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Top Headlines

Ancient Blanket Made With 11,500 Turkey Feathers

Nov. 25, 2020 — New research sheds light on the production of an 800-year-old turkey feather blanket and explores the economic and cultural aspects of raising turkeys to supply feathers in the ancient ...

Clean Air Act Saved 1.5 Billion birds

Nov. 24, 2020 — US pollution regulations meant to protect humans from dirty air are also saving birds. So concludes a new continent-wide study. Study authors found that improved air quality under a federal program ...

Zebra finches (stock | (c) (c) pelooyen / Adobe

Zebra Finches Amazing at Unmasking the Bird Behind the Song

Nov. 21, 2020 — Like humans who can instantly tell which friend or relative is calling by the timbre of the person's voice, zebra finches have a near-human capacity for ...

Small Finlets on Owl Feathers Point the Way to Less Aircraft Noise

Nov. 18, 2020 — Researchers reveals how the microstructure of small finlets on owl feathers enable silent ...

Latest Headlines

updated 7:05pm EST

Health Trade-Offs for Wildlife as Urbanization Expands

Nov. 18, 2020 — City living appears to improve reproductive success for migratory tree swallows compared to breeding in more environmentally protected areas, a new five-year study suggests. But urban life comes with ...

In the Amazon's 'Sand Forests,' Birds Play by Different Evolutionary Rules

Nov. 17, 2020 — The Amazon isn't just rainforest -- patches of habitat grow on white sands. Scientists are starting to turn their attention to these 'sand forests' and the animals that live there. In a new study, ...

Abundance of Prey Species Is Key to Bird Diversity in Cities

Nov. 17, 2020 — A team of scientists collaborated to analyze breeding bird data gathered by citizen scientists. They found that the abundance of invertebrates such as insects or spiders as prey is a key factor ...

Henderson Island Fossils Reveal New Polynesian Sandpiper Species

Nov. 16, 2020 — Fossil bones collected in the early 1990s on Henderson Island, part of the Pitcairn Group, have revealed a new species of Polynesian sandpiper. The Henderson Sandpiper, a small wading bird that has ...

In a Warming Climate, Can Birds Take the Heat?

Nov. 12, 2020 — We don't know precisely how hot things will get as climate change marches on, but animals in the tropics may not fare as well as their temperate relatives. Many scientists think tropical animals, ...

Scientists Release Genomes of Birds Representing Nearly All Avian Families

Nov. 11, 2020 — Scientists report on the genomes of 363 species of birds, including 267 that have been sequenced for the first time. The studied species represent more than 92 percent of the world's avian families. ...

New Genome Alignment Tool Empowers Large-Scale Studies of Vertebrate Evolution

Nov. 11, 2020 — Three new articles present major advances in understanding the evolution of birds and mammals, made possible by new methods for comparing the genomes ...

Noise and Light Can 'Profoundly' Alter Bird Reproduction

Nov. 11, 2020 — By analyzing nesting data from across the contiguous US, the authors found widespread impacts of noise and light pollution on bird nesting habits and success. Birds that live in forests were most ...

Prenatal Thyroid Hormones Influence 'Biological Age' at Birth

Nov. 11, 2020 — The environment we experience in early-life is known to have major consequences on later-life health and lifespan. A new study using an avian model suggests that increased prenatal exposure to ...

Chronic Stress Causes Genetic Changes in Chickens

Nov. 10, 2020 — How can stress in animals be measured? Scientists have now found that what are known as epigenetic biomarkers could be used to detect long-term exposure to stress in commercially raised chickens. ...