News tagged with birds
Related topics: species · predators · bird species · climate change · dinosaurs
Computer scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in collaboration with biologists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, recently announced in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution a new, predictive model ...
Study shows that eggshells of large, flightless birds evolved along different tracks
Molecular analysis of the eggshell structure of large flightless birds such as ostriches and emus provides new insights into how they evolved.
Songbird species work together to mob predator owls, but only strike when the time is right
Fleeing isn't the only way by which songbirds can protect themselves against predators. Many songbird species are known to engage in mobbing, where they gather aggressively around a bird of prey, flying rapidly while making ...
Polygamous birds shown to have fewer harmful mutations
Bird species that breed with several sexual partners have fewer harmful mutations, according to a study led by the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath. The study, published in Evolution, shows for the first ...
Avian flu could decimate Australian black swans
The unique genetics of the Australian black swan leaves the species vulnerable to viral illnesses such as avian flu, University of Queensland research has revealed.
DNA from domesticated chickens is tainting genomes of wild red junglefowl, finds study
The red junglefowl—the wild ancestor of the chicken—is losing its genetic diversity by interbreeding with domesticated birds, according to a new study led by Frank Rheindt of the National University of Singapore published ...
Study shows clever birds need caring parents
Brains are key organs because they make sense of the world and help us successfully navigate through our lives. While all animals have brains, some species have rather large brains relatively to their body size—and this ...
Biodiversity safeguards bird communities under changing climate, shows study
Climate change has undisputable global effects on ecosystems and ecological community compositions, but why certain communities are better able to resist the effects of climate change than others remains unclear. In a recent ...
Migrating birds: Disturbances in magnetic field suspected when birds go astray
It seems logical enough that bad weather can sometimes cause birds to become disoriented during their annual fall migrations—causing them to wind up in territory they're unaccustomed to. But why, even when weather is not ...
Fossils reveal prehistoric Patagonian dinosaurs
A study led by The University of Texas at Austin is providing a glimpse into dinosaur and bird diversity in Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous, just before the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct.
Paleontology & Fossils
About two dozen - see section below
Birds (class Aves) are winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the 5 cm (2 in) Bee Hummingbird to the 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) Ostrich. The fossil record indicates that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic period, around 150–200 Ma (million years ago), and the earliest known bird is the Late Jurassic Archaeopteryx, c 155–150 Ma. Most paleontologists regard birds as the only clade of dinosaurs that survived the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event approximately 65.5 Ma.
Modern birds are characterised by feathers, a beak with no teeth, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a lightweight but strong skeleton. All birds have forelimbs modified as wings and most can fly, with some exceptions including ratites, penguins, and a number of diverse endemic island species. Birds also have unique digestive and respiratory systems that are highly adapted for flight. Some birds, especially corvids and parrots, are among the most intelligent animal species; a number of bird species have been observed manufacturing and using tools, and many social species exhibit cultural transmission of knowledge across generations.
Many species undertake long distance annual migrations, and many more perform shorter irregular movements. Birds are social; they communicate using visual signals and through calls and songs, and participate in social behaviours including cooperative breeding and hunting, flocking, and mobbing of predators. The vast majority of bird species are socially monogamous, usually for one breeding season at a time, sometimes for years, but rarely for life. Other species have breeding systems that are polygynous ("many females") or, rarely, polyandrous ("many males"). Eggs are usually laid in a nest and incubated by the parents. Most birds have an extended period of parental care after hatching.
Many species are of economic importance, mostly as sources of food acquired through hunting or farming. Some species, particularly songbirds and parrots, are popular as pets. Other uses include the harvesting of guano (droppings) for use as a fertiliser. Birds figure prominently in all aspects of human culture from religion to poetry to popular music. About 120–130 species have become extinct as a result of human activity since the 17th century, and hundreds more before then. Currently about 1,200 species of birds are threatened with extinction by human activities, though efforts are underway to protect them.