Perspective key to bowerbird sex
Deakin University biologists have found that males with the best visual trickery techniques are more successful at mating, for great bowerbirds that is.
Researchers within Deakin’s Centre for Integrative Ecology Professor John Endler and Dr Laura Kelley, with significant support from James Cook University, have been studying the male great bowerbird’s use of visual illusions in [...]
Vultures in India close to extinction because of cattle drug
Eric Randolph
DELHI // Vultures are on the verge of extinction in India because a banned drug is still being used illegally to treat suffering cattle.
The endangered birds eat the remains of the drugged animals and suffer kidney failure and visceral gout, which is usually fatal.
The drug was banned five years ago, but pharmacies continue to [...]
Longline fisheries continue to drive albatross decline
A new global estimate of the impact of longline fisheries on seabirds reveals that, despite efforts to reduce seabird deaths, upwards of 300,000 birds are still being killed every year.
The study by scientists from BirdLife International and the RSPB is published in the journal Endangered Species Research. It is a powerful reminder of how far [...]
Cockatoos’ family history revealed through DNA
Murdoch University researchers have used new DNA sequencing techniques to help give them a better understanding of how cockatoo species have evolved and how they fit together in a family tree.
Nicole White, who carried out the research, said some of the findings were surprising. For example, some species of cockatoo which look quite different were [...]
Biological clock ticks slower for female birds who choose good mates
How fast a female's fertility fades depends partly on her partners, says a new study of songbirds
IMAGE: Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus ogliastrae) are from the French island of Corsica.
Durham, NC — In birds as in people, female fertility declines with age. But some female birds can slow the ticking of their biological clocks [...]
Bird AIDS virus splits rare parrot saviours
Karen Hunt
A bird disease expert says a breeding program for one of Australia’s rarest parrots should sell off its captive birds and use the money to save those remaining in the wild.
Populations of the Orange-bellied parrot (OBP) have been declining rapidly over the last decade, with officials estimating only 50 birds remaining in the wild. [...]
Petrels find a new home
Lord Howe Island, Australia: Freshly dug burrows were the first sign.
Then courting pairs of birds were observed, confirming the suspicions of seabird surveyers – Providence Petrels on Lord Howe Island were literally spreading their wings and searching for new breeding sites.
Over the last 20 years the petrels have confined their nesting sites to the Erskine [...]
Aussie expertise helps gulf oil rescue
Friday June 12 2010
Photo: REUTERS brown pelican covered in oil
Australian expertise could be the answer to saving brown pelicans affected by the giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
As the environmental crisis worsens, with oil continuing to spill into the ocean and wash up on the shores of the Gulf states, killing countless numbers [...]
RSPB says bigger is better
The UK's richest conservation organisation, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, has launched a radical new approach to habitat conservation. It's moving away from Reserves and looking towards large multi-use, areas where preserving habitat for wildlife, including birds, is incorporated into a larger picture. The RSPB is looking at areas traditionally considered poor [...]
iPhone app reveals secret life of cassowary
For the first time, satellite tracking and mobile phones will be used to track the movements of one of Australia's least known birds, the southern cassowary.
Scientists from the University of Queensland have fitted 5 birds with satellite tracking devices, and have also created a website which can be used by anyone to upload information about cassowary [...]