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cooperative breeding in redstarts

Birds from two different species raise chicks together in one nest

12 July 2023

A pair of common redstarts and a pair of black redstarts were seen brooding in the same nest in Italy – a kind of cooperative breeding that has never been documented before


Birds are using anti-bird spikes to make their nests

11 July 2023

Magpies and crows have been seen making nests using spikes placed on buildings to deter birds from nesting


Cooks petrel

Threatened seabirds are foraging at plastic pollution hotspots

4 July 2023

Location trackers show migratory seabirds spend much of their time looking for food near ocean garbage patches, highlighting the need for action on pollution


Brain activity 'barcodes' may be linked to specific memories in birds

17 June 2023

Neural recordings from chickadees have found unique patterns of activity that occur when they hide food and then retrieve it later, and they may represent how memories are indexed in the brain


The hunt for the South Island kōkako, New Zealand’s long-lost bird

19 May 2023

The last accepted sighting of the South Island kōkako was in 1967, and it was declared extinct in 2007 – but a potential sighting that same year led to its reclassification, and a charitable trust set up to find it has been searching for the bird ever...


Gannets' blue eyes turn black after an infection with bird flu

4 May 2023

Black irises have been spotted in gannets that test positive for bird flu antibodies, suggesting they are an indicator that the seabirds have survived an infection with the virus


Bird flu has killed 20 critically endangered California condors

26 April 2023

A recent outbreak of avian flu has killed 7 per cent of the wild population of California condors, and officials are bracing for the virus’ spread


Zebra finches pick singing coaches based on songs they hear as embryos

15 April 2023

The songs that Australian zebra finches hear before they have hatched influence which birds they choose as singing instructors when growing up


Namaqua sandgrouse (Pterocles namaqua) in flight, Namib desert, Namibia, South Africa

Sandgrouse have a special trick for carrying water to their fledglings

11 April 2023

High-resolution imagery has revealed that sandgrouse have tightly coiled filaments in their feathers that unfurl when wet, allowing them to trap water like a sponge for transport


Ancient droppings may help save kakapo parrots from extinction

6 April 2023

The kakapo, a flightless parrot, only survives on a few predator-free islands in New Zealand – but preserved faeces could inform the search for new habitats


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