‘Canary in the cornfield’: Monarch butterfly may get threatened species status

‘Canary in the cornfield’: Monarch butterfly may get threatened species status

Monarch butterflies were once a common sight throughout the North American heartland. In Mexico, where they overwinter, single trees would often be covered in thousands. But declines in milkweed – their caterpillars’ only source of food – have led to a 90 percent decline in monarch numbers. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) […]

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Federally Protected Birds at Risk from Expansion of Wind Development Near Lake Michigan

Federally Protected Birds at Risk from Expansion of Wind Development Near Lake Michigan

(Washington, D.C., September 3, 2014) Two bird species federally listed as endangered, the Piping Plover and Kirtland’s Warbler, as well as many other federally protected birds are at risk from the proposed expansion of Heritage Sustainable Energy’s (HSE) Garden Peninsula Wind Energy Project near Lake Michigan, according to American Bird Conservancy (ABC). The warning from […]

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Poll: Vote for Your Favorite Species to Help Celebrate World Shorebird Day! (Photos)

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite Species to Help Celebrate World Shorebird Day! (Photos)

This Saturday marks the first World Shorebird Day, a day to celebrate these beautiful birds and raise awareness for their conservation. Shorebirds nest and migrate along beaches and grasslands, and are known to have some of the most impressive migrations in the animal kingdom. They’re an incredibly diverse group of birds, consisting of plovers, oystercatchers, […]

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Bizarre, endangered bird discovered in high densities

Bizarre, endangered bird discovered in high densities

The turkey-sized, noisy, fruit-feasting guans are arguably one of the strangest wildlife sightings in the tropical forests of Central and South America. Ancient animals, these birds are members of the Cracidae family—which also include equally-odd currasows and chachalacas—and are actually distantly related to megapode, or mound-building, birds of Australiasia. A new study in mongabay.com’s open-access […]

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