The threats behind the plight of the puffin
Puffins are facing a perilous future. Population numbers have fallen sharply, and there are even fears the sea bird could be heading towards extinction within the next 100 years.
Jun 06, 2018
in
Birds play the waiting game in tough environmental conditions
Every animal's ultimate goal in life is to generate offspring to pass on its genetic material to the next generation. But sometimes, resources are scarce and the task of reproduction is too difficult or risky. If resources ...
Wintering warblers choose agriculture over forest
Effective conservation for long-distance migrants requires knowing what's going on with them year-round—not just when they're in North America during the breeding season. A new study from The Condor: Ornithological Applications ...
Team finds the movement behavior of an anole species to be more dynamic than previously thought
Anolis lizards have a thing or two to teach humans about love—or in scientific speak, sexual selection—at least when it comes to territoriality.
White cheeks are more titillating
Male blue tits with white cheeks are healthier and more likely to mate with higher quality partners than their counterparts with duller cheek feathers. Having purer white cheeks also indicates that a blue tit was better able ...
Bullfinches stick together for years
Scientists and many bird enthusiasts have long assumed that bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) mate for several years, and perhaps even for life.
House sparrow decline linked to air pollution and poor diet
Despite being well-adapted to urban life, house sparrow numbers are falling. A study in open-access journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution finds that compared to sparrows living in the country, urban-dwelling birds show ...
This dance is taken: Hundreds of male frog species change colors around mating time
Some of nature's most vibrant colors occur in frogs, who peek out from rainforests and marshes in startling shades of blue, yellow and red. But for hundreds of species, only males flaunt flashy colors—and sometimes only ...
The shark network—exposing the social lives of sharks
Researchers have shown for the first time that sharks show very strong preferences for particular individuals in their social networks over years and prefer to hang out with other individuals of the same sex and size, in ...
Penguin forensics: Tracking the winter whereabouts of penguins by analyzing tail feathers
Knowing where and how Antarctic penguins, and other seabirds and marine predators, migrate is critical for conservation efforts. Although electronic tracking devices have helped scientists track marine animals' migration ...
