Songbirds may have 'borrowed' DNA to fuel migration

A common songbird may have acquired genes from fellow migrating birds in order to travel greater distances, according to a University of British Columbia study published this week in the journal Evolution.

Birds' good vibrations power mini backpacks

Birds that yield good vibration provide motion excitation ... for engineers: As Earth warms, birds may be changing their migratory patterns. But to obtain avian data, scientists need in-flight tracking sensors – and those ...

Pigeons fly home with a map in their heads

It is a fascinating phenomenon that homing pigeons always find their way home. A doctoral student in biology at the University of Zurich has now carried out experiments proving that pigeons have a spatial map and thus possess ...

Migratory birds don't train for migrations

If you were minded to run a marathon, you probably wouldn't attempt it without any training whatsoever. Yet, scientists have discovered that this is exactly what barnacle geese do before they set off on their epic migrations.

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