New Atlas

Robotics Audio available

Hummingbird robot could hover, search and rescue

Michael Irving May 13, 2019

The hummingbird's ability to hover and make sharp turns could teach drones a thing or two. Now researchers at Purdue University have managed to do just that, building a hummingbird-inspired drone and teaching it to fly using algorithms trained on the birds’ natural flight patterns.

Purdue University researchers have developed a robotic hummingbird that can pull off the real thing's characteristic ...

Biology Audio available

Extinct bird resurrected as evolution starts over again

Michael Irving May 12, 2019

Evolution helps life adapt to new environments – and now scientists have uncovered a rare occasion where it got a second chance. About 136,000 years ago, a flightless bird on an island in the Indian Ocean was wiped out, only to re-evolve itself back into existence tens of thousands of years later.

The white-throated rail twice colonized the island of Aldabra and twice evolved to become flightless

Science Audio available

Batwinged, feathered dinosaur was a weird, failed experiment in flight

Michael Irving May 8, 2019

Like the Wright Brothers, evolution didn’t get flight exactly right the first time. It takes experimentation to find the best design, and now palaeontologists have found one of nature’s quirky side projects – a strange dinosaur that was covered in feathers but had leathery bat-like wings.

Ambopteryx longibrachium is a strange new species of dinosaur that sported bat-like wings and feathers

Science Audio available

Robot dinosaurs help unlock the evolution of flight

Michael Irving May 3, 2019

On the timeline of the evolution of flight in birds, gliding seems like a logical first step. But new research suggests that some species could have made the jump straight to flapping flight without a gliding phase in the meantime, which could force a rewrite of our understanding of avian evolution.

A robotic Caudipteryx demonstrates how a running motion may have caused the proto-wings to flap, eventually ...

Architecture

Egg-shaped observatory is for the birds

Adam Williams April 26, 2019

Resembling an oversized egg in a nest, the Tij (or Tide) is a bird observatory in the Netherlands designed by Dutch firm RAU Architects. The novel building is made from sustainably-sourced wood and can be disassembled and moved with relative ease if required.

Tij was delivered by boat in roughly 400 pieces and assembled on site

Science

Special camera simulates birds' color vision

Ben Coxworth January 23, 2019

Have you ever wondered what the world looks like to birds? Well, Swedish scientists have created a camera that will show you. Amongst other things, it has revealed that birds see tree foliage as much more than just a uniform "wall of green."

Unlike humans, birds can perceive ultraviolet light

Materials Audio available

Feather-inspired tech may give Velcro a run for its money

Ben Coxworth January 16, 2019

For decades, when people have wanted to stick two things together but later pull them back apart, Velcro has been the answer. In the future, however, the material may get some competition from bird feather-inspired technology.

A feather's barbs are pulled apart, in a manner that was replicated using large-scale 3D-printed models

Drones Audio available

Nest-site-spotting drones may be a nightjar's best friend

Ben Coxworth December 18, 2018

The European nightjar is a protected species in the UK, so when forestry or construction work is planned to take place in their habitat, ecologists first need to check for nesting sites. A new study suggests that drones could make the task much easier, and do a better job at spotting the birds.

The European nightjar, which blends in nicely with its surroundings

Science Audio available

Fluffy pterosaurs push evolution of feathered friends back 70 million years

Michael Irving December 17, 2018

A new study paints pterosaurs as far cuddlier creatures than we might have thought. According to an international team of palaeontologists, pterosaurs were covered in no less than four different types of feathers, pushing back the origin of this bodily covering by about 70 million years.

An artist's reconstruction of a feathered pterosaur

Science Audio available

RFID tech may tell us if hummingbird feeders are really a good idea

Ben Coxworth December 14, 2018

While it's kind of people to set up hummingbird feeders in their back yards, some scientists are wondering if the practise may be causing more harm than good. In an effort to better understand the issue, researchers equipped a group of the birds with tags that were read by devices at feeders.

A male Anna's hummingbird, which is commonly found along the California coast