These tiny songbirds have extraordinary memories for the tens of thousands of spots where they hide food. But that doesn’t help when heavy snow blocks their access.
Noise created by the oil industry impacts songbirds. Research found that constant noises, like those produced by oil wells, are less disruptive than the shorter bursts of noise produced by drilling.
For the past 50 years, international animal cognition research has focused on how tool use is related to animal intelligence. But new research casts doubt on long-held assumptions.
Three scientists describe the fieldwork they’ve had to delay in 2020 because of the pandemic. These are setbacks not just for their careers, but for the body of scientific knowledge.
Nicolas Dubos, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN)
Climate change is affecting our planet’s biodiversity, yet some species can find ways to adapt. Using citizen-science data, a French research team is studying how birds adjust to local heat levels.
Rachael Shaw, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
The New Zealand robin has learnt to hide left-over food for later consumption, and it turns out that male birds with the best spatial memory have the greatest breeding success.
Could mating preferences, like females preferring males who sing complex songs, affect the evolution of learning? Insights from birds could have clues for how people learn throughout their lives.
Biologists investigated whether birds that search for multiple mates would evolve ever more elaborate songs to attract them. What they found might have surprised Darwin.