Bird populations are in decline across the world, with a 2022 study finding that 48% of existing species are known or suspected to have declining numbers. The main drivers are habitat loss and degradation and overexploitation of many species. A new study finds similar trends among garden birds in the United Kingdom, owing in part […]
Tag: pesticides
In Nepal, a turtle that rose from the dead makes another grand entrance
KATHMANDU — In 2002, the black softshell turtle was declared extinct in the wild — not a difficult assessment to make, given that, back then, the only known population of the species was in a pond at a Sufi shrine in Bangladesh. It beat that rap when, that same year, researchers found the animals in […]
Here come the sunbirds: New species from Indonesia’s Wakatobi Islands
A group of researchers have identified several new species of sunbirds, whose range spans from Africa in the west and Australia in the east, in the tropical Wakatobi Islands in central Indonesia. The paper, published Oct. 25 by scientists from Ireland and Indonesia, has described the physical and genetic distinctness of the Wakatobi sunbird (Cinnyris […]
Study shows vultures have an appetite for long-distance travel
Scientists have shed light on the vast distances traveled by vultures—with several birds regularly commuting over 1,200 km in week-long excursions. These epic journeys were observed by scientists using specialized GPS tags to track the movements of African white-backed vultures in Tanzania. One bird was tracked visiting eight countries as part of a “grand tour” […]
How birds of prey are exposing a toxic time bomb
Rui Lourenço first started collecting eagle-owl feathers because they were beautiful. Below the birds’ cliff-side nests in rural Portugal, he would find their shed feathers and bring them back to his ecology lab at the University of Évora. “It was just the typical curiosity of a naturalist,” he says. “Especially the flight feathers, they’re large, […]
Farmers in England to be allowed to use ‘lethal force’ on beavers
Farmers in England will be allowed to shoot beavers if they threaten their crops, the government has revealed. Conservationists have opposed the move, saying the animals are an “ally to farmers”, helping conserve water in times of drought, and are an endangered species that should be treasured. The rodents became extinct in the UK 400 […]
Warming Waters Challenge Atlantic Salmon, Both Wild and Farmed
Whether roaming wild or enclosed in floating feedlots on the ocean, Atlantic salmon are cold-water fishes. But as the climate crisis warms the world’s oceans and waterways, cold water is becoming harder to find, which means these long-endangered fish are facing perhaps their biggest challenge yet. Atlantic salmon are anadromous, moving between freshwater and saltwater […]
Tiny new tree frog species found in rewilded Costa Rican nature reserve
Nestled in a valley between two volcanoes, Donald Varela-Soto heard something unfamiliar. For six months, he searched for the source of a shrill frog call along the edge of a wetland in Tapir Valley Nature Reserve, a former cattle ranch in northern Costa Rica. “I kept hearing this different sound in the wetland but was […]