birds

The broken-wing display, in which birds fake being wounded to protect their nests from predators, is found across the avian phylogenetic tree, a study finds.

Australians are resorting to increasingly drastic measures to keep cockatoos out of their garbage bins.

Many species of birds and other vertebrates form pair bonds and mate with just one other individual for much of their lives. But the unions don’t always work out. Scientists want to know the underlying factors.

The behavior is the first example of a mammal mimicking a more-dangerous species.

A study finds that dozens of bird species are nesting up to 25 days sooner each year than they were a century ago, likely due to climate change.

A research group argues that a species’ number of neurons, rather than brain volume, should serve as indicator of cognitive capacity when studying brain evolution, but some experts voice doubts.

It was the first time a bird has removed a tracking device, and the second time a bird species showed cooperative “rescue” behavior.

Moving collectively on the water surface could help protect schools of fish from being eaten by predatory birds.

A new study suggests that lighter colors may help these species stay cool on their long journeys, when birds are pushing themselves to their physiological limits.

Across the tree of life, animals use sound and other vibrations to glean valuable sensory information about their environments even before they are born.

Recent findings buck the traditional idea that embryos are passive agents and instead suggest that by tuning into vibrations, organisms can better prepare to enter the outside world.

Watch and listen to reptiles, amphibians, insects, and birds respond to sound from inside their eggs.

Genetic analyses uncover asexual reproduction by two female California condors despite access to fertile mates.

Research in recent decades has explored how animals other than humans perceive different numbers of objects

Leiden University’s Carel ten Cate tracked down 34-year-old duck recordings—and the man who made them—to verify that musk ducks are capable of vocal learning, an ability that hadn’t been thought to exist in waterfowl.

A detailed analysis of cryptochrome 4 shows that the protein is highly sensitive to magnetic fields in vitro, but some researchers dispute the authors’ assertion that the findings could help explain avian magnetoreception.

Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse.

The use of pesticides has decreased in the US by more than 40 percent since 1992, but the emergence of more-potent chemicals means that they are far more damaging to many species.

After a nearly 30-year hunt, researchers have shown that a neurotoxin generated by cyanobacteria on invasive plants is responsible for eagle and waterbird deaths from vacuolar myelinopathy.