Loose Feathers #481

Darwin's Finches from Voyage of the Beagle (via Wikimedia)

Birds and birding

• A new genetic study of Darwin's finches found that the birds have a messy evolutionary history, with much hybridization among the various species. Among other things, the study found a genetic basis for the birds' diverse bill shapes and revealed three previously-undocumented species.
• The weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count. If you do your counts in the northeastern US, you will need to bundle up.
• Last year, India topped all other countries in the number of species submitted to the GBBC.
• A new study proposes splitting the Bahama Woodstar into two species.
• New proposals submitted to the AOU would split Northern Cardinal into six species and reorganize the Thraupidae, among other things.
• The critically endangered Araripe Manakin gets its first reserve.
• Migrating birds make morning flights if they drifted off-course at night.
• Black-headed Gulls are opportunists whose diets match what is available in their environment.
• Here is some discussion of how scientists count large flocks of birds.

Science and nature blogging

• The City Birder: My Birding Patch
• Bird Ecology Study Group: Olive-backed Sunbird - extra metallic plumage
• Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens: Less Honey Bee, More Native Bee
• Ohio Birds and Biodiversity: Rough-legged Hawk
• Anything Larus: Adult Nelson's Gull: Calumet River
• 10,000 Birds: The Most Interesting Gull in the World

Environment and biodiversity

• Despite some measures to limit plastic waste, around eight million metric tons of plastic still ends up in the ocean each year. The plastic waste collects in ocean gyres and is harmful to seabirds and other marine life.
• Global sea ice is still shrinking despite same gains around Antarctica.
• Europe had record wind power growth last year, with Germany in the lead.
• The USFWS announced a plant to increase habitat for Monarchs by planting milkweed along the butterfly's midwestern migration corridor. In addition to the federal effort, the Illinois Tollway Authority will plant milkweed along its roadways.
• The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail's genome has been sequenced, with an eye to the caterpillar's defense mechanisms.
• A few dozen beetles and stoneflies from Great Britain were recently classified as endangered.
• New Jersey lawmakers are stil trying to figure out how to divide the funds from the open space amendment that passed in November.
• Delaware River advocates want the USFWS to oversee management of the watershed.
• Yellowstone's elk population is the highest it has been in years. It had been in decline since wolves were reintroduced in the 1990s.