News tagged with bird behavior

Scientists learn much about humans from birds' singing lessons

Why wasn't this intruder getting the message? The lord of the manor had warned him repeatedly to back off, with threatening gestures and loud admonitions. But the trespasser just sat there - singing.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created May 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Hunger may inhibit defensive behavior

Most animals don't spend nearly as much time and energy defending nesting or mating sites against intruders outside the breeding season. That's a given.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Feb 01, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Secrets of flocking revealed

Watching thousands of birds fly in a highly coordinated, yet leaderless, flock can be utterly baffling to humans. Now, new research is peeling back the layers of mystery to show how exactly they do it -- and ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Oct 26, 2011 | popularity 3 / 5 (3) | comments 8 | with audio podcast

Crows are capable of distinguishing symbols, study finds

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study published in Animal Behavior shows that crows are capable of recognizing symbols designed to represent different quantities and is one of many different studies currently lookin ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Oct 10, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 10 | with audio podcast report

Research shows crows comparable to humans when it comes to waiting

(PhysOrg.com) -- In a new study published in Royal Society's Biology Letters, researchers have discovered that crows and raven birds show the same ability to complete delayed exchange tasks as monkeys and hu ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 15, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 6 | with audio podcast weblog

Humans not the only ones that pass down abusive behavior

(PhysOrg.com) -- In a recent study published in The Auk, researchers claim they have found evidence that humans are not the only species where child abuse is a socially transmitted behavior.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Aug 10, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 3 | with audio podcast report

A murder in the magpie's nest: Brutal, non-parental infanticide in the black-billed magpie

A brutal case of infanticide has been recently reported in the black-billed magpie. In a series of vivid videos, an adult perpetrator kills or drags out all six nestlings from a nest. Who could have done it, and why?

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jul 11, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Manakins, birds of tropical forests, cooperate for common goal

(PhysOrg.com) -- Leks, they're called, gatherings of males of certain animal species for competitive mating displays. But not every lek's members are competitors, scientists have learned. Some--birds called ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jun 22, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study shows genes may play a role in promiscuity

(PhysOrg.com) -- In a recent study, in what is likely to stir some controversy, researchers from the Max Planck Institute in Germany have shown that finches in the wild, normally a monogamous type of bird, ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jun 14, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Prairie dogs kiss more when being watched

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers in the US studying the behavior of black-tailed prairie dogs at a local zoo have discovered they behave differently, kissing and cuddling each other more when people are watching ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Feb 17, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (16) | comments 3 | with audio podcast report

Researchers show environmental changes may affect vital cooperate bird behaviors

While scientists believe that climate change and related extreme weather events such as drought and flooding will likely affect the earth's flora and fauna, just how much is not known. A new study by researchers Walter Jetz ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jan 11, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Power line blamed for bird kill in Louisiana

(AP) -- It isn't easy being a blackbird in the South.

Biology / Ecology

created Jan 04, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 4

Bird-brained? Birds' personalities are correlated with their hormone levels

Individuals of Great Tit vary in their levels of curiosity, with distinctions being made between "fast" and "slow" explorers. Mareike Stowe from University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna has now shown significant differences ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 29, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Vultures use face flushing technique for instant status updates

Tech savvy humans who use social media sites to instantly update their 'statuses', may be behaving like vultures who use 'face flushing' as a visible way of instantly updating their own status when interacting ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Oct 06, 2010 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Could smell play a role in the origin of new bird species?

Two recently diverged populations of a southern California songbird produce unique odors, suggesting smell could contribute to the reproductive isolation that accompanies the origin of new bird species. The ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Mar 23, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast