A successful expedition in Papua New Guinea captured photos and video of the chicken-size pigeon, highlighting the value of local ecological knowledge as scientists seek out other long-missing species. For a month the researchers had traversed slender mountain ridges, crossed and re-crossed rivers that roared through canyons cloaked in tropical forest, and endured bloodthirsty mosquitoes […]
Tag: cornell lab of ornithology
First-of-Its-Kind Digital Platform Reveals Migration Data for Birds Across the Americas Just In Time for Fall Migration
NEW YORK – Today, as millions of birds are flocking to their wintering grounds, the National Audubon Society and nine partner organizations announced the Bird Migration Explorer (www.birdmigrationexplorer.org), a state-of-the-art digital platform that reveals migration data consolidated for 458 bird species that breed in the United States and Canada. The free, interactive platform, available in […]
Nearly half of bird species worldwide are declining
About 48% of bird species around the world are facing population declines, according to a new global analysis. The finding comes after a 2019 study showing nearly 3 billion breeding birds have been lost over the past 30 years in the U.S. and Canada. “To us, these are our daily numbers, but to others those […]
Why did a murmuration of yellow-headed blackbirds crash from the sky?
A flock of hundreds of yellow-headed blackbirds crashed on a Chihuahua neighborhood on February 7th. Hundreds of bird carcasses littered the streets, and security camera footage of the collision quickly went viral. The world, on the other hand, now has more questions than answers. The internet has been inundated with hypotheses about what caused the […]
US to declare ivory-billed woodpecker and 22 more species extinct
The US Fish and Wildlife Service officially proposed taking 23 plants and animals off the endangered species list Wednesday, because they have not been spotted in the wild and are believed to be completely gone from an earth experiencing human population growth and a climate crisis. Only 11 species previously have been removed due to […]
Electronic ears listen to poachers in a key Central American jaguar habitat
A gunshot explodes through the rainforest, followed by what sounds like branches falling from a tree. A dog barks. “Tito, did I hit it?” a man asks his companion in Spanish. “Oh yes, I did hit it. Look, there is blood dripping. I shot it from over there.” These sounds were recorded on an […]
In Quarantine, I Finally Understood the Magic of Birds
The cardinal was my gateway bird. Eight weeks ago, and newly quarantined at my in-laws, I joined my husband and five-year-old son at a nature preserve. They’d come for birds, equipped with binoculars and cameras; I’d just wanted out of the house. Not long into the walk, the wind picked up and misty rain started […]
Buildings are killing up to 1bn birds a year in US, scientists estimate
Scientists estimate that at least 100 million and maybe as many as a billion birds die each year in the US when they collide with buildings, especially glass-covered or illuminated skyscrapers. And, in a new report, conservationists now have a better idea which American cities are the deadliest for those on the wing. Chicago, with […]