Mating rituals in the animal kingdom vary across species, and birds are no exception. Typically, dances for courtship between birds involve the makes working hard to attract the females’ attention. They use movement, sounds, skills, and good looks to woo their potential partner! 1. Black-Footed Albatross Source: Eric Dale/Youtube The black-footed albatross mating ritual is […]
Tag: bird
Buildings kill a billion US birds a year. These architects want to save them
Chicago’s 82-story Aqua Tower appears to flutter with the wind. Its unusual, undulating facade has made it one of the most unique features of Chicago’s skyline, distinct from the many right-angled glass towers that surround it. In designing it, the architect Jeanne Gang thought not only about how humans would see it, dancing against the […]
Kiwi Bird Shaped Dog Toys Removed from Store Shelves in New Zealand
A chain of New Zealand hardware stores, Mitre 10, has removed dog toys shaped like kiwi birds from their shelves. The kiwi bird is New Zealand’s national bird; the country is the only place in the world where these birds are found. The move was prompted by an outcry from conservationists. Kiwi birds are unusual. […]
Why do middle-aged people love birds so much?
I often wonder why birds speak so universally to the sagging middle-aged soul that it has become a comic trope – the vertiginously swift passage from: “Is that a robin?” to: “There’s a lesser yellowleg two hours’ drive away, start the car.” Is it the freedom they represent? No cholesterol, no mortgage, no self-assessment tax […]
Light Pollution is Drawing Migrating Birds to Cities, Placing Them in a Possible ‘Ecological Trap’
According to the Audubon Society, at least 4,000 bird species migrate every year. They typically do so to get to food in winter months and then to get back to their nesting habitat in the spring. The journey can be substantial, with the most extreme case involving the Arctic tern, which travels from pole-to-pole every […]
How a group in Ecuador protects 10% of the world’s bird species
In 1997, ornithologist Robert S. Ridgely discovered a previously undocumented bird species, the Jocotoco Antpitta (Grallaria ridgelyi), in the tropical montane forests on the Amazonian slope of the Andes in southeastern Ecuador. This ground-dwelling bird was immediately recognized as critically endangered due to its very small range and the threats to its habitat, which led […]
Grow These Beautiful Plants In Your Yard And Watch The Songbird Magic Happen
Your landscape can bring all the birdies to the yard if you have the right plants. By providing songbirds with sustenance, you can attract them to your space for some backyard birding — a pastime we love because it doesn’t require travel, special equipment, or extra time. You get to enjoy the magic of these […]
Baby birds hatch with ability to mimic mom
Singing a gentle lullaby can help put a human baby to sleep but its usefulness in the low grassland swaying nests of Australian songbirds takes maternal ‘singing’ to even greater heights. Bird ecologists from around the world, including the University of Vienna and Flinders University, have shown an native wren mother’s signature call to her […]