Collaborate Disseminate
Debate is raging about whether pterosaurs, flying reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs, had feathers or not. Two years ago a study claimed to have found fossil evidence of “protofeathers” on pterosaurs, but now another team claims the evidence d… Continue reading Did pterosaurs have feathers? Scientific debate takes flight in new study
One of the most persistent scientific mysteries over the past century has been exactly how some organisms seemingly have the ability to sense the Earth’s magnetic field. Despite several hypotheses, and a large volume of research, there is still no conc… Continue reading Bacteria helps animals sense the Earth’s magnetic field, study speculates
Launched in 2014 the Bird Photographer of the Year has quickly grown to be one of the world’s strongest bird photography contests. This year’s magnificent selection of winning images offers a deeply diverse assortment of shots, from an evocatively impr… Continue reading The top-flight winners of the 2020 Bird Photographer of the Year
If you saw a finch one time, chances are you’d have great difficulty picking it out from a large group of finches later on. A new artificial intelligence-based system can do just that, though, potentially making life much easier for both biologists and… Continue reading Bird-identifying AI could put an end to leg bands
Robotics researchers regularly turn to the natural world for inspiration, and those working on machines that fly are no different. An international team of scientists has taken this approach to produce a bird-inspired drone with flapping wings that can… Continue reading Flapping drone takes inspiration from swifts to duck, dive and glide
New research shows that the Andean condor is capable of soaring more than 100 mi (160 km) without flapping its wings. The research, led by Professor Emily Shepard of Swansea University and Dr. Sergio Lambertucci of the Universidad Nacional del Comahue in Argentina, indicates that the world’s heaviest soaring bird, which weighs up to 15 kg (33 lb), only flaps its wings one percent of the time it’s in flight.
Tags: Swansea University, Birds
Continue reading Study finds Andean condors can soar 100 miles without flapping
From over 6,000 submissions the National Audubon Society awarded its annual prize for best bird photography to an incredible shot from skilled underwater photographer Joanna Lentini. The image shows a cormorant diving into a school of sardines in the h… Continue reading The best of the birds in the 2020 Audubon Photography Awards
Researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) College of Agricultural Sciences have found that a bird deterrent called a “flapper” could significantly reduce the number of our feathered friends being killed by colliding with power lines.Continue Reading… Continue reading Power line “flappers” prove best deterrent for preventing bird deaths
Climate change threatens to shake up the lifestyles of many animals around the world and a new study has revealed that for the American robin these wheels are already very much in motion. Scientists tagged the songbirds with GPS units to track their mi… Continue reading American robins head north sooner due to Arctic snow melting earlier
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. Called Oculudentavis khaungraae, it was … Continue reading Hummingbird-sized dinosaur skull preserved in 99-million-year-old amber