Birds
In PNG, researchers find a large pigeon lost to science for 140 years
After 140 years, a pigeon subspecies lost to science has been found again on Fergusson Island off eastern Papua New Guinea. Using a remote camera trap, researchers photographed the black-naped pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps nobilis insularis), a large, ground-dwelling bird, for the first time since it was described in 1883. “After a month of searching, seeing those […]
What’s Good for Birds Is Good for People and the Planet. But More Than Half of Bird Species in the U.S. Are in Decline
SCIENCE State of the Birds: Dire A new report identifies 70 bird species that are at a “tipping point,” meaning that their populations have declined so significantly that they could face endangerment or even extinction in the coming years. The list includes the black-footed albatross, Allen’s hummingbird and the greater sage grouse as birds that […]
Read MoreNo time to keep vultures out of danger as new Nepal airport set to open
KATHMANDU — Conservationists in Nepal have expressed concern over the opening of a new airport in the tourist town of Pokhara, renowned as a bird paradise, at the start of next year. The opening of the $216 million facility has been delayed several times already. In the latest announcement, Jeevan Ram Shrestha, the minister for […]
Seeing through the swarm: How hawks hunt bat prey
Raptors are famous for their ability to home in on prey and attack with precision. But how does this work when they hunt animals that flock, school or swarm, forming bewildering displays that appear to move everywhere all at once? A study published today in Nature Communications reports that Swainson’s hawks (Buteo swainsoni) and some other raptors […]
An emerald-green hummingbird lost to science reemerges in Colombia
In the mountains of Colombia, an experienced bird-watcher saw an iridescent flash of blue and green. “A hummingbird caught my attention. I got out my binoculars and was shocked to see that it was a Santa Marta sabrewing,” Yurgen Vega said. “This sighting was a complete surprise, but a very welcome one.” This was only […]
Bolivia’s former ‘death road’ is now a haven for wildlife
In Bolivia, the infamous “Death Road” has become a haven for life. Once the only route north from La Paz, the narrow and treacherous old road to the Yungas claimed an average of 300 lives per year during peak usage. However, since the construction of a safer road in 2007, traffic has dropped 90% and […]
Shade-grown coffee won’t support all birds, but adding a forest helps: Study
Organic, shade-grown, bird-friendly: coffee comes with a lot of labels these days, certifications that tell the consumer their beans were farmed in a way that supports the people who grow them and the ecosystems that sustain them. And with coffee now growing on more than 1 million square kilometers (386,000 square miles) of agricultural land in some […]
Sighting of an American black vulture in Nepal causes a flutter
KATHMANDU — The “vulture restaurant” in southern Nepal received a new lone diner on July 12, leaving the people serving the food puzzled. An American black vulture (Coragyps atratus), a bird native to a continent on the other side of the world, was spotted for the first time at this feeding site that offers safe […]
Andean eagles have managed to adapt to fragmenting habitats — for now
Even the greatest, most mobile predators aren’t immune to the shrinking of South America’s forests. The endangered black-and-chestnut eagle (Spizaetus isidori), one of the largest raptors on the continent, has been forced to change its behavior to survive in increasingly fragmented habitats and growing threats from humans. A new study in Global Ecology and Conservation […]
Winter sanctuary in Nepal proves a killing field for yellow-breasted buntings
KATHMANDU — Ornithologist Hem Bahadur Katwal, who studies farmland birds, says he’s excited about an upcoming trip to visit Nepal’s plains when the monsoon rains end in September. This is the time when the cold starts creeping in over the lands farther north — Russia, Mongolia, China — and thousands of migratory birds flock to […]