Loose Feathers #408

Gyrfalcon nestling / USFWS Photo

Birds and birding

• Birds on coffee plantations eat a troublesome coffee pest, thus making it economically worthwhile for the plantations to maintain nearby forests.
• Female juncos choose mates based on their smell.
• Three new bird species have been described from the Philippines, including a ground-warbler that can disguise its location while it sings.
• Female chickens can improve the genetic makeup of their offspring by mating with multiple males.
• A study found that specialists like the Mistletoe Bird only live where their food sources already exists and play little role in dispersing the food source to new areas.
• Emperor Penguins are able to dive as deep as 500m and can stay under water for 27 minutes.

Science and nature blogging

• Prairie Birder: Eskimo Curlew: A Sad Anniversary and a Warning to Heed 
• Invasivore: Alewife harvest in lake Michican
• 10,000 Birds: Soon to be an Armchair ABA Tick - Nutmeg Mannikin in California
• Earbirding: Long Calls of Gulls
• The Smaller Majority: A song of ancient Earth
• Compound Eye: To kill, or not to kill: the insect photographer’s question
• Greg Laden: Imperfect Storms: A Controversy In Climate Science
• Flickr Blog: Adventures in the Arctic Circle

Environment and biodiversity

• If you are in the New York City area this month, check out the American Museum of Natural History's moth exhibit.
• General aviation still uses leaded fuel, even though it is known to be a major health hazard.
• A new meta-analysis connects increased temperatures (or a warmer climate) with higher levels of violence.
• Humans are contributing to an increased risk of forest fires through climate change, which is making some areas hotter and drier, and through land management practices, which can affect precipitation levels and how much fuel is available.
• The massive Rim Fire in California was sparked by a hunter's illegal fire. The fire is coming close to the Stanislaus-Tuolumne Experimental Forest, which was created to research forest fire.
• Radiation levels around the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan are 18 times higher than was previously recorded because officials had been using the wrong tool to measure them.
• Homeowners and towns along New Jersey's shore are battling over whether to build artificial dunes to protect people's houses. Locations with dunes absorbed the brunt of Sandy with far less damage than the places without them.
• Here is an article on sharing the city with wild animals.
• A newly discovered electric fish generates electricity with a different system than other electric fish. 
• Eastern Red Cedars became more healthy thanks to the Clean Air Act, according to a study of long-term tree ring data. 
• A biological survey found five new species of bats in West Africa.