It's not just me, this is creepy, right? "Crows remember the faces of 'dangerous humans,' with the memories likely lasting for a bird's lifetime. Crows may scold people who threaten them, bringing in relatives and even strangers to mob the person. The crows within mobs then indirectly learn about the person, so they too associate that individual's face with danger and react accordingly."
Welcome to June. The month when it's already too hot.
I hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend. I did, pretty much. Although it was too hot. And it was too hot yesterday, too. I know it's awfully trite to complain about the heat in New York, and how spring is too short in the city. But I'll do it anyway. It's too hot and spring is too short in New York City. Spring meaning not the quarter of the calendar, of course, but the fleeting blip of time each year when you can be outside without a coat, but also without a coating of sweat. When you can [...]
"Scientists surveyed 82 species of passerine birds, including sparrows, pigeons and anything that perches, in and around 12 cities in central Europe. They classified the birds as those that breed in the heart of the city or those that avoid the hustle and bustle. And then they compared the bird brains. The results? Birds that prosper on the city streets have larger brains than their pastoral relations. So it seems that novel environments, including urban landscapes, may select for street smarts—at least for birds that flock toward the city lights." —Huh. Well. This could reinforce some unfortunate stereotypes, I guess. It seems, according to Science, that birds who [...]
“Cats are natural predators of not just birds but also mammals. Killing is what they are meant to do, and it’s not their fault." —Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute research scientist Peter Marra, on data that indicates that certain species of birds are being wiped out by house cats in suburban areas.
Okay. It's been fun (is that the right word?) getting all hysterical about the great planetary die-off this week. (Sure, yes, "fun" is right.) But, really, everything's going to be okay.
"Chirping sparrows are actually trading insults like gangster rappers, a new study has shown. What sounds like harmonious song is really the noise of males trying to appear macho, say researchers. And, just like humans, most of the boasting and trading of insults is done to impress the girls." It goes on, but you get the point.
Utter avian craziness is happening in Britain's southeastern county of Kent. Not only is a "cheeky seagull" continually robbing a newsstand of the delicious potato chips within, but a parrot in a local pub is being verbally abusive to the customers: "People come in here and he will just blurt out **** off, ****** or *****! I considered covering the cage but that doesn't stop him. He doesn't like going upstairs he likes living in the bar. The more people in the pub the louder he gets…. If a punter tells Derby to shut up he just tells them to **** off." There are no reports of birds [...]
Remember how freaked out everyone was a couple months ago about all the birds that were dying? No one cares anymore, right? That's probably because now we know that even if all the birds die, it doesn't matter. We can just make new ones that look and fly pretty much exactly the same.
A study of 550 birds of 48 different species living in the exclusion zone around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in Russia showed a five percent decrease in brain size directly attributable to lingering radiation. Measures taken after the reactor exploded of 1986 found traces of radioactive material in pretty much every country north of the equator. So count on future generations of humans to walk into screen doors even more frequently than we all do now. (Sidebar: the person who took the video is mean.)
Thousands of gizzard shad fish have been washed up on Chicago's harbours while over one hundred dead birds have been found clustered on a Californian highway. The two instances appear to be a continuation of the strange mass animal deaths that have struck in the past fortnight – in America and elsewhere.
This article almost immediately undercuts its own fearmongering in the next paragraph, where a helpful expert suggests that this is not at all mysterious, but, you know, where's the fun in that? ALL THE ANIMALS ARE DYING! Are we next? I'm gonna go with "yes." I mean, it's [...]
"A plant has killed and 'eaten' a blue tit at a garden nursery in Somerset. Nurseryman Nigel Hewitt-Cooper, from West Pennard, was inspecting his tropical garden when he discovered one of his pitcher plants had trapped the bird. He said he was 'absolutely staggered' to find it had caught the creature. It is believed to be only the second time such a carnivorous plant has been documented eating a bird anywhere in the world."
The war on birds has been, let's face it, going poorly for some time now. Our bird gas chambers are not quite doing the trick. But! One man dares to fight on: Lee Humberg. Humberg’s ideas about managing urban wildlife are thoughtful and nuanced, but they might have a hard time getting through. In the summer of 2009, his team removed 1,235 geese. Last year, the radius of goose-capture sites was increased from five miles to seven, and the culling total grew to 1,676. He won’t predict how many geese will be removed this year, but whatever the final tally, the culling will likely take place [...]
It's been some time since we've brought you news on our endless war against the birds, but today is huge. When last we checked in, the plan was to basically kill all of the birds around airports, but that hasn't worked! Mostly probably because birds aren't fairly mobile. New news! Birds are more likely to attack than ever: "The number of severe bird strikes suffered by airline flights above 500 feet reached a new high of 150 in 2009, the federal data show. That represents a 40% increase in the rate of bird strikes compared with the average from 2000 through 2008. The trend continued last year, [...]
The Orange County Zoo is holding a contest to name a wild bald eagle that has been perching outside the cage of Olivia, a resident female bald eagle. Zookeepers don't know the gender of the visitor, but the visits have been daily, and the two birds have been screeching back and forth to each other. So, with Valentine's Day coming up and all, they'd like to think he's come a courtin'.
"Thousands of dead turtle doves rained down on roofs and cars in an Italian town in the latest in a growing spate of mass animal deaths across the globe. Residents in Faenza described the birds falling to the ground like 'little Christmas balls' with strange blue stains on their beaks." But, you know, not to worry.
