If you sit in an Australian park or garden for long enough, chances are you might catch a flash of brilliant feathers out of the corner of your eye: the superb fairywren. With its bright blue and soft brown plumage, it was voted Australia’s “bird of the year” in 2021, “narrowly defeating the tawny frogmouth […]
Tag: songbirds
A little bird told her: scientist wins $100,000 prize for decoding birdsong
A scientist who decoded the vocalisations that a bird uses to communicate has won a $100,000 prize for making progress towards a world in which humans can talk to the animals – without being met with a blank response. Dr Julie Elie at the University of California, Berkeley, was awarded the 2026 Coller-Dolittle prize for […]
“It’s classic wolf in sheep’s clothing.” Meet the most cunning and deceptive animals and plants that are masters of deadly disguises
Mimicry can be found everywhere you look, or listen, in the natural world. Many species copy the signals or cues of others in order to gain advantages. Scientists continue to be fascinated by the study of these evolutionary adaptations that were first described in the 19th century. What is honest mimicry? In honest mimicry, two […]
Songbird trade threatens lesser-known ‘master birds’ with secondary extinctions: Study
Increasing demand for songbirds is raising the risk of “secondary extinctions” of so-called “master birds” in Southeast Asia, conservationists warn. While these birds never enter the region’s songbird singing competitions, they have unique qualities to their songs. When caged near songbirds, elements of their calls can be learned, says Vincent Nijman, lead author of research documenting their […]
The most desirable songbird in Indonesia is disappearing from the wild
SUMATRA, Indonesia — Armed with a machete, some sticky gum and a recording of birdsong on his phone, “Peni” makes his way into the forest. He’s searching for songbirds in the Sumatran jungle, specifically the white-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus), known locally as murai batu. The popularity of murai batu has boomed in the past decade […]
A Quest for the Elusive and the Common: Birding in Wild Florida
Birding is indeed a fascinating endeavor. One can simply observe birds in their backyard… or they can search to the ends of the Earth. Birders can range from almost deity-like in their ability, omnipotent observers of sights and sounds most of us would miss, and at the other end of the spectrum, they can be…me. […]
With ‘terrifying’ trade in African hornbills, scientists call for increased protection
For millions of years, the African landscape — the rainforests, woodlands, savannas and scrublands — has echoed with the booms and cackles of large, raucous, strange-looking birds: hornbills. When U.S. ornithologist Nico Arcilla came to Gabon in the late 1990s as a Peace Corps volunteer, these noisy birds enchanted her. “There’d be a big flock […]
Cyprus is responsible for the slaughter of up to 500,000 songbirds each year
Before dawn in Cyprus, the air rings with birdsong – but it is not real. Hidden in the undergrowth of bushes across the mediterranean island are electronic lures which broadcast a manufactured chorus. The pieces of technology mimic the calls of migrating songbirds and draw the unsuspecting creatures down into carefully placed death contraptions each […]