birds – News Stories About birds - Page 3

Sep 26, 2021 3:54 PM CDT

Quiet Cities Filled With Birdsong

Some species spread their wings during COVID lockdowns

(Newser) - When human activity receded in crowded areas during the pandemic lockdowns, some animals got a little bolder. And when the human-caused noise pollution in cities quieted down, birdsong filled in, a new study shows. The “anthropause,” the fancy new word for the dip in traffic and noise, left...

Good News on
Mysterious Illness That
Killed Thousands of Birds

Aug 23, 2021 12:01 AM CDT

Good News on Mysterious Illness That Killed Thousands of Birds

Deaths are subsiding enough that bird feeders, baths can be put back out

(Newser) - The mysterious illness that killed dozens of birds a day in some areas, causing their eyes to swell up and crust over and leading officials to ask residents to take down bird feeders and bird baths for fear they were helping the sickness to spread, appears to be over as...

A Bird Swoops
and a Baby Dies

Aug 10, 2021 10:20 AM CDT

A Bird Swoops and a Baby Dies

Magpie removed from Brisbane park after causing 5-month-old's fatal fall

(Newser) - The lord mayor of Brisbane, Australia, says the city has been "shocked to its absolute core" by the death of a 5-month-old girl, triggered by a bird attack. The mother was cradling the infant in her arms at a park on Sunday when a magpie—a protected bird known...

Clever Cockatoos Figure Out Trash Cans, Teach Each Other

Cockatoos Hold Classes In
Stealing From Trash Cans

Jul 24, 2021 11:45 AM CDT

Cockatoos Hold Classes In Stealing From Trash Cans

Researchers in Australia observed birds giving lessons in dumpster diving

(Newser) - A few years ago, a Sydney scientist noticed a sulfur-crested cockatoo opening his trash bin. Not every resident would be thrilled, but ornithologist Richard Major was impressed by the ingenuity. It’s quite a feat for a bird to grasp a bin lid with its beak, pry it open, then...

Birds With Swollen Eyes Are
Dropping Dead in 6 States, DC

Jun 24, 2021 9:15 AM CDT

Birds With Swollen Eyes Are Dropping Dead in 6 States, DC

Wildlife officials are trying to figure out what's afflicting hundreds of birds across US

(Newser) - At the end of May, wildlife managers in the District of Columbia and multiple mid-Atlantic states started fielding reports about hundreds of sick and dying birds, afflicted with eye and nerve issues that couldn't be explained. Now, the mystery illness has spread to the South and Midwest, and scientists...

Philly Turns Off Its Lights to
Save Birds From Violent Death

May 20, 2021 9:45 AM CDT

Philly Turns Off Its Lights to Save Birds From Violent Death

Migrating birds disoriented by bright lights have been smashing into city's buildings

(Newser) - It's migration time for North America's birds, with many already journeying north for their summer stay, and one US city has taken a seemingly unusual step to light our feathered friends' way: It's turning off its lights. About 20 buildings in Philadelphia are taking part in "...

'Poetic Justice'
for World's 'Most
Unfortunate-Looking Bird'

NEW STUDY

May 2, 2021 1:39 PM CDT

'Poetic Justice' for World's 'Most Unfortunate-Looking Bird'

Tawny frogmouth now deemed 'most Instagrammable bird,' thanks to its photogenic front-facing eyes

(Newser) - "What makes a great bird photo?" That was the main question of new research that sought the most photogenic bird in the world, and the top-ranking feathered friend isn't what anyone expected, notes the Hill . Per a study published April 22 in the i-Perception journal , the planet's...

Very Good News
for America's Symbol

Mar 25, 2021 11:15 AM CDT

Very Good News for America's Symbol

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland touts the 'importance of the Endangered Species Act'

(Newser) - The number of American bald eagles has quadrupled since 2009, with more than 300,000 birds soaring over the lower 48 states, government scientists said in a report Wednesday, according to the AP . The US Fish and Wildlife Service said bald eagles, the national symbol that once teetered on the...

Oldest Known Wild Bird
Offers Reason to Celebrate

Mar 5, 2021 11:32 AM CST

Oldest Known Wild Bird Offers Reason to Celebrate

Wisdom the albatross welcomes a chick at 70

(Newser) - She's a mom again at 70. Wisdom the Laysan albatross, considered the oldest known wild bird , has welcomed a new chick at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii, where more than a million albatross nest each year, per the Guardian . The chick that...

Nobody
Had Seen
One of These
in 170 Years

Mar 2, 2021 10:30 AM CST

Nobody Had Seen One of These in 170 Years

Black-browed babbler was feared to be extinct

(Newser) - It's not extinct, just very elusive. That's the takeaway from the discovery of a bird in Indonesia that has ornithologists downright emotional. The bird is the black-browed babbler, which hadn't been seen since the 1840s, reports Mongabay . Two men caught one in a Borneo rainforest and sent...

'Guerrillas' Try to Sway
Election, Bird Blows It for Them

Feb 9, 2021 8:11 AM CST

'Guerrillas' Try to Sway Election, Bird Blows It for Them

Attempt to influence Ecuador polls with fake 'guerrilla' vid fails after bird guide hears bird call

(Newser) - Nothing gets past an eagle-eyed, carefully listening ornithologist—not even a propaganda video meant to sway an election. Manuel Sanchez, a bird-watching guide based in Ecuador, was watching just such a video shared on social media, supposedly showing three armed left-wing men from Colombia's ELN guerrilla force deep in...

Raven's Disappearance Raises
an Old Legend in London

Jan 14, 2021 11:43 AM CST

Raven's Disappearance Raises an Old Legend in London

Merlina was queen of the roost at city's famed tower

(Newser) - It's not like Britain didn't have enough to worry about, given the surging pandemic and Brexit , but a missing raven has been added to the mix. The Tower of London announced the "really unhappy news" Wednesday that a beloved raven named Merlina hasn't been around for...

Australia to Kill US Pigeon
That Made It Across the Pacific

Jan 14, 2021 8:01 AM CST

Australia to Kill US Pigeon That Made It Across the Pacific

It considers the racing pigeon a quarantine threat

(Newser) - A racing pigeon has survived an extraordinary 8,000-mile Pacific Ocean crossing from the United States to find a new home in Australia. Now authorities consider the bird a quarantine risk and plan to kill it. Kevin Celli-Bird said Thursday he discovered that the exhausted bird that arrived in his...

Dinosaur Had Features
'Like Nothing Seen in Nature'

NEW STUDY

Dec 17, 2020 10:20 AM CST

Dinosaur Had Features 'Like Nothing Seen in Nature'

Flashy birds like the peacock descended from dinosaurs like this one

(Newser) - How bizarre were the features of a dinosaur that roamed modern-day Brazil some 110 million years ago? They're "like nothing I have seen in nature before," David Martill, lead author of a study of the creature , tells the Guardian . "There are plenty of other strange dinosaurs,...

Songbirds Change
Their Tune
During
Lockdown

NEW STUDY

Sep 25, 2020 11:53 AM CDT

Songbirds Change Their Tune During Lockdown

Sparrows sing 'sexier' songs as road traffic decreases

(Newser) - With fewer cars on the road because of the pandemic, birds no longer have to shout to be heard. The result? Softer, sweeter songs, say researchers in a new study at Science . More to the point, "sexier" songs, lead researcher Elizabeth Derryberry of the University of Tennessee tells AFP...

Masses of Migratory Birds
Are Dropping Dead

Masses of Migratory Birds Are Dropping Dead

Necropsies are underway in New Mexico

(Newser) - Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of birds are dropping dead in New Mexico, alarming biologists who suspect wildfires could be playing a role. A large number of migratory birds were found dead at the US Army White Sands Missile Range and White Sands National Monument on Aug. 20, before more...

After 'Strict Instructions' to
Stay Put, Rare Birds Disappear

Jul 9, 2020 2:49 PM CDT

After 'Strict Instructions' to Stay Put, Rare Birds Disappear

NZ experts working to reintroduce shore plovers are just a bit frustrated

(Newser) - A colony of rare birds has disappeared in New Zealand to the chagrin of scientists who required government approval to carefully transport the birds to a predator-free island in the midst of the pandemic. The shore plover, the world's rarest plover, is native to New Zealand, but was almost...

Spotify for Dogs
Is Now a Thing

Jan 15, 2020 6:29 PM CST

Spotify for Dogs Is Now a Thing

Music streaming service now offers podcasts, custom playlists for dogs, cats, and other pets

(Newser) - The real question is: Will the fish be able to hear it? If you've ever worried that your dog or cat might get lonely while you're at work, Spotify has come up with an official solution, per Reuters : pet-geared playlists and podcasts. After the company's research revealed...

A Parrot Experiment
Surprises Researchers

NEW STUDY

Jan 10, 2020 10:13 AM CST

A Parrot Experiment Surprises Researchers

African greys selflessly help other birds

(Newser) - Parrots help their friends, even when there's no chance of personal benefit, according to a study suggesting altruism is more common than thought in the animal kingdom. Indeed, African grey parrots were found to voluntarily help a neighbor get a food reward even as they went without. The behavior...

100 People, 2 Helicopters
Hunt for Very Special Dog

Dec 1, 2019 12:00 PM CST

100 People, 2 Helicopters Hunt for Very Special Dog

Flint, a rat-sniffer, got lost on an uninhabited island near New Zealand

(Newser) - If Flint ever wondered, he can't now: People love the heck out of him. The Jack Russell-fox terrier got lost Wednesday on an island between New Zealand and Antarctica and triggered two rescue missions—one lasting seven hours, the AP reports. The rat-sniffing canine, aged about 5, was on...