Birds (class Aves) are a clade of endothermic, egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, a lightweight but strong skeleton with pneumatic bones, and forelimbs modified as wings. They possess a highly efficient respiratory system with air sacs and unidirectional airflow, a four-chambered heart, and high metabolic rates supporting sustained activity and, in most species, powered flight. Reproduction is oviparous with hard-shelled, calcium-rich eggs and extensive parental care. Birds exhibit diverse morphologies and ecological strategies, yet share key synapomorphies such as feathers and a furcula, reflecting their origin within theropod dinosaurs.
When pigeons are flying through the air, they lock their eyes in a near-fixed position instead of moving them around. Researchers from Harvard University discovered this after attaching a lightweight rig of cameras and mirrors ...
Birdwatching is one of the most common and popular ways people experience nature. But it's not often that even the most enthusiastic birdwatcher returns to the same place more than 800 times to witness the changes over four ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 17, 2026
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The Ramsar Convention is the world's longest-standing international treaty for wetland and waterbird protection. Signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl ...
Just 10 viral particles of the H5N1 bird flu that caused hundreds of influenza outbreaks in U.S. dairy cattle can cause infection in cows, a new study shows. The research also hints at why the outbreaks have confounded scientists, ...
Ecology
Jun 15, 2026
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"Love makes fools of all of us," wrote 19th-century novelist William Makepeace Thackeray. A moment spent watching the pigeons at your local park suggests he was right: males with puffed-up, shimmering necks hop, pirouette, ...
Evolution
Jun 15, 2026
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Darin McNeil, Ph.D., an assistant professor of wildlife management in the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, is partnering with the University of Pittsburgh and others to help ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 15, 2026
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Few animals put on a show quite like manakins. In the rainforests of Central and South America, males of these small tropical birds, with strikingly bright plumage, often gather at communal display sites (leks), where they ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 14, 2026
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Pets form an important part of many people's lives, providing meaningful companionship. However, our pets can sometimes also be a source of unwelcome pathogens and diseases, particularly if they frequently roam outdoors.
Plants & Animals
Jun 13, 2026
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Sealed within an eggshell, how can chicks prepare for the world into which they are about to hatch, with no obvious direct communication channel across the shell? Adult zebra finches produce distinctive high-pitched warning ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 11, 2026
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From melodic morning choruses to territorial songs that echo through forests and grasslands, birds rely on vocalizations to communicate, attract mates and defend valuable habitat. For songbirds, these vocal displays are not ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 10, 2026
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