https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from American Ornithological Society The 66th Supplement to the American Ornithological Society's (AOS) Check-list of North American Birds, published in Ornithology, includes several significant updates to the classification of bird species found in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-66th-supplement-north-american-birds.html Plants & Animals Fri, 15 Aug 2025 10:08:42 EDT news674471316 Novel research published in Ornithological Applications has revealed noteworthy insights into how barred owls (Strix varia) interact with urban environments, with implications for both wildlife conservation and urban planning. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-uncovers-barred-owls-interact-urban.html Plants & Animals Mon, 11 Nov 2024 15:00:13 EST news650559601 Federal and state mandates to conserve 30% of the nation's lands and waters by 2030 are intended to protect biodiversity. But do protected areas actually work? https://phys.org/news/2021-08-areas-safeguard-bird-populations.html Plants & Animals Thu, 05 Aug 2021 12:17:20 EDT news547384624 The barrier islands of North Carolina's Cape Hatteras National Seashore are among the most popular recreational destinations on the Atlantic coast. Park managers strive to integrate the needs of wildlife with recreational use of the area's beaches, but in some cases, they impose restrictions on the latter in order to preserve the former—sometimes even completely closing portions of beaches to pedestrian and off-road vehicle traffic to protect nesting birds. These closures are controversial, but a new independent report from the American Ornithological Society (AOS) finds evidence that despite complaints from the public, they provide significant benefits for vulnerable beach-nesting birds and sea turtles. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-ample-evidence-cape-hatteras-beach.html Plants & Animals Thu, 06 Aug 2020 15:39:10 EDT news515947148 The Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP), located near Manaus, Brazil, began in 1979 and is the world's longest-running experimental study of tropical forest fragments. A new paper in The Condor: Ornithological Applications summarizes four decades of data from the project about how Amazonian bird communities respond to habitat fragmentation, a question as relevant today as ever in light of the recent increase in deforestation in the Amazon. https://phys.org/news/2020-04-habitat-fragmentation-affect-amazonian-birds.html Plants & Animals Wed, 08 Apr 2020 03:06:35 EDT news505533991 The Common Nightingale, known for its beautiful song, breeds in Europe and parts of Asia and migrates to sub-Saharan Africa every winter. A new study published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances suggests that natural selection driven by climate change is causing these iconic birds to evolve shorter wings, which might make them less likely to survive their annual migration. https://phys.org/news/2020-04-climate-migration-harder-shortening-nightingales.html Ecology Wed, 01 Apr 2020 01:58:57 EDT news504925132 Populations of some common bird species, including the familiar Mourning Dove, have been on the decline for decades in North America. Agricultural lands can support bird populations, but agricultural intensification can also cause populations to decline—so what role are changes in American agriculture playing for Mourning Doves? New research published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications shows that relatively small changes in the amount of land used for different types of agriculture may be related to big changes in how many young doves are produced. https://phys.org/news/2020-03-intensive-agriculture-dove-reproduction-eastern.html Ecology Wed, 11 Mar 2020 00:00:01 EDT news503081073 A growing body of research shows that birds' spring migration has been getting earlier and earlier in recent decades. New research from The Auk: Ornithological Advances on Black-throated Blue Warblers, a common songbird that migrates from Canada and the eastern U.S. to Central America and back every year, uses fifty years of bird-banding data to add another piece to the puzzle, showing that little-studied fall migration patterns have been shifting over time as well. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-fifty-years-bird-migration.html Ecology Thu, 20 Feb 2020 00:00:01 EST news501349842 In the Pacific Northwest, the range expansion of Barred Owls has contributed to a conservation crisis for Northern Spotted Owls, which are being displaced from their old-growth forest habitat. How will this interaction between species play out in the Sierra Nevada, where Barred Owls are just starting to move into the range of the California Spotted Owl? New research published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications suggests that wildlife managers may still be able to head off similar problems in critical areas of the Golden State—if they act now. https://phys.org/news/2020-01-biologists-urgent-action-california-owls.html Ecology Wed, 22 Jan 2020 02:48:14 EST news498883690 If you're a predator that eats baby birds—say, an American Crow—eavesdropping on the begging calls of nestlings can be an easy way to find your next meal. But do baby birds change their begging behavior when predators are nearby to avoid being detected and eaten? Very few studies have investigated whether nestlings react to the sounds of predators, but new research published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances shows that when their parents are away, baby Red-winged Blackbirds beg less often and stop begging sooner if they hear recordings of predators' calls. https://phys.org/news/2019-12-red-winged-blackbird-nestlings-silent-predators.html Plants & Animals Tue, 17 Dec 2019 00:00:02 EST news495722520 Reproduction and migration are the two most demanding tasks in a bird's life, and the vast majority of species separate them into different times of the year. Only two bird species have been shown to undertake what scientists call "itinerant breeding": nesting in one area, migrating to another region, and nesting again there within the same year, to take advantage of shifting food resources. New research just published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances provides strong evidence that a third bird species takes on this unusual challenge—the Phainopepla, a unique bird found in the southwestern U.S. and the northernmost member of an otherwise tropical family. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-rare-itinerant-behavior-revealed-california.html Ecology Tue, 15 Oct 2019 00:00:01 EDT news490262186 We usually think of a species as being reproductively isolated—that is, not mating with other species in the wild. Occasionally, however, closely related species do interbreed. New research just published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances documents the existence of a previously undiscovered hybrid zone along the coast of northern California and southern Oregon, where two closely related bird hummingbirds, Allen's Hummingbird and Rufous Hummingbird, are blurring species boundaries. Researchers hope that studying cases such as this one could improve their understanding of how biodiversity is created and maintained. https://phys.org/news/2019-09-scientists-previously-unknown-hybrid-zone.html Ecology Tue, 17 Sep 2019 00:00:01 EDT news487848235 Animals that do well in urban areas tend to be the ones that learn to make use of resources such as the food humans throw away. But is our food actually good for them? A new study published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications suggests that a diet of human foods such as discarded cheeseburgers might be giving American Crows living in urban areas higher blood cholesterol levels than their rural cousins. https://phys.org/news/2019-08-urban-high-cholesterol-crows.html Ecology Mon, 26 Aug 2019 02:47:43 EDT news486006454 When the Northern Spotted Owl was protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1990, the primary threat to the species was the loss of the old-growth forest it depends on. However, new research published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications shows that the Northern Spotted Owl population in Washington's Mount Rainier National Park has declined sharply in the past two decades despite the long-term preservation of habitat within the park. The culprit? The spread of Barred Owls, a closely related, competing species that has moved into Spotted Owls' range from the east. https://phys.org/news/2019-08-habitat-endangered-owls-decline-mount.html Ecology Thu, 08 Aug 2019 00:00:01 EDT news484404967 Fire is a natural part of western forests, but the changing nature of fire in many parts of North America may pose challenges for birds. One bird in particular, the Black-backed Woodpecker, specializes in using recently-burned forests in western North America, but like humans looking for a new family home, it's picky about exactly where it settles. New research published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications suggests that these birds actually prefer to nest near the edges of burned patches—and these edges are getting harder to find as wildfires have become bigger and more severe. https://phys.org/news/2019-08-mega-fires-extreme-bird.html Ecology Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:03 EDT news484241670 The latest supplement to the American Ornithological Society's checklist of North and Middle American birds is being published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, and it includes several major updates to the organization of the continent's bird species. The official authority on the names and classification of the region's birds, the checklist is consulted by birdwatchers and professional scientists alike and has been published since 1886. https://phys.org/news/2019-06-additions-deletions-north-american-birds.html Ecology Mon, 24 Jun 2019 10:08:43 EDT news480589716 Many of North America's migratory songbirds, which undertake awe-inspiring journeys twice a year, are declining at alarming rates. For conservation efforts to succeed, wildlife managers need to know where they go and what challenges they face during their annual migration to Latin America and back. For a new study published by The Condor: Ornithological Applications, researchers in six states assembled an unprecedented effort to track where Prothonotary Warblers that breed across the eastern U.S. go in winter—their "migratory connectivity"—and found that nearly the entire species depends on a relatively small area in Colombia threatened by deforestation and sociopolitical changes. https://phys.org/news/2019-06-reveals-key-declining-songbird.html Ecology Wed, 19 Jun 2019 00:00:01 EDT news480073960 Crane species are declining around the world, and lethal collisions with power lines are an ongoing threat to many crane populations. Current techniques for marking power lines and making them more visible to cranes aren't always effective, but new research published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications shows that adding UV lights—to which many birds are sensitive—can cut crane collisions with power lines by 98%. https://phys.org/news/2019-05-uv-power-lines-sandhill-cranes.html Ecology Mon, 06 May 2019 03:10:15 EDT news476331004 In years when winter conditions are especially harsh, birds that depend on conifer seeds for food are sometimes forced to leave their homes in northern forests and wander far from their normal ranges to find enough to eat. A new study published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances uses citizen science data to show for the first time that these winter movements—called "irruptions"—lead to a decline in birds' population density in their breeding range the following summer, suggesting that irrupting birds succumb to the difficulties of avoiding predators and finding food in unfamiliar landscapes. https://phys.org/news/2019-04-songbirds-price-winter.html Ecology Mon, 15 Apr 2019 03:40:04 EDT news474518398 In the world's temperate regions, proximity to roads usually reduces the reproductive success of birds, thanks to predators that gravitate toward habitat edges. However, the factors affecting bird nest success are much less studied in the tropics—so does this pattern hold true? New research published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications shows that interactions between roads, nesting birds, and their predators may unfold differently in Southeast Asia. https://phys.org/news/2019-01-road-proximity-boost-songbird-success.html Ecology Tue, 29 Jan 2019 02:34:54 EST news467951684 The two seabird species unique to Hawaii, Newell's Shearwaters and Hawaiian Petrels, are the focus of major conservation efforts—at risk from habitat degradation, invasive predators, and other threats, their populations plummeted 94% and 78% respectively between 1993 and 2013. However, a new study in The Condor: Ornithological Applications offers hope of previously undetected colonies of these birds on the island of Oahu, from which they were believed to have vanished by the late 1700s. https://phys.org/news/2019-01-oahu-populations-hawaiian-seabirds.html Ecology Tue, 22 Jan 2019 02:25:08 EST news467346298 The Hawaiian Islands are home to a range of unique, endangered bird species. Many waterbirds such as the Hawaiian Coot and Hawaiian Gallinule have been recovering in recent decades thanks to intensive wetland management, but past declines have left them with reduced genetic diversity. A new study from The Condor: Ornithological Applications looks at what the birds' genes can tell us about their behavior today and finds that one species' lack of wanderlust may be putting it at greater risk. https://phys.org/news/2018-10-homebody-tendencies-hawaiian-gallinules.html Ecology Wed, 24 Oct 2018 09:00:06 EDT news459588017 Aerial insectivores—birds that hunt for insect prey on the wing—are declining across North America. Conserving vulnerable species such as these requires a good understanding of the factors impacting them at every stage of life. Juveniles and adults, for example, may face different threats and die at different rates. Two new studies from The Condor: Ornithological Applications take a deep dive into the demographic factors behind declining populations of Tree Swallows and show that although specifics may vary between locations, action is needed to address environmental changes affecting these birds across their geographic range. https://phys.org/news/2018-10-root-long-term-tree-swallow-declines.html Ecology Wed, 17 Oct 2018 11:00:02 EDT news458989656 In 2017, researchers working in the Ecuadorian Andes stumbled across a previously unknown species of hummingbird—but as documented in a new study published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, its small range, specialized habitat, and threats from human activity mean the newly described Blue-throated Hillstar is likely already critically endangered. https://phys.org/news/2018-09-newly-hummingbird-species-critically-endangered.html Ecology Wed, 26 Sep 2018 09:00:01 EDT news457164035 Central Africa's Albertine Rift region is a biodiversity hotspot consisting of a system of highlands that spans six countries. Recent studies have shown that the population of sooty bush-shrikes occupying the region's mid-elevation forests is a distinct species, and new research from The Condor: Ornithological Applications reveals that this newly discovered species may already be endangered due to pressure from agricultural development. https://phys.org/news/2018-09-newly-african-bird-species.html Ecology Wed, 19 Sep 2018 11:29:39 EDT news456575372 The adoption of "silvopastures"—incorporating trees into pastureland—can provide habitat for forest bird species and improve connectivity in landscapes fragmented by agriculture. But how do silvopastures measure up to natural forest habitat? New research from The Condor: Ornithological Applications shows that birds in silvopasture forage less efficiently than those in forest fragments but offers suggestions for how silvopasture habitat could be improved. https://phys.org/news/2018-09-silvopastures-bird.html Ecology Wed, 19 Sep 2018 11:27:25 EDT news456575238 Fledging behavior—when and why baby birds leave the nest—is something scientists know very little about. Rarely is someone watching a nest at just the right moment to see fledging happen. To get around this, the researchers behind a new study from The Auk: Ornithological Advances deployed miniature video cameras to monitor over 200 grassland bird nests in Alberta, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and they found that fledglings' decision-making process is more complex than anyone guessed. https://phys.org/news/2018-09-mini-video-cameras-peek-hard-to-observe.html Ecology Wed, 12 Sep 2018 09:00:01 EDT news455945217 Animals' lives tend to follow a quicker tempo as they get farther from the equator—birds at more northern latitudes mature faster, start reproducing younger, and live shorter lives, probably as a way of dealing with seasonal variation in resources. A new study from The Auk: Ornithological Advances shows for the first time that this pattern also plays out in birds' feathers, with northern birds completing their annual molt faster to keep up with the demands of life far from the tropics. https://phys.org/news/2018-09-fast-die-young-lifestyle-birds.html Ecology Wed, 05 Sep 2018 09:00:02 EDT news455343901 Aerial insectivores—birds that hunt for insect prey on the wing—are declining across North America as agricultural intensification leads to diminishing insect abundance and diversity in many areas. A new study from The Condor: Ornithological Applications looks at how Tree Swallows' diets are affected by agriculture and finds that while birds living in cropland can still find their preferred prey, they may be working harder to get it. https://phys.org/news/2018-08-agriculture-affect-vulnerable-insect-eating-birds.html Ecology Wed, 29 Aug 2018 09:00:03 EDT news454738774 Knowing approximately how many individuals of a certain species are out there is important for bird conservation efforts, but raw data from bird surveys tends to underestimate bird abundance. The researchers behind a new paper from The Condor: Ornithological Applications tested a new statistical method to adjust for this and confirmed several mathematical tweaks that can produce better population estimates for species of conservation concern. https://phys.org/news/2018-08-boreal-birds.html Ecology Wed, 29 Aug 2018 09:00:03 EDT news454738830