Posts
Dunlin / Photo by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Birds and birding news
- Government agencies in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico have put together a bird identification tool called Dendroica that provides images and sound files for each of the species in North America. The taxonomy is a little behind (no split of Winter Wren?), and some species are sparsely represented. Otherwise it looks like a good learning tool. The site is soliciting contributions of image and sound files to fill in the gaps in coverage. (Note: registration is required to contribute.)
- The Great Snipe makes the fastest recorded long-distance, nonstop migration flights of any bird. Some birds cover over 4,000 miles in 96 consecutive hours, with an average speed of 50 mph. The longest known nonstop migration flight is a Bar-tailed Godwit that flew 7,145 miles in nine days, with an average speed of 35 mph.
- A study found that the closely-related Gray Vireo and Plumbeous Vireo alter their songs in different ways when they breed in noisy areas (like gas wells). Plumbeous Vireos shortened their songs and raised the pitch of the lowest parts, while Gray Vireos raised the pitch of the highest parts and sang longer songs.
- A British birder reports on his trip to see a Little Bustard.
- Even though the population of Philippine Eagles is reduced to a few hundred birds, people continue to trap them illegally. (For more on the Philippines, see also this unrelated post on an expedition to research biodiversity on Luzon.)
- A rare white Kiwi chick was born at New Zealand's national wildlife center.
- Seabirds on the coast of Scotland, particularly oystercatchers and eiders, have been recorded laying their eggs in other birds' nests. Unfortunately for the oystercatcher and eider chicks, their parents lay the eggs in the nests of gulls, which are more likely to eat the chick than raise it successfully.
- Gynandromorphs – birds appearing like males on one side of the body and females on the other – can arise due to a chromosome aberration.
- British researchers say that introduced Ring-necked Parakeets intimate other birds – such as Blue Tits and Great Tits – around bird feeders.
- Punctuated Equilibrium: Sparrows show us a new way to have sexes
- 10,000 Birds: A Fistful of British Bird Bloggers
- Sibley Guides: Distinguishing Interior West from Western Taiga White-crowned Sparrows
- Earbirding: Subsong vs. Whisper Song
- The Birder's Report: The American Avocet, A Striking Shorebird
- Birding Dude: Bahamas-banded Piping Plover Breeds in Queens
- Tetrapod Zoology: Birds vs planes II
- A giant water bug was photographed eating a baby turtle. Also, two beetle species, Epomis dejeani and Epomis circumscriptus, have been recorded preying on amphibians.
- The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs oversight subcommittee denies that climate change is happening but recommends clear-cutting rainforests to solve it.
- Meanwhile, in real climate science news, two glaciers in Greenland have lost enough volume in the last decade to fill Lake Erie. A third glacier actually gained mass, but its gain was tiny compared to the loss from the other two glaciers.
- A study of a forest in Massachusetts showed that a warmer climate would stimulate decay and thus release more carbon dioxide into the air, but it would also increase the capacity for trees to sequester carbon. The latter effect would not completely offset the additional carbon release.
- The EPA and NHTSA are introducing new fuel economy labels that will be required for new cars starting in the 2013 model year. The new labels will provide information on each model's fuel efficiency, annual fuel costs, pollutant emissions, and more. They will also include a QR code so buyers with smartphones can get more information.
- A biodiversity program announced its list of the top ten new species discovered in 2010.
- Greg Laden's Blog: Extinction rates have NOT been over-estimated
- Wanstead Birder: More things to do in June: Moths
- The Net Naturalist: Great Tools for Creating a Free Petition for Nature
