage by sea and then acclimated to Australian conditions by being held in large aviaries in Melbourne (on the site that later became the Melbourne Zoo), before their release around the colony. This was a challenging enterprise and the value of a live sparrow arriving in Melbourne encouraged greater care on board the ships. </p>
<p>An inadvertent consequence of the economic value placed on the arrival of a sparrow in Australia was that it created a new market for opportunism. The sea passage from India was significantly shorter than that from Europe and an enterprising shipping agent in India, G. J. Landells, took full advantage of this. </p>
<p>New research has uncovered clear documentary evidence that house sparrows arrived from India in 1862 and were breeding successfully in Melbourne before any arrived alive from England (in early 1863). This means it is highly likely that the house sparrows in Australia today are a genetic mix of Indian and European sparrows. The house sparrows in India were native to the subcontinent and are a different race of house sparrow from the one in Europe. </p>
<p>The newspapers of the time also make it clear that, along with each shipment of sparrows from India, a number of common mynas also arrived. This is presumably because they were abundant in the same places as the sparrows and it was argued that they would be a useful addition for eating insects in towns and farms. </p>
<p>In 1863, Landells placed an advertisement in The Sydney Morning Herald offering to export more “minas” to Melbourne for 20 shillings each, and house sparrows at ten shillings each. </p>
<p>While it’s unlikely that he became rich on the back of such a market, his enterprise changed the avian landscape of Australia’s backyards forever.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59730/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Griffith receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Sparrows are one of the commonest birds seen in Australian cities. But the first ones didn’t come from England.Simon Griffith, Professor of Avian Behavioural Ecology, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/514752016-03-01T04:23:19Z2016-03-01T04:23:19ZBird-brained and brilliant: Australia’s avians are smarter than you think<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104986/original/image-20151209-3266-k9t5go.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Spangled Drongo is a frequent mimic</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kookr/7892475898/in/photolist-d2r17E-GrjY6-gEwWiN-gxarU-i1hry-xwQhKo-8yeLuc-za9k3M-gxajb-cbDW7A-9ieHQ-dqrD9W-Heo64-dDKWSh-oVvK62-z1raVH-g3ioUz-3miMYt-pw568U-pNtjMv-qR4dMg-pvYJtg-bDEakW-bzzXqP-mXBYz-z3D95E-2jNdbg-omFXT5-dZttEg-oqtNkK-4Z9Gus-nAS2b-psjZTQ-pGCV7m-pJJf6a-oMVTFr-5C63aZ-7fvE3U-suhypy-hzEi2-6veAuf-7KvmZK-xyeiSh-x292T7-x3M6SR-x292BL-xhXVo1-xju8Xo-x3EroE-4P4U1d">David Cook/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Calling someone a “bird brain” is not usually meant as a compliment. But as research continues to reveal, birds are much smarter than was once thought. </p>
<p>Australian birds are arguably among the smartest in the world. Some display complex behaviours such as problem solving, learning and tool use comparable to behaviours observed in great apes. </p>
<p>I’ve summarised what we know about Australia’s exceptional birds in my book <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/7130.htm">Bird Minds</a>, showing how versatile and complex our native birds really are. </p>
<h2>The smarts of singing</h2>
<p>It all starts with the brain. We once believed that small brains equal little thinking, but we now know that this is not true. Just as the smallest computer chips can fit an enormous amount of memory, bird brains can too. This is precisely what was discovered in songbirds by first studying the song control system in the native Australian Zebra Finch. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC53130/">Research</a> showed that their tiny brains have a complex network of neurons dedicated to learning song and storing it in memory. And such learning is aided by mirror neurons (brain cells), as in humans, capable of committing heard sounds to memory. These <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v451/n7176/abs/nature06492.html">special neurons</a> are active in the listening bird as if it were singing itself. </p>
<p>When the bird sings that song again it can then be checked against the stored memory. This is a brilliant biological solution to achieve learning, as has also been found in humans. </p>
<p>Many Australian birds are <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-mimics-among-us-birds-pirate-songs-for-personal-profit-30195">brilliant mimics</a>. Mimicry was once dismissed as “mindless”. In fact, it’s the first stage of learning. </p>
<p>Human babies and infants do it all the time, gradually linking the mimicked sounds with words and meaning. Eventually they are able to apply specific sounds in a correct context. That is <a href="http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(10)01451-X?mobileUi=0">not mindless</a>. </p>
<p>For instance, my galah learned to call the dogs by their names and would wait until they came running to him!</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/3880.htm">magpie</a> used dog calling in another way. A cat wanted the magpie gone, then the magpie called the dog’s name. The dog came running and chased the cat away. The magpie stayed.</p>
<p>Many Australian species mimic in the wild. <a href="http://escholarship.org/uc/item/356357r0">Lyrebirds and magpies</a> have the most varied forms of mimicry, followed by parrots and parakeets, Satin Bowerbirds, Spangled Drongos and many others. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104615/original/image-20151207-22680-1pqf0n2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104615/original/image-20151207-22680-1pqf0n2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104615/original/image-20151207-22680-1pqf0n2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104615/original/image-20151207-22680-1pqf0n2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104615/original/image-20151207-22680-1pqf0n2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104615/original/image-20151207-22680-1pqf0n2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104615/original/image-20151207-22680-1pqf0n2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The lyrebird is renowned for its talent of mimicry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kookr/5875835739/in/photolist-9XecfK-6Jrieh-9XWeFT-4Luxcq-kJ9hr2-4QgD3y-pxMb8f-aAUe75-5U49NA-bs1FqJ-6n37KB-bEVyX8-73V3Kt-noQSLh-6n386r-fLBgHj-6y8Ljq-76Y8Bc-eeEMji-bQ8ezX-diY9FV-xj7UV-eeELRt-aAUfMy-5jtmHq-4Qgxiy-eHMG2u-7YKNeD-nEU6yd-azSEXh-fM8bH-5Ftocb-bzL2BP-8hBYDS-pWt8hQ-8hyJRe-5AsSK7-xj7ZM-76Y8jZ-xj7QM-83vxs3-83srd4-83sr3k-8hyJGk-bZrCPG-83vwVf-83sqCn-83vwoq-83sq8R-A4Vdvb">David Cook/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Food for thought</h2>
<p>It is perhaps the fickleness of this continent’s climate that demands insight, problem solving, remembering the location of food sources and other cognitive qualities <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wcs.75/abstract">in order to survive</a>. Securing food is a major problem in a continent that has regular fires, droughts, heatwaves and storms. Known food sources can suddenly disappear and may not return for some time or remain patchy. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104582/original/image-20151207-22710-15629k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104582/original/image-20151207-22710-15629k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104582/original/image-20151207-22710-15629k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104582/original/image-20151207-22710-15629k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104582/original/image-20151207-22710-15629k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104582/original/image-20151207-22710-15629k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=630&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104582/original/image-20151207-22710-15629k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=630&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104582/original/image-20151207-22710-15629k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=630&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Rufous Whistler is a food switcher.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Copyright Gisela Kaplan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The abilities to travel long distances and learn to utilise different food sources when staple diets are not available provide obvious advantages. One of the remarkable adaptations of many Australian birds is the ability to switch foods. Insect eaters such as Rufous Whistlers and large birds like ravens, magpies and currawongs have even been seen harvesting nectar. </p>
<p>Confirmed hunters of birds and insects such as butcherbirds, <a href="http://eurekamag.com/research/022/306/022306763.php">Torresian crows</a>, currawongs and shrike tits have learned to avoid the toxicity of their prey, be this caterpillars or <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10530-010-9903-8">cane toads</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104587/original/image-20151207-22685-18ibqfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104587/original/image-20151207-22685-18ibqfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104587/original/image-20151207-22685-18ibqfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104587/original/image-20151207-22685-18ibqfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104587/original/image-20151207-22685-18ibqfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104587/original/image-20151207-22685-18ibqfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104587/original/image-20151207-22685-18ibqfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104587/original/image-20151207-22685-18ibqfq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Torresian Crow is a remarkable problem solver.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Copyright Gisela Kaplan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So far 18 species of Australian native birds have been identified as <a href="http://www.aainsects.com.au/Pdf-papers-aainsects/Bird/bird-Cacat-2.pdf">tool users</a>, often in relation to <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=MU972178.pdf">getting food</a>. Noisy Pittas and <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=MU971084.pdf">White-Winged Choughs</a> know how to use implements to open hard-shelled gastropods. Black-Breasted Buzzards place a rock in their beak and use it as a hammer to <a href="http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Hamirostra-melanosternon">crack open emu eggs</a>. Black Kites may pick up glowing sticks in and around bushfires to <a href="http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2011/06/28/birds-of-the-week-firehawks-of-the-top-end/">start a fire</a> elsewhere and gain access to more food. </p>
<p><a href="http://sciencewise.anu.edu.au/articles/drumming%20parrot">Palm Cockatoos</a> are among the few species worldwide that use and manufacture tools, while <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/109/51/20980.full.pdf">bowerbirds</a> stand out as architects and painters.</p>
<h2>Old, and wise</h2>
<p>All modern <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/101/30/11040">songbirds</a> and a number of other lineages (such as ducks, chickens, pigeons, <a href="http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/25/10/2141.abstract">parrots and cockatoos</a>) evolved in East Gondwana, now Australia.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104584/original/image-20151207-22673-11fvvxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104584/original/image-20151207-22673-11fvvxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104584/original/image-20151207-22673-11fvvxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104584/original/image-20151207-22673-11fvvxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104584/original/image-20151207-22673-11fvvxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104584/original/image-20151207-22673-11fvvxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104584/original/image-20151207-22673-11fvvxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104584/original/image-20151207-22673-11fvvxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cockatoos are an ancient Australian lineage and have exceptionally large brains.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Copyright Gisela Kaplan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cockatoos evolved around 90 million years ago and have very large brains in relation to body size; the largest in the Palm Cockatoo. Among parrots, the Budgerigar and the Musk Lorikeet have particularly large brains compared to body size. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104591/original/image-20151207-22689-193u94l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104591/original/image-20151207-22689-193u94l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104591/original/image-20151207-22689-193u94l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104591/original/image-20151207-22689-193u94l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104591/original/image-20151207-22689-193u94l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104591/original/image-20151207-22689-193u94l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104591/original/image-20151207-22689-193u94l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104591/original/image-20151207-22689-193u94l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Great Bowerbirds and other bowerbird species may use ‘paintbrushes’ (plant pads) to add colour to their bower. The Great Bowerbird adds optical illusion to the construction of the bower path. Very clever indeed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Copyright Gisela Kaplan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Satin Bowerbird and Great Bowerbird have above-average <a href="http://riel.cdu.edu.au/publications/register/9866">brain-body ratios</a>. So do some honeyeaters, Noisy Miners and possibly the corvids, known worldwide for showing behaviour that requires problem solving. </p>
<p>Australian birds tend to be long-lived, have long breeding seasons and share parental or group care of offspring, often for extended periods. Indeed, Australia is a hotspot for <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/342/6165/1506">co-operative species</a>. These conditions provide time for youngsters to learn and play while still protected. Moreover, time is one of the prerequisites for growing a large brain.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104580/original/image-20151207-22680-19gknme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104580/original/image-20151207-22680-19gknme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=153&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104580/original/image-20151207-22680-19gknme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=153&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104580/original/image-20151207-22680-19gknme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=153&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104580/original/image-20151207-22680-19gknme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104580/original/image-20151207-22680-19gknme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104580/original/image-20151207-22680-19gknme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cooperative species:1: White-Winged Chough; 2: Apostlebird; 3: Grey-Crowned Babbler – 1 and 2 belong to the same family of mud nesters; 2 and 3 (of a separate family) are often seen foraging in the same area. All three have in common that they not only raise offspring as a group but share foraging and roosting as joint activities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Copyright Gisela Kaplan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Magpies may belong to the few species worldwide that can play a meaningful game of hide and seek, comparable to the performance of <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9507.00245/abstract">3-5-year-old children</a>. Birds can express <a href="https://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/melissa.bateson/Bateson_Matheson_2007.pdf">complex emotions</a>, even showing empathy and grief. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104592/original/image-20151207-22677-gfz3te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104592/original/image-20151207-22677-gfz3te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/104592/original/image-20151207-22677-gfz3te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104592/original/image-20151207-22677-gfz3te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104592/original/image-20151207-22677-gfz3te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104592/original/image-20151207-22677-gfz3te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104592/original/image-20151207-22677-gfz3te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/104592/original/image-20151207-22677-gfz3te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Magpie juveniles negotiating a game of hide and seek.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Copyright Gisela Kaplan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The lives of native birds are complex and depend on more than instinct to survive. This includes a superb long-term memory, minds capable of complex behaviour, extensive communication and good decision-making. </p>
<p>Australian birds are beautiful and odd, resourceful and innovative. Not just pretty things, they are also curious, emotional, smart and adaptable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51475/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gisela Kaplan has received funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC)</span></em></p>Australian birds are arguably among the smartest in the world, displaying complex behaviours comparable to those observed in great apes.Gisela Kaplan, Professor of Animal Behaviour, University of New EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.