ornithology

10 Stories

After 'Miracle on the Hudson,' These Bird Detectives Got the Call

When birds collide with planes, Smithsonian forensic ornithologists help decide what happens next

(Newser) - One of the most high profile cases of an airplane colliding with a bird in the air was 2009's Miracle on the Hudson , when pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger safely landed a passenger plane in the river after Canada geese flew into both its engines. The story was a...

This Bird's Record Flight 'Stretches the Imagination'

Bar-tailed godwit flew 8,435 miles nonstop from Alaska to Australia in 11 days, one hour

(Newser) - You can imagine how grueling a drive from New York City to Alaska must be. Now picture arriving at your destination in the Last Frontier, then immediately turning around and heading right back to the Big Apple—all without a second driver or stops for food, drink, or bathroom breaks....

Be Glad Someone Takes Airplane 'Snarge' Seriously

There's a word for what becomes of birds that collide with airplanes

(Newser) - Following a recent piece about the origin myth of starlings—the small black birds that move in cloud-like, synchronous flocks— New York Times writer Jason Bittel was overrun with questions and commentary about “snarge,” the term biologists and aviation professionals use for the bits or clumps of bird...

Birds Are Nesting, Laying Eggs Much Earlier Than in the Past

Study of museum's egg collection finds major shift in bird behavior

(Newser) - Many species of birds are now building nests and laying eggs at a time of year their counterparts from a century ago would have considered outrageously early. Around a third of birds in the Upper Midwest region are now laying their eggs an average of 25 days earlier than they...

Nobody Had Seen One of These in 170 Years

Black-browed babbler was feared to be extinct

(Newser) - It's not extinct, just very elusive. That's the takeaway from the discovery of a bird in Indonesia that has ornithologists downright emotional. The bird is the black-browed babbler, which hadn't been seen since the 1840s, reports Mongabay . Two men caught one in a Borneo rainforest and sent...

'Guerrillas' Try to Sway Election, Bird Blows It for Them

Attempt to influence Ecuador polls with fake 'guerrilla' vid fails after bird guide hears bird call

(Newser) - Nothing gets past an eagle-eyed, carefully listening ornithologist—not even a propaganda video meant to sway an election. Manuel Sanchez, a bird-watching guide based in Ecuador, was watching just such a video shared on social media, supposedly showing three armed left-wing men from Colombia's ELN guerrilla force deep in...

The Loneliness of the Eager-to-Mate Male Sandpiper

These boys fly hundreds of miles for a more-than-likely failed shot with a lady in a short mating season

(Newser) - You fly more than 100 miles for love. You get rejected. You fly another 100 miles. Another rejection. And another. That's the high-flying but futile sex life of the male pectoral sandpiper looking for love in northernmost Alaska, per a new study. Some males are more persistent than others,...

Rare Audubon Edition Could Fetch $10M

First edition to be sold at auction

(Newser) - A rare first edition of John James Audubon's The Birds of America could fetch anywhere from $7 million to $10 million at auction, Christie's estimates. The auction house will sell the lavishly illustrated four-volume set, featuring more than 400 hand-colored plates, on Jan. 20 in New York. The...

Man Charges Fee to View Rare Bird From Kitchen

... but it all goes to bird charities

(Newser) - An Oriental Turtle Dove made a wrong turn and ended up 3,000 miles off course in the United Kingdom. Avid ornithologist Steve Akers spotted the bird in his backyard, informed other local bird enthusiasts, and then proceeded to turn his kitchen into a viewing parlor, charging about $8 for...

'Extinct' Bird Flies Again
'Extinct' Bird Flies Again
Mar 8, 2008 10:45 AM CST

'Extinct' Bird Flies Again

Beck's petrel hadn't been seen since 1920s

(Newser) - The Beck’s petrel, a bird last seen in the 1920s and long thought extinct, appears to be very much alive, the AP reports. Spurred by unconfirmed sightings in Australia two years ago, an Israeli ornithologist set out for a group of islands off Papua New Guinea and brought back...

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