Crested pigeons use feathers to sound the alarm

Many animals will sound an alarm to alert other members of their group of impending danger. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology on November 9 have shown that crested pigeons do this in a surprisingly non-vocal way. ...

Flexible polymer opals

A synthetic material which mimics the brightest and most vivid colours in nature, and changes colour when twisted or stretched, has been developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, and could have important ...

Researchers document how broadbills make loud wing song

Broadbills - birds found in some parts of Africa - produce a startlingly loud sound that they make with their wings to mark off territory. Males fly abruptly in a tight circle, landing where they began, and produce a klaxon-like ...

Mystery of broadbills' wing song revealed

Waking up to the bubbling melody of a dawn chorus is one of life's simple pleasures, but not all birds indulge in vocal displays of virtuosity. Some, like hummingbirds, produce exotic buzzing sounds as their wing feathers ...

Mysterious feathered dinosaur was agile flyer

(Phys.org)—In 2003, a mysterious and surprising dinosaur was discovered that possessed not only wings on its arms but also long feathers on each leg forming a "hind wing." This was a completely new and unexpected body plan ...

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