Jezebel: Birds

Ornithologists Determine that Male Bowerbirds are Probably Tricksters

Doug Barry — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:00:00 EST

Members of the scientific community have marveled for years at the Australian bowerbird's elaborate courtship ritual, in which the male bowerbird builds an elaborate edifice of a twig canopy arching over an avenue (called a "gesso") of stones, bones, and shells in order to impress on a female bowerbird that he is dexterous and, therefore, a good lay. Female bowerbirds are attracted to the biggest structures containing the shiniest pebbles, — a fact that ornithologists seem to find hilarious — but research has revealed that males have employed an optical illusion in order to avoid the hard work of finding and arranging paving material for their avenues. Using a forced perspective trick that even medieval painters couldn't quite figure out, male bowerbirds arrange stones at the avenue's entrance from smallest to largest, thus making it appear more like a Champs-Elysees and less like a seedy alley in Perth (Perth, I'm sure, is a wonderful city). More »

Happy Hump Day!

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:15:00 EST

Enjoy! More »

TGIF!

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:05:00 EDT

Kelly writes: "Thought I'd send you a pic of my parrot, Ulrich, with some pumpkins for a Halloween-themed TGIF. I looked back through all the old ones and see that our feathered friends are sorely underrepresented on TGIF. You featured ducklings in April 2010 and again in July 2009...but no parrots. How bout a little love for the hookbills? Ulrich is an 8 year old rescue with a spinal deformity. He's a cosmopolitan kind of bird — he has his own website. Happy Halloween!" Image via email. Send a horizontal photo of your pet and it could end up right here! More »

Volunteers Step In To Save Gaddafi's Ostriches

Anna North — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:55:00 EDT

When Muammar Gaddafi fled Libya, he left behind about 1,000 ostriches, along with herds of cattle, camels, sheep, and goats. He made no provisions to care for the animals, so they were dying — but now volunteers are feeding them and giving them medical care. Says volunteer Mohamad Al Majdoub, "They are part of Libya's patrimony. They are part of our future." More »

Male Hummingbirds Woo Ladies With Tail-Song

Anna North — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:55:00 EDT

Bird enthusiasts already know that male hummingbirds do impressive dives to excite potential lady-friends during mating season. But scientists have found that these dives may be more about sound than sight — it turns out that the rapid downward motion causes the male birds' feathers to vibrate, which makes a sound the lady-birds can hear. The females may even be able to detect small differences in tail feathers, allowing them to pick the mate with the best-sounding tail. More »

Confused Bird Tries To Enter Walk Down An Escalator Going The Wrong Way

Whitney Jefferson — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:20:00 EDT

"He's never gonna get there!" "He doesn't know that, though!" More »

Loyal Duck Follows Farmer Everywhere

Anna North — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:15:00 EDT

Barrie Hayman's adorable duck-friend follows him everywhere, except to the supermarket, where he's not allowed. He doesn't fit in very well with other ducks, but as Hayman explains in the full segment over at the Telegraph, "we shouldn't really mention the d-word, because he doesn't know he's one of them." More »

Will Eagles Start Eating Kids?

Anna North — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 15:00:00 EDT

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association is concerned about the reintroduction of sea eagles to Scotland: they ask, "Will these very large creatures differentiate between a small child and more natural quarry?" They also request an "exit strategy" for the reintroduction program if the eagles start carrying off kids en masse. However, Scotland's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds calls the concerns "alarmist nonsense." Says a spokeswoman, More »

'But I Am A Male Robot'

Anna North — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:20:00 EDT

Because scientists are middle-schoolers at heart, like the rest of us, they decided to pit two Cleverbots — artifical-intelligence chat programs — against one another and see what kind of conversation ensued. The result was odd, impolite, and pretty funny. Inspired by this, I decided to have a chat with a Cleverbot myself. More »

Stressed Birds Make Bad Spouses

Anna North — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:30:00 EDT

Did you know that a stressed-out partner can shorten your life? Better pack your Nervous Ned/Nelly off to a psychiatrist ... if, that is, you're a bird. More »

Lost Penguin Gets Help From Zoo Workers

Anna North — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EDT

A ten-month-old emperor penguin got lost and ended up on a New Zealand beach, far from her home in New Zealand. She (or he — experts aren't sure yet) began eating sand — perhaps mistaking it for snow — and pieces of wood, and got increasingly sick and unhappy. Luckily, rescue workers took the penguin, nicknamed Happy Feet, to a local zoo, where she can get medical care and rehabilitation. Get well, Feet! More »

Adorable Boy Rescues & Raises Adorable Baby Hummingbird

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:45:00 EDT

If you don't gasp during the "flying lessons" segment when the baby bird flies off of the boy's hand for a little bit — and then comes right back to the safety of the kid's finger perch — you are dead inside. Dead. More »

Jerks Use iPhone App To Fool Birds

Anna North — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:50:00 EDT

Part of the challenge of birdwatching is that you have to wait patiently for the birds to show up. But some British birders are cheating by using an iPhone app that mimics the songs of invading enemy birds. This makes the real birds mad, and they leave their nests to fight off the intruders, leaving their poor nestlings vulnerable to predators. A lady from the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust says, "Smart phones are a great tool for recognising and enjoying wildlife but this is one instance where they are causing a problem." Also, if you want to make birds angry, I think there's another app for that. More »

Baby Hawk Beats The Odds

Anna North — Fri, 06 May 2011 18:10:00 EDT

Experts thought the "hatch-by date" for the nest full of red-tailed hawk eggs in New York's Washington Square Park had passed — if they don't hatch within 35 days, the eggs usually won't hatch at all. But today a baby hawk poked through, just in time for Mother's Day. You can watch the nest in real time, although as of this writing it's mostly mommy-hawk Violet shifting around and looking sort of itchy. More »

Killer Birds On The Loose In Australia

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:20:00 EST

People in Northeast Australia are being warned to steer clear of cassowaries, flightless, clawed birds that can grow to 6 feet tall and 150 pounds. The birds, which are an endangered species, have been starving since their habitat was destroyed by Cyclone Yasi. Air drops of food are being organized, but residents have been advised not to feed them, since they're capable of disemboweling a human or killing a horse with one kick. More »

100,000 Dead Fish In Arkansas Raise Suspicions Of Biblical Plague

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST

Days after thousands of dead birds dropped from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas, 100,000 dead fish have washed up on the shores of the Arkansas River. Looks like it's time to stock up on canned goods and tinfoil hats! More »

God Warms Up For 2012 By Causing Birds To Fall From Sky

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 14:40:00 EST

More than a thousand blackbirds fell from the sky over an Arkansas town, and no one knows why. Wild, rampant speculation time! More »

World's Most Expensive Book Sells For Exorbitant Amount Of Money

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:18:00 EST

Last week a copy of John James Audubon's 1831 book Birds of America sold at auction in London for $10.3 million. Fun fact: Audubon killed and stuffed all of the birds before painting them. More »

Gifts For People You Hate

Anna North — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:55:00 EST

Buying gifts for people you like is hard enough, but what about people you loathe? Herewith, some excellent passive-aggressive presents that put that stocking full of coal to shame. More »

How Do You Know An Omen When You See One?

Sadie Stein — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:49:00 EDT

Or, as I found myself asking this morning, when is a dead dove on your doorstep just a dead dove on your doorstep? More »

11-Year-Old Raises $110,000 For Oil Cleanup

Katy Kelleher — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:20:00 EDT

11-year-old Olivia Bouler wanted to help clean up the oil spill, so she contacted the Audubon Society with an idea. They approved, and soon after, AOL signed on. Bouler has so far raised $110,000 selling her paintings. [CNN, AOL] More »

Bird Brains

Anna Holmes — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:10:00 EDT

[Steinen-Weitenau, Germany; June 7. Image via AP]

Man Vs. Wild

Anna Holmes — Mon, 10 May 2010 09:10:00 EDT

[Gulf of Mexico, May 9. Image via AP]

Runaway Parrot Lured Home With Red Wine And Pringles

Katy Kelleher — Fri, 07 May 2010 12:20:00 EDT

After escaping from his London home, Reggie the parrot returned to his cage when his owner put out his favorite things: red wine and Pringles. "If there is any alcohol around, he's there in a flash," explained Hubbell Walker. [TheSun] More »

Spill, Baby, Spill

Anna Holmes — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:10:00 EDT

[Fort Jackson, Louisiana; April 30. Image via AP]

Bird's Eye View

Anna Holmes — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:10:00 EDT

[London, April 7. Image via Getty]

10 Things You May Have Missed On TV This Week

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST

In this week's compilation of pop culture crap, minivans for aging hipsters, pelican attacks, and how breast implants serve Christianity. More »

What You Can Learn From Great Tits

Megan Carpentier — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 10:50:00 EST

If you want to avoid pregnancy, you should pick a partner who is pale, stressed out, works too hard, has enemies and doesn't eat right. No wonder women love Robert Pattinson. [New Scientist; image via Sauli Särkkä] More »

Bird-On-Bird Crime

Anna North — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:45:00 EST

A Welsh town will use hawks to stop seagulls attacking shoppers, which apparently happens up to 30 times a day. Best part: the hawks' handlers will wear medieval outfits. [Telegraph] More »

Early Bird

Sadie Stein — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:45:00 EST

A new bird has been discovered: the "limestone leaf warbler" lives in the forests of Laos and Vietnam and will be included in the latest version of IBIS (The International Journal of Avian Science). [ScienceDaily] More »

Baby Flamingos Scared Of Pink

Dodai Stewart — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:20:00 EDT

A zoo keeper explains of the chicks, named Little and Large: "We've been wearing a hand puppet which imitates adult flamingos, but unfortunately [they were] really terrified of the socks." [Telegraph] More »

WTF Moment On Late Night TV

Anna Holmes — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:20:00 EDT

May 20, 12:01am. Columbia Broadcasting System. More »

Breakin 2: Electric Cockatoo

Hortense Smith — Sun, 03 May 2009 17:30:00 EDT

I know the news has been a bit depressing today, so to make up for it, here is a video of Snowball, the parrot who taught scientists that birds can actually learn how to dance. More »

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Sadie Stein — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:20:00 EDT

Three different Devon birds have built nests from the clippings of Brian Williams' white hair. Says he, "I am going a bit thin on top but there's still some left to help them out." [Telegraph] More »

Playing Hard To Get Is For The Birds

Megan Carpentier — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:40:00 EST

Researchers at the University of Bristol have done an exhaustive study of the way birds mate and came to the conclusion that when there were a variety of male birds looking to mate, the females would hold off on mating to apparently determine which male bird was willing to stick around long enough to stick it in*, calculating at a basic level that he'd then stick by her and their offspring. Naturally, this ground-breaking research is completely applicable to human dating, or so they're trying to tell us. More »

Bird Brains

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:30:00 EST

Two stories today suggest that birds may be man's best friend. In England, Fred, an African Grey parrot, became so depressed when his owner died that he had to be prescribed a twice-daily liquid dose of Clomicalm, the bird version of Prozac. Further south in Wales, Smokey, a grey cockatiel, went missing for two days after flying out of his owners' front door... and, after he was found, chirped his own name, convincing his rescuer that she had found his owner. "He's a one-in-a-million bird. My heart went when he flew away," said owner David Edwards after picking up Smokey. "I don't mind admitting I shed a few tears on my way to pick him up." [The Telegraph, BBC] More »

Someone at BBC News either has an awesome...

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:20:00 EDT

Someone at BBC News either has an awesome sense of humor or is completely clueless titling this story about baby birds, "Great Tits Cope Well With Warming." [BBC News] More »

Back in 2005, a bald eagle (later named...

Jennifer — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:45:00 EDT

Back in 2005, a bald eagle (later named "Beauty") was found near-death and scavenging for food in an Alaskan landfill; her beak had been shot off, leaving her virtually unable to eat, drink, and clean herself. But a team of biologists who run a bird rescue and recovery center in Idaho think they have at last developed a prosthetic beak that will once again allow Beauty to eat on her own, without the aid of a human helper. While her new beak still won't allow her to re-enter life in the wild, the team is confident that the appendage will allow the 5-year old to reach the grand old age of 70, at least. [Wired] More »

Is Anyone Surprised That Anne Heche Is Still Crazy?

Jennifer — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 18:30:11 EDT

Anne Heche's estranged husband goes out on a limb and calls her "mentally unstable." [People.com]