Birds categorize colors just like humans do. Duke Today, August 1, 2018. For a reddish-beaked bird called the zebra finch, sexiness is color-coded. Males have beaks that range from light orange to dark red. But to females, a male’s colored bill may simply be hot, or not, findings suggest. Due to a phenomenon called categorical perception, zebra finches partition the range of hues from red to orange into two discrete categories, much like humans do, researchers report in the journal Nature. Picked up by Forbes, Discover Magazine, BBC News and ZME Science.
Category Archives: birds
Birds have time-honored traditions, too
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Birds have time-honored traditions, too. Duke Today, June 20, 2018. By faithfully copying the most popular songs, swamp sparrows create time-honored song traditions that can be just as long-lasting as human traditions, finds a new study. The results show that creating traditions that pass the test of time doesn’t necessarily require exceptional smarts. Picked up by Gizmodo, Mental Floss, Newsweek, the Daily Mail, Science Magazine, National Geographic, The London Economic, News & Observer and New Scientist.
Details that look sharp to people may be blurry to their pets
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Details that look sharp to people may be blurry to their pets. Duke Today, May 30, 2018. Blind as a bat or eagle-eyed? Scientists compared hundreds of species by the sharpness of their sight. They found a 10,000-fold difference between the most sharp-sighted and the most blurry-eyed species, with humans ranking near the top. The researchers also created a series of images showing how different scenes might appear to animals with different acuities. The images reveal patterns that, while easy for some species to see, may be imperceptible to others. Picked up by Wired, EarthSky, Futurity, ZME Science, Smithsonian, Discover Magazine, Inverse and the Daily Mail.
Humans, sparrows make sense of sounds in similar ways
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Humans, sparrows make sense of sounds in similar ways. Duke Today, Jan. 5, 2015. The song of the swamp sparrow — a grey-breasted bird found in wetlands throughout much of North America — is a simple melodious trill. But according to a new study by researchers at Duke University and the University of London, swamp sparrows are capable of processing the notes that make up their simple songs in more sophisticated ways than previously realized — an ability that may help researchers better understand the perceptual building blocks that enable language in humans. Picked up by The Herald-Sun, Wildlife Magazine and The New York Times.
Ancient DNA offers clues to how barnyard chickens came to be
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Ancient DNA offers clues to how barnyard chickens came to be. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, April 21, 2014. Ancient DNA adds a twist to the story of how barnyard chickens came to be, finds a study in the journal PNAS. Analyzing DNA from the bones of chickens that lived 200-2300 years ago in Europe, researchers report that some of the traits we associate with modern domestic chickens — such as their yellowish skin — only became widespread in the last 500 years, much more recently than previously thought. Picked up by Ars Technica, Nature and Public Radio International.
Eye-tracking reveals what’s hot, what’s not from the peahen’s point of view
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Eye-tracking reveals what’s hot, what’s not from the peahen’s point of view. Scientific American Guest Blog, July 25, 2013. The peacock is one of the animal kingdom’s ultimate Casanovas. But which parts of the peacock’s love dance turn a female’s head? An eye-tracking study finds it’s not what you might think.
Bird fossil sheds light on how swift and hummingbird flight came to be
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Bird fossil sheds light on how swift and hummingbird flight came to be. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center. May 1, 2013. A tiny bird fossil discovered in Wyoming offers clues to the precursors of swift and hummingbird wings. The fossil is unusual in having exceptionally well-preserved feathers, which allowed the researchers to reconstruct the size and shape of the bird’s wings in ways not possible with bones alone. Picked up by Science Magazine, Science News and Discover.
Uncovering Africa’s oldest known penguins
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Uncovering Africa’s oldest known penguins. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center. March 26, 2013. Africa isn’t the kind of place you might expect to find penguins. But one species lives along Africa’s southern coast today, and newly found fossils confirm that as many as four penguin species coexisted on the continent in the past. Exactly why African penguin diversity plummeted to the one species that lives there today is still a mystery, but changing sea levels may be to blame. The fossil findings represent the oldest evidence of these iconic tuxedo-clad seabirds in Africa, predating previously described fossils by 5 to 7 million years. Picked up by Discovery, NBC news, Huffington Post, the UK Daily Mail and Scientific American.
‘Hoot-dash display’ brings the chicks in
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‘Hoot-dash display’ brings the chicks in. Duke Research Blog, December 14, 2012. Deep in the scrublands of Keoladeo National Park in northwest India, one thing was hard for biologist Jessica Yorzinski to ignore: It wasn’t the heat. It wasn’t the jackals. It was the squawks of peacocks in the throes of passion. Picked up by RedOrbit and Discover Magazine.
Birds that live with varying weather sing more versatile songs
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Birds that live with varying weather sing more versatile songs. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, August 3, 2012. A new study of North American songbirds reveals that birds that live with fluctuating weather are more flexible singers. Mixing it up helps birds ensure that their songs are heard no matter what the habitat, the researchers say. Picked up by the UK Daily Mail.
Not just for the birds: Man-made noise has ripple effects on plants, too
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Not just for the birds: Man-made noise has ripple effects on plants, too. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, March 21, 2012. A growing body of research shows that birds and other animals change their behavior in response to man-made noise, such as the din of traffic or the hum of machinery. But human clamor doesn’t just affect animals. Because many animals also pollinate plants or eat or disperse their seeds, human noise can have ripple effects on plants too, finds a new study. Picked up by Scientific American, the Christian Science Monitor, MSNBC, National Public Radio, Audubon Magazine, the Miami Herald, BBC News, Science News, Discovery News, the New York Times and TIME Magazine.
Deadly bird parasite evolves at exceptionally fast rate
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Deadly bird parasite evolves at exceptionally fast rate. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, February 9, 2012. A new study of a devastating bird disease that spread from poultry to house finches in the mid-1990s reveals that the bacteria responsible for the disease evolves at an exceptionally fast rate. What’s more, the fast-evolving microbe has lost a key chunk of its genome since jumping to its new host, scientists were surprised to find. Picked up by MSNBC.
Bigger birds are harder hit by human noise
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Bigger birds are harder hit by human noise. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, November 9, 2011. A growing body of evidence shows that man-made noise is bad for birds, but some species are harder hit than others — particularly bigger birds with low-frequency songs, finds a new study. Picked up by Science Magazine, Discovery News, Southern California Public Radio and National Geographic.
Hummingbirds catch flying bugs with the help of fast-closing beaks
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Hummingbirds catch flying bugs with the help of fast-closing beaks. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, July 19, 2011. The shape of a hummingbird’s beak allows it to snatch up flying insects in a mere fraction of a second — with greater speed and power than could be achieved by jaw muscles alone.
Songbirds tweak their tunes in different ways to cope with clamor
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Songbirds tweak their tunes in different ways to cope with clamor. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, May 26, 2011. Some birds that live near noisy sites can alter their songs to deal with din. But closely related species with similar songs may tweak their tunes in different ways, says a new study. Picked up by US News and World Report and Science Magazine.
Coping with climate change
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Coping with climate change. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, May 11, 2011. Can we predict which species will be able to move far or fast enough to keep up with rising global temperatures? A new study says the secrets to success in the face of a warming world are still elusive.
Evolution drives many plants and animals to be bigger, faster
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Evolution drives many plants and animals to be bigger, faster. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, March 7, 2011. For the vast majority of plants and animals, the ‘bigger is better’ view of evolution may not be far off the mark, says a new study of natural selection.
Biological clock ticks slower for female birds who choose good mates
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Biological clock ticks slower for female birds who choose good mates. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, January 18, 2011. In birds as in people, female fertility declines with age, but some female songbirds can slow the ticking of their biological clocks by choosing the right mates. Picked up by MSNBC.
Penguin males with steady pitch make better parents
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Penguin males with steady pitch make better parents. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, July 12, 2010. Courtship calls help penguin females decide which males are likely to be devoted dads. Picked up by the New Zealand Herald and the Post and Courier.
Mockingbirds in fickle climates sing fancier tunes
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Mockingbirds in fickle climates sing fancier tunes. Duke Today, May 21, 2009. Why are some birds simple singers and others vocal virtuosos? Researchers suspect that inconsistent climates may play a role. Picked up by theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation, USA Today, BBC News, Science News, Daily Telegraph, and Nature Research Highlights.