birds

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Giant Parrot 'Squawkzilla' Is a First-of-Its-Kind Find

Extinct bird was more than half the height of an average human

(Newser) - Researchers believe they've found the largest known parrot to ever inhabit our planet, and it just happens to be about twice the size of the parrot it now dethrones. While the critically endangered kakapo of New Zealand can weigh close to 8 pounds, Heracles inexpectatus weighed an estimated 15....

Protected Birds Are Eating Cows Alive
Protected Birds Are
Eating Cows Alive
Jun 27, 2019 10:05 AM CDT

Protected Birds Are Eating Cows Alive

Black vultures can peck a calf to death in minutes, starting at the eyes

(Newser) - Black vultures are eating livestock alive, and there's little farmers can do about it unless they secure a federal permit to kill the protected birds, whose numbers have ballooned over the last two decades. Kentucky herdsman Derek Lawson says he came upon six black vultures pecking a calf to...

He Should've Gotten a Ticket. The 'Holy Spirit' Saved Him

Dove flies in front of German driver's face right as camera take a picture

(Newser) - A man in Germany just got out of a $120 ticket, and he has a little bird to thank—not for telling him anything, but for flying in front of his windshield at the most opportune moment. Sky News reports on a photo being shared by cops in Viersen, which...

'World's Most Dangerous Bird' Kills Its Breeder

Marvin Hajos, 75, was killed by a cassowary

(Newser) - A Florida bird-breeder was killed Friday when he fell down near the world's most dangerous bird, the Gainesville Sun reports. Police say Marvin Hajos, 75, was attacked by a cassowary, a 6-foot-tall flightless bird endowed with razor-sharp claws. Hajos was able to call 911 and another person on the...

Meet Armando, the $1.4M Pigeon
Meet Armando,
the $1.4M Pigeon
Mar 20, 2019 7:25 AM CDT

Meet Armando, the $1.4M Pigeon

Racing bird likely to spend his next years making babies

(Newser) - Someone just paid $1.4 million for a pigeon—but not just any pigeon. Armando is the "best Belgian long-distance pigeon of all time," according to auction house Pipa , which oversaw a bidding war between two buyers from China, where pigeon racing is popular among the wealthy . The...

World's Oldest Known Wild Bird Will Make All Other Moms Genuflect

Baby No. 37 is on its way for Wisdom the albatross, 68

(Newser) - Dear tired moms of the world: Meet Wisdom, whose dozens of young ones are about to gain another sibling. The Guardian notes that while it may indeed seem "preposterous" for a 68-year-old human to still be having kids, it's apparently different for some birds, including this Laysan albatross...

Drunken Birds Prompt Calls to Minn. Police Department

They should "sober up in a short period of time"

(Newser) - Apparently, the birds of Gilbert, Minn., can't handle their liquor. Case in point: The police department there has received several reports of birds that "appear to be 'under the influence' flying into windows, cars, and acting confused," according to a police department statement released this week....

8 Bird Species Fall Victim to 'Growing Wave of Extinctions'

Habitat loss via deforestation among issues: study

(Newser) - Eight bird species, including the Brazilian blue parrot featured in 2011 animated flick Rio, make up the first confirmed avian extinctions this decade. The Spix's macaw (the species of the Rio characters Blu and Jewel ) hasn't been seen in the wild since 2000, as a 2016 sighting...

Beach Volleyballers Wreck Protected Birds' Nests

Players on island off Alabama moved eggs from least terns' nests, scared off adults

(Newser) - Beach volleyball players on a small island off Alabama probably killed hundreds of unhatched birds, moving eggs to make room for their court and scaring adult birds from nests, reports the AP . The day after the damage was found, the conservation group Birmingham Audubon put up ropes and signs to...

Prozac May Be Hurting Birds&#39; Libido
Prozac's Odd Side Effect:
Less Frisky Birds
new study
Aug 7, 2018 11:05 AM CDT

Prozac's Odd Side Effect: Less Frisky Birds

Females get trace amounts at sewage plants, become less desirable to mates

(Newser) - We humans consume a lot of antidepressants, and that means birds inadvertently do the same while feeding at sewage plants. Now researchers in the UK suggest that it's taking a toll on the birds' libidos, making them—or at least the females—less attractive to prospective mates. In their...

Burning Bird Torches 17 Acres of Land

It takes 50 firefighters to battle the blaze

(Newser) - Police say a burning bird falling from an overhead electric line set fire to a field in northern Germany that was parched by dry weather, torching some 17 acres of land, the AP reports. Police in the Baltic Sea port city of Rostock say witnesses reported that the bird caused...

Big Music Fest Hits Snag Over Small Bird's Nest

Protected killdeer threatens Ottawa's Bluesfest preparation

(Newser) - Who knew a bird had the power to stop 300,000 people? That's the case in Canada's capital, which is days away from hosting a music festival featuring the Foo Fighters, Shawn Mendes, and Hanson. As the Ottawa Citizen reports, preparation for the 24th annual Bluesfest to kick...

Drawings of a Cockatoo Reveal a Medieval Surprise
Drawings of a
Cockatoo Reveal
a Medieval Surprise
new study
Jun 26, 2018 8:49 AM CDT

Drawings of a Cockatoo Reveal a Medieval Surprise

They were found in a 13th-century manuscript tied to Frederick II

(Newser) - The 1496 European altarpiece Madonna della Vittoria contains an image of a non-native cockatoo, but that's no longer such a remarkable fact. Researchers now say they've found images of the bird in a manuscript penned by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II over a seven-year period beginning in 1241,...

Australia Fights Killer Cats With Massive Anti-Cat Fence

Just 50 or 60 felines can eat more than 70,000 native animals per year

(Newser) - It’s not a Guinness world record yet, but Australia has built what is reportedly the world’s longest cat-proof fence. Conservationists are hoping the 27.3-mile fence bordering the Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary in central Australia will help save endangered animals like the mala, a type of small wallaby, from...

Museum Shocked to Discover Giant Egg in Collection Is Real

It's one of fewer than 40 elephant bird eggs held by public institutions

(Newser) - The Buffalo Museum of Science has been sitting on a rare find. A collections manager with the museum discovered an elephant bird egg nestled away in a cabinet for more than half a century and erroneously labeled as a cast. The egg is 1 foot long, more than 2 feet...

Study of Famous Dodo Reveals Surprise Death

Oxford's specimen was shot in the back of the head, scan reveals

(Newser) - Scientists used the latest forensic scanning technology to look inside the world's most famous dodo specimen in the hope of learning more about the anatomy of the bird that went extinct on Mauritius 350 years ago. "In our wildest dreams we never expected to find what we did,...

Ban Lifted on Hotel Guest 17 Years After Poop 'Tornado'

Nick Burchill allowed back at BC's Fairmont Empress after a seagull fracas in his room

(Newser) - A Canadian man barred from a British Columbia hotel for 17 years has successfully reversed his lifetime ban with "a pound of Brothers TNT Pepperoni as a peace offering." To understand the significance of that gift, it's necessary to know the truly insane story of how Nick...

Crab Is Seen Hunting a Bird in 'Gruesome' First

Coconut crabs were previously thought to be scavengers

(Newser) - Seabirds apparently have a surprising new predator to worry about. A researcher who worked on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean in 2016 says he witnessed a large coconut crab attack a sleeping seabird, which then became dinner. Mark Laidre of Dartmouth College says he first spotted a crab...

How to Build a New Beak? 3D Print One

Karl the hornbill was born with half a bottom beak

(Newser) - For Karl the hornbill, the pickings were slim. With only half a bottom beak, the black-plumed bird at Washington's National Zoo couldn't eat anything smaller than a mouse. And to do that, he had to sort of scrape his beak along the ground while tilting his head at...

The Dodo May Be Dead, but We Just Learned More About Its Life

New study reveals life cycle of famously extinct bird

(Newser) - Big dodo news out of the science world this week. Yes, it's still extinct, but a study published Thursday in Scientific Reports finally sheds light on the life cycle of the famously dead bird. “We know so little about these birds that everything was basically a surprise,”...

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