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The color of dinosaur feathers identified

(PhysOrg.com) -- The colour of some feathers on dinosaurs and early birds has been identified for the first time, reports a paper published in Nature this week.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jan 27, 2010 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (17) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Earliest toothless bird found

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new species of bird from the Cretaceous period in China has been identified. It had toothless upper and lower jaws, and provides significant information on the diversification in the evolution ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 0 weblog

Inside the First Bird, Surprising Signs of a Dinosaur

(PhysOrg.com) -- The raptor-like Archaeopteryx has long been viewed as the archetypal first bird, but new research reveals that it was actually a lot less “bird-like” than scientists had believed.

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Oct 08, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (7) | comments 0

Origin of birds confirmed by exceptional new dinosaur fossils

(PhysOrg.com) -- Chinese scientists today reveal the discovery of five remarkable new feathered dinosaur fossils which are significantly older than any previously reported. The new finds are indisputably older ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Sep 25, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (21) | comments 1

From Chicken Feathers to Flower Pots

Chicken feathers, usually an unwanted byproduct of poultry processing, may have a more valuable future as an ingredient in biodegradable flower pots, according to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist.

Chemistry / Other

created Sep 09, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

When a whistle beats a tweet

Biologists have discovered that a species of Australian pigeon has a secret way of alerting fellow birds to predators -- a "whistle" emitted by flapping wings when the bird takes off in alarm.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Iridescence found in 40-million-year-old fossil bird feather

Known for their wide variety of vibrant plumage, birds have evolved various chemical and physical mechanisms to produce these beautiful colors over millions of years. A team of paleontologists and ornithologists ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Aug 26, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (8) | comments 3

Biodiesel on the wing: A 'green' process for biodiesel from feather meal

Scientists in Nevada are reporting development of a new and environmentally friendly process for producing biodiesel fuel from "chicken feather meal," made from the 11 billion pounds of poultry industry waste ...

Chemistry / Other

created Jul 22, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Study catches two bird populations as they split into seperate species

A new study finds that a change in a single gene has sent two closely related bird populations on their way to becoming two distinct species. The study, published in the August issue of the American Naturalist, is one of ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jul 14, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (9) | comments 2

Scientists are learning more about big birds from feathers

(PhysOrg.com) -- Catching adult eagles for research purposes is no easy task, but a Purdue University researcher has found a way around the problem, and, in the process, gathered even more information about ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jul 06, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Scientists 'rebuild' giant moa using ancient DNA

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have performed the first DNA-based reconstruction of the giant extinct moa bird, using prehistoric feathers recovered from caves and rock shelters in New Zealand.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jul 01, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (13) | comments 12

Feather fibers fluff up hydrogen storage capacity

Scientists in Delaware say they have developed a new hydrogen storage method -- carbonized chicken feather fibers -- that can hold vast amounts of hydrogen, a promising but difficult to corral fuel source, and do it at a ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Jun 23, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (12) | comments 15

What limits the size of birds?

Why aren't birds larger? Fifteen-kilogram swans hold the current upper size record for flying birds, although the extinct Argentavis of the Miocene Epoch in Argentina is estimated to have weighed 70 kilograms, the size of ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jun 16, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 2

Feather color is more than skin deep

Where do birds get their red feathers from? According to Esther del Val, from the National History Museum in Barcelona, Spain, and her team, the red carotenoids that give the common crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) its red coloration ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 15, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Feathers fly over new dinosaur find

The discovery of a petite, plant-eating dinosaur with primitive plumage could mean that the dinosaur from which all others evolved had feather-like protrusions, said a study released Wednesday.

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Mar 18, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (20) | comments 0