Birds

Climate change threatens to shake up the lifestyles of many animals around the world and a new study involving GPS-tagged birds has revealed that for the American robin these wheels are already very much in motion.

A tiny, 99-million-year-old skull found in a piece of Burmese amber in Myanmar may not only be the smallest known dinosaur of the Mesozoic era, but it could also provide new insights into the evolution of birds.

With their bright plumage, North American coot chicks really stick out. A new study by UC Santa Cruz indicates that such coloration not only serves to get more food out of the parents, but also maximizes the bird's reproductive strategy.

Some birds make beautiful chirps and tweets. But the white bellbird blasts an obnoxious “song” so loud that it sounds almost digital. Now, researchers have measured just how ear-splitting it is – and crowned it the loudest bird call ever recorded.

Researchers from UT Southwestern implanted “memories” into the brains of zebra finches, teaching them to sing a song they’ve never actually heard.

A new study suggests that the total number of North American birds has declined by 29 percent since 1970.

Palaeontologists in New Zealand have now uncovered the remains of Heracles inexpectatus, an extinct giant parrot that would have stood hip-high to most people and packed a beak powerful enough to crack open pretty much whatever it wanted to.

Many animals adjust to changes in climate by shifting behaviors such as hibernation, reproduction and migration in order to optimize the continuation of the species. Unfortunately, a recent meta analysis of over 10,000 studies suggests these adaptations simply aren't happening quickly enough.

2019 marks the 10th year of the Audubon Photography Awards, and the introduction of two new prizes – the Plants for Birds Prize and the Fisher Prize. From over 8,000 entries from all over North America, the judges were tasked with choosing just six winners and four honorable mentions.

We know baby birds communicate, often loudly, and mostly about food, but a new study suggests they can also communicate with each other while still in the egg. This method of communication influences the behavioral and physiological traits of newly-hatched chicks from the same clutch of eggs.

An expedition to the “Lost City of the Monkey God” in Honduras has revealed a trove of natural treasures. The pristine forests house an incredibly rich ecosystem, including species new to science, some unknown in the area, some that haven’t been seen in decades and others that were believed extinct.

Generally speaking, the animals alive today are mere shadows of their former selves, and birds were no exception. In a Crimean cave, palaeontologists have uncovered the bones of some of the most gigantic birds to have ever walked the Earth, that would have lived alongside early European humans.