Researchers have found leptin – a hormone that regulates body fat storage, metabolism and appetite – in the Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). How does the Arctic tern fly more than 70,000 km in its annual roundtrip North Pole-to-South Pole migration? How does the Emperor penguin […]
Category: News
Shot Egyptian vulture leads conservationists to bizarre black-market for bird parts
Around 11 AM on Thursday, 27 February 2014, Angoulou Enika was lying hidden in the tall grass on the side of a large water hole in the Sahel region of Niger. He was staying as quiet as he could while aiming his custom-made rifle at an Egyptian vulture which had landed nearby to drink from […]
Etendeka Round-Eared Sengi: New Mammal Species Discovered in Namibia
An international group of biologists led by Dr Jack Dumbacher from California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco has described a new species of elephant-shrew (round-eared sengi) from remote northwestern Namibia. The newly discovered species has been named the Etendeka round-eared sengi (Macroscelides micus). The name Etendeka is from the Himba/Otji-Herero language of the Himba […]
Earlier snowmelt prompting earlier breeding of Arctic birds
A new collaborative study that included the work of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) biologists has revealed that migratory birds that breed in Arctic Alaska are initiating nests earlier in the spring, and that snowmelt occurring earlier in the season is a big reason why. The report, “Phenological advancement in arctic bird species: relative importance of […]
Video: Horseshoe Crabs Mate in Annual Beach “Orgy”
Up and down the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, horseshoe crabs, which have been around for some 450 million years (200 million years before dinosaurs), are spawning. The crabs live in the ocean year-round but come ashore like clockwork every year between the May and June full moons to mate and lay eggs. On any night during […]
Japan kills 30 minke whales in first hunt since UN court order
Japan has killed 30 minke whales off its north-east coast, in the first hunt since the UN’s top court ordered Tokyo to stop killing the animals in the Antarctic, the government said. The Japanese whaling fleet that left the north-eastern fishing town of Ayukawa in April completed its mission last week, the country’s fisheries agency […]
Elachuridae: Ornithologists Describe New Family of Passerine Birds
A group of ornithologists led by Dr Trevor Price of the University of Chicago has described a new family of birds that is represented by just one species, the Spotted wren-babbler. The Spotted wren-babbler is a small perching bird found in China, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. This bird measures about 10 […]
Video: Polar Bear Cam Provides Unique View into Arctic Life
It looks like the famed Panda Cam at the National Zoo has a new rival. Recently-released footage of a polar bear in the Arctic is giving scientists and polar bear-enthusiasts alike a glimpse into the elusive lives of these endangered animals—and giving pandas at the National Zoo a run for their money. The clip, released […]