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.
As its name suggests, the common buzzard is one of Europe's most familiar birds of prey, often spotted perched on fence posts scanning for mice and worms, or performing spectacular loop dives over fields to attract mates. ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 10, 2026
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Millions of birds invisibly migrate through the night sky each autumn, most flying in near silence toward their wintering grounds. Now, scientists have developed a way to see and identify many of those birds for the first ...
Ecology
Mar 7, 2026
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In a study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, researchers Dr. Giovanna M. X. Paixão and her colleagues analyzed the fossilized remains of three Upper Cretaceous egg clutches. One of these clutches, totaling ...
The tall black-and-white residents of Antarctica, who waddle around its icy landscape, are in peril thanks to the rapidly warming global climate. Emperor penguins go through an annual transformation called catastrophic molting, ...
Intact ecosystems have the capacity for self-regulation, which keeps their complex structure of species—such as animals, plants, fungi and bacteria—in balance. For example, when the population of a species increases, its ...
Ecology
Mar 5, 2026
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Woodpeckers are well known for striking tree trunks with remarkable force and precision. These birds deliver thousands of high-speed impacts per day, generating mechanical loads that would destabilize the skulls of most other ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 5, 2026
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Scientists at Duke-NUS Medical School have found that viruses circulating in live poultry markets can be detected more effectively by sampling the surrounding environment than by testing individual birds. The study, published ...
Veterinary medicine
Mar 5, 2026
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Scientists have discovered that a widely recognized Amazonian antbird is not one, but five distinct species—including two completely new to science. This revelation of hidden biodiversity was achieved by integrating artificial ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 4, 2026
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Jackdaw chicks learn about predators by listening to adults, new research shows. Scientists played recordings of predator calls to chicks in their nests—and paired the sounds with either adult jackdaw "alarm" calls or "contact" ...
Evolution
Mar 3, 2026
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31
Scientists have long focused on rising temperatures to understand how climate change is reshaping the natural world. But there's a critical blind spot in that picture: rain. A new global study reveals precipitation has been ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 3, 2026
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