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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: birds

birds stories: 45 news summaries

1 - 20 of 45 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

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GONE TO THE BIRDS


 Breadcrumb Latest 
 Speed Bump 
 for Collider 

$8B science project sidetracked by 'bit of baguette'

Nov 6, 09 6:29 AM CST
(Newser) - The enormous science project buried beneath the France-Switzerland border has seen all kinds of detours in its search for the so-called “God particle”—busted vacuum tubes, al-Qaeda moles—so the latest might not be a huge surprise: A piece of bread dropped by a bird onto an outdoor... More »

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bread • France • birds • Switzerland • Large Hadron Collider • Higgs boson • God particle

 Sore Throat May 
 Have Axed T Rex 

Trichomonosis still affects modern birds and makes eating almost impossible

Sep 29, 09 12:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Tyrannosaurus rex could have been laid low not by a planetwide dinosaur holocaust or vicious infighting, but by a parasite that still affects modern birds. Researchers have taken a close look at lesions on T. rex fossils once presumed to be battle scars and concluded that they are the work... More »

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birds • paleontology • starvation • infection • extinction • parasite • T. rex • Tyrannosaurus rex • feeding • trichomonosis

 Oldest Feathered 
 Dino Found 
 in China 

Dinosaur is earliest known feathered species, may have flown on four wings

Sep 25, 09 5:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - A fossilized creature found in northern China puts an end to any controversy over whether birds descended from dinosaurs, say Chinese scientists. The dinosaur, who lived some 10 million years before Archaeopteryx, is the oldest feather species ever discovered. The feathers cover its arms, tail, and also its feet, leading... More »

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China • evolution • birds • paleontology • dinosaur • feather


 Exxon Admits 
 Killing Birds, 
 Will Pay  
 $600K  

Company fined $600K over deaths of protected birds

Aug 14, 09 8:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Exxon has pleaded guilty in federal court and agreed to pay $600,000 in fines over the deaths of dozens of birds at its drilling and production facilities, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 85 birds, including owls, waterfowl, and hawks, died after being exposed to hydrocarbons at Exxon's natural... More »

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Exxon • birds • hydrocarbon • US Fish and Wildlife Service • wildlife • environmental offenses • Exxon Mobil

19 Men Busted in
Canary Fight Ring


Jul 27, 09 3:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Police busted 19 men suspected of operating a canary fight ring in Connecticut, reports WFSB TV. Some 150 canaries and saffron finches were confiscated in Shelton. “There were 100 canaries fighting, and they were betting on them 'til they were dead. It’s absolutely shocking,” said a neighbor.... More »

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crime • police • gambling • birds • Connecticut • cockfighting • roosters • canaries

 Toucan's Beak Really 
 Outsized Thermostat 

Toucans control blood flow to outsized bill to raise or lower body temperature

Jul 23, 09 3:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - New research reveals an unexpected use for the toucan’s outsized bill, Wired reports. Thermal imaging shows that the bird can regulate its body temperature by increasing or restricting blood flow to its beak. “Bird bills are not ‘dead tissues’ incapable of playing a role in heat balance,... More »

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birds • blood flow • scientific study • bill • toucan • body temperature • beak • thermal imaging

(Newser) - Colombia’s guerrilla forces have suffered major setbacks in recent years, and bird lovers are singing a happy tune, the Wall Street Journal reports. Last month saw the return of Steven Hilty, the man who literally wrote the book on Colombian bird watching, after a more than 20-year absence. Another... More »

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birds • Colombia • FARC • guerrilla groups • exotic birds • bird watching • Steven Hilty

 Lovey-Dovey 
 Hummers 
 Faster Than 
 Jet Fighters 

Courtship dive involves G-forces that would make stunt pilots swoon

Jun 10, 09 2:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - The courtship dive of an American species of hummingbird involves speeds that—relative to its size—outpace even fighter jets at full throttle, the Independent reports. Researchers discovered that the male Anna's hummingbird moves 383 times its body length each second as it swoops, creating G-forces strong enough to make... More »

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fighter jet • birds • wildlife • hummingbird

(Newser) - Mockingbirds recognize humans who have threatened their nests and single them out to dive bomb even days later, scientists have discovered. When a population of urban birds monitored by researchers spotted a previously threatening human, they screeched and set off to harass the person with swooping dives, at times grazing... More »

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birds

 Smuggler Busted 
 With Birds Bound to Legs 

Droppings tip off feds to Vietnamese bird-smuggling racket

May 6, 09 7:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Two men have been charged with conspiracy to smuggle songbirds from Vietnam after one of them was found with the cheepers strapped to his legs, TMZ reports. Inspectors at Los Angeles International Airport stopped a man with his shoes covered in bird droppings and discovered he had 14 live birds... More »

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birds • Los Angeles International Airport • songbird • smuggling • Sony Dong

 Bird Culture Innate: Study 

Isolated finches develop the same song over time

May 4, 09 2:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - DNA may carry the blueprint for culture, a study of zebra finches has revealed. When raised in isolation, the birds' complex mating song—usually taught by male elders—develops into a harsh clamor. But as their offspring learn the song, they tweak it slightly and recreate the melody within a... More »

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birds • DNA • human evolution • scientific study • Zebra finch

(Newser) - Yes, it's an actual study: Parrots can dance. Really and truly dance. A painstaking review of lab video—and YouTube—revealed that the birds have rhythm, the Boston Globe reports. Frame-by-frame analysis of birds’ motion to music shows that they bob and weave in perfect sync to a beat,... More »

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YouTube • birds • dancing • Brandeis • parrot • scientific study • rhythm • Harvard University

ANALYSIS

 All Flu Is Bird Flu: Scientists 

... even swine flu

Apr 28, 09 3:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - People, pigs, and birds aren’t alone in their influenza woes. Horses, whales, and seals catch the virus, but scientists think all flu is actually avian flu, explains Brian Palmer in Slate. Birds carry each of the 144 types of influenza, which is able to jump species by mutating to... More »

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science • birds • avian flu • influenza • swine flu • pigs

$40K Reward Offered for Condor Shooter

Green groups hire private eye to probe California attack

Apr 10, 09 4:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Environmental groups probing the shotgun shooting of two California condors have hired a private eye and raised $40,500 in reward money for information leading to the culprits, the Los Angeles Times reports. The condors—two of just 81 in California and 322 in the world—were found last month... More »

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endangered species • California • birds • private investigator • Condor

(Newser) - The female Gouldian finch can control the sex of her egg to produce the strongest possible offspring, the BBC reports. The species comes in two head colors, red and black, and same-color mates are more compatible. If a female finds herself with a different color mate, her offspring will be... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Australia • birds • eggs • scientific study • sex bias • Gouldian finch • offspring • compatibility

 A Third of America's
Bird Species in Trouble


Development sending large numbers of native species into decline

Mar 20, 09 4:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Almost a third of America's bird species are in peril from habitat destruction and other threats, according to a federal report released yesterday. The study, which may spur the Obama administration to increase regulation in some areas to protect the animals, found that  67 of America's over 800 bird species... More »

MORE ABOUT:
endangered species • environment • conservation • birds • wildlife • threatened species • Obama administration

 Fossil Discovery 
 Hints Dinos Were 
 Warm and Fuzzy 

Feathers may have arisen with the earliest dinosaurs

Mar 19, 09 4:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - The evolutionary history of feathers just got a whole lot fuzzier, reports the BBC. A 130-million-year-old fossil has been found in China with “protofeathers,” leading scientists to believe that one of the two main families of dinosaurs—previously thought to have had scaly hides—may in fact have... More »

MORE ABOUT:
evolution • birds • paleontology • dinosaur

(Newser) - Researchers have tracked the migratory paths of songbirds for the first time, using small data-gathering “backpacks,” the Washington Post reports. The avian wanderers, who are so small they cannot be tagged with transmitters, move about 3 times as a fast as previously thought. The recovered data shows... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Brazil • birds • migration • United States • scientific study • songbird • electronic device

 Feds Find Birds 
 in Both Engines 

Investigation confirms pilot's story in Hudson River crash

Feb 4, 09 4:36 PM CST
(AP) - Federal safety officials say they've confirmed that there were birds in both engines of the US Airways airliner that landed safely in the Hudson River last month. Remains from both engines have been sent to Washington's Smithsonian Institution to have the particular bird species identified. Officials added that an engine... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FAA • New York • birds • plane crash • Hudson River • LaGuardia Airport • Flight 1549

 Black Box Reveals 
 Both Engines Failed 

Investigators postpone search for missing engine

Jan 19, 09 2:19 AM CST
(Newser) - Both engines on the airplane that crashed into the Hudson River last week lost power simultaneously at 3,200 feet, a clue from black box recorders for investigators still searching for the missing left engine, AP reports. Tugboats have begun hauling wreckage to New Jersey where it will be examined... More »

MORE ABOUT:
investigation • New York City • black box • birds • plane crash • Hudson River • airplane • engine failure • engine

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