Birds as a research topic encompass the study of Aves across diverse biological and ecological disciplines, including anatomy, physiology, behavior, evolution, and systematics. Research focuses on adaptations for flight (e.g., lightweight skeletal structure, high metabolic rates, specialized respiratory systems), sensory and cognitive capacities, communication via vocalizations, and complex social and mating systems. Ornithological studies also investigate avian roles in ecosystems as pollinators, seed dispersers, predators, and prey, as well as their biogeography and migration strategies. Birds serve as key model systems in evolutionary biology, speciation, bioacoustics, neurobiology, and conservation science, particularly in the context of habitat alteration and climate change.
The Galapagos Islands are famous for the discoveries that shaped Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Now an SFSU graduate has added one more: Ezra Mendales (M.S., '23) describes a new species as part of his master's thesis. ...
Evolution
Mar 26, 2026
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Urban stormwater ponds provide important habitats for birds, including both resident and migrating species, according to research led by the University of Toronto. For the study, researchers placed audio recorders at 16 stormwater ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 24, 2026
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As human-caused climate change continues to raise temperatures across the globe, understanding how birds regulate their temperature is vital for their conservation. But how much heat birds emit—an invisible spectrum of radiation ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 22, 2026
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Animals do all sorts of things to attract each other as potential mates. Many birds, for example, produce feathers with elaborate color patterns—from the iridescent plumage of many hummingbirds to the famously brilliant tail ...
Evolution
Mar 20, 2026
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A comprehensive study has revealed substantial declines in many of South Africa's birds of prey (raptors) over the past 16 years, raising fresh concerns about the conservation status of several iconic and threatened species. ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 20, 2026
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The combination of a beaver-like body and duck-like bill of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is only the first of a long list of strange features on this unique creature. These odd mammals also lay eggs, have venomous ...
A previously unknown species of leaf warbler has been discovered in Japan. The Ijima's Leaf Warbler has proven to be two different species, not just one. Every year, a few new bird species are identified around the world. ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 17, 2026
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What do we really know about how oviraptors—bird-like but flightless dinosaurs—hatched their eggs? Did they use environmental heat, like crocodiles, or body heat from an adult, like birds? In a new Frontiers in Ecology and ...
Evolution
Mar 17, 2026
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Birds that live and breed in vegetated coastal areas, such as dunes and small islands, not only build nests but also—unintentionally—shape their own surroundings. This was discovered by Utrecht-based Earth scientist Floris ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 15, 2026
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Since the 1970s, the U.S. has lost billions of birds. We now know that those losses aren't just growing—they are accelerating in places with intensive human activity, particularly where agriculture and expanding communities ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 14, 2026
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