Loose Feathers #565

Dark-eyed Junco / Photo by Bill Thompson/USFWS

Birds and birding news

• A paleontologist has found the oldest example of an avian syrinx (or voice box) preserved in the fossilized remains of the extinct waterfowl species Vegavis iaai, which lived near the end of the Cretaceous.
• Western Europe has had an influx of Siberian Accentors in the past week or so, including Britain's first record in Shetland.
• A pigment in the berries of some invasive honeysuckle plants dye the feathers of some Yellow-shafted Flickers so they appear red or orange instead of the usual yellow. 
• A California Condor chick has hatched and fledged at Pinnacles National Park for the first time since the 1890s.
• The ABA released this year's Birder's Guide to Listing & Taxonomy, which includes notes on recent taxonomic updates and recommendations for seeing every bird family. 
• The Lesser Prairie-Chicken deal may not be the conservation victory that its backers proclaimed.
• Even the small populations of Florida Scrub-Jays are important for maintaining genetic diversity.
• Scotland's sea eagle population is expected to double in the next ten years if current trends continue. 
• Genetic research shows that the South Hills Red Crossbill has kept its sedentary population distinct even though other Red Crossbills frequently travel through the area. 
• The populations of many songbirds and seabirds are shrinking rapidly.
• The migration behavior of Blue Tits is connected to their energy needs and willingness to explore.
• Here is a photo gallery of North American nuthatches.

Science and nature blogging

• Extinction Countdown: 1 Endangered Beetle Species Gets Protected, 2 More Go Extinct
• The Speckled Hatchback: Post #78 The HUGE thrill of finding rare birds
• Anything Larus: Nelson's Gull - A Muddy Hybrid?
• Shorebirder: Hybrid Barnacle x Canada Goose 
• Dan Tallman’s Bird Blog: Red-breasted Nuthatch
• The Meadowlands Nature Blog: Spectacular Swamp Sparrow 
• North Coast Diaries: Lapland Longspurs
• Outside My Window: Similar Sapsuckers
• The Dragonfly Woman: National Moth Week, As Seen From My Backyard
• jonsblog2016: Birding Piney Hollow – part 1 

Environment and biodiversity

• This year had the ninth-warmest September across the Lower-48 states; the same area has not had a cooler-than-average September since 2005.
• Even as US presidential debates have avoided the subject of climate change, the world permanently passed the 400ppm threshold for atmospheric carbon dioxide.
• Expanding fracking is incompatible with reducing fossil fuel emissions, even if political leaders talk about it as a "bridge fuel."
• Fracking threatens native wildflowers in Western Australia because of habitat disturbance and climate change.
• A recent study found that jumping spiders can hear sounds such as predators or potential prey at a distance. 
• Storms producing flooding like the NYC area saw during Hurricane Sandy could become more frequent as the climate warms and sea levels rise. 
• Bees in the Arctic are understudied but could provide information on how climate change is affecting insect populations.
• Indigenous communities have played a vital role in environmental activism.