City life may help Darwin's finches survive bloodsucking flies
24 March 2023
In the Galapagos Islands, finches that live near cities have higher survival rates against parasitic flies than those who live in the country
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Premium
Male crossbills grow redder feathers when they exercise harder
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The red feathers of male crossbills are brighter in birds that find it more physically challenging to fly, suggesting exercise influences plumage colour
Ostrich necks act as a radiator to control their head temperature
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Infrared images of ostrich necks show that they help the birds keep their heads cool in warm temperatures, lowering their heat stress and helping them reproduce more successfully
Birds in the Amazon are adapting to climate change by getting smaller
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An analysis of 77 tropical bird species in the Amazon shows that all of them have shrunk and a third developed longer wings over the past 40 years
World's loudest male bird bellows at females sitting right next to it
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The loudest song of the white bellbird hits an average of 116 decibels, putting it on a par with a pile-driver and beating all previously documented birds
World’s largest parrot was a metre tall and lived 19 million years ago
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Palaeontologists working in New Zealand have discovered the first evidence of giant parrots, which they believe weighed 7 kilograms and lived 19 million years ago
Birds can thank attractive dinosaurs for their flight feathers
31 July 2019
Birds' feathers are so complicated that it was a mystery how they evolved. The answer might be a rare combination of natural and sexual selection
The evolution of Archaeopteryx is stranger than anyone imagined
29 May 2019
Winged Jurassic dinosaur Archaeopteryx was more than just an early ancestor of birds – fossils reveal it was an evolutionary wonder akin to Darwin's finches
Birds introduced to Hawaii have evolved rapidly in just decades
8 May 2019
Non-native birds are replacing Hawaii’s endemic species, adapting to new environments at a blistering pace of evolution on the island of O’ahu
The mummified penguins that hold the secrets of Antarctica's past
18 December 2018
Antarctica’s Adélie penguins nest on the well-preserved remains of their ancestors. All it takes is a trowel and a strong stomach to dig into their climate history
