A database of 10,000 bird species shows how measurements of wings, beaks and tails can predict a species' role in an ecosystem.
Plants & Animals
Jan 13, 2020
1
516
Multilevel societies have, until now, only been known to exist among large-brained mammals including humans, other primates, elephants, giraffes and dolphins. Now, scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 4, 2019
0
2118
Birds come in an astounding array of shapes and colours. But it's their physical prowess—like a bald eagle's incredible ability to soar—that captivates human imagination.
Plants & Animals
Oct 23, 2019
0
288
Over 11 field seasons, between 1999 and 2010, ornithologist Cagan Sekercioglu trekked through the forests and coffee fields of Costa Rica to study how tropical birds were faring in a changing agricultural landscape. Through ...
Ecology
Apr 29, 2019
0
54
On the Hawaiian island of Oahu, it is possible to stand in a lush tropical forest that doesn't contain a single native plant. The birds that once dispersed native seeds are almost entirely gone too, leaving a brand-new ecological ...
Ecology
Apr 4, 2019
1
77
Scientists have reconstructed the tree of life for all major lineages of perching birds, also known as passerines, a large and diverse group of more than 6,000 species that includes familiar birds like cardinals, warblers, ...
Ecology
Apr 1, 2019
0
213
In the tropical jungle of Central America where predators abound, a species of cuckoo has found safety in numbers by building communal nests guarded by two or three breeding pairs.
Plants & Animals
Feb 27, 2019
0
199
The connection between bird diet and skull shape is surprisingly weak for most species according to a new study led by UCL and the Natural History Museum, rewriting our understanding of how ecosystems influence evolution.
Evolution
Feb 19, 2019
6
197
Most of the birds you've ever seen—sparrows, finches, robins, crows—have one crucial thing in common: they're all what scientists refer to as perching birds, or "passerines." The passerines make up about 6,500 of the ...
Archaeology
Feb 7, 2019
3
440
Some corners of the world teem with an extraordinary variety of life. Charles Darwin noted that: "The same spot will support more life if occupied by very diverse forms."
Ecology
Feb 6, 2019
0
31
