woodpeckers

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This Bird Takes Sibling Rivalry to Extremes

Nazca boobies literally kick smaller siblings out of the nest to die

(Newser) - Sibling rivalry can be pretty intense among humans but it rarely rises to the level seen in seabirds called Nazca boobies, NPR reports in a look at two extremes of avian sibling relationships.
  • Wake Forest University researcher David Anderson, who has studied Nazca boobies in the eastern Pacific for decades,
...

Die-Hards Are Certain: The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Lives

But grainy photos and videos may not be enough to ward off a federal 'extinct' declaration

(Newser) - Is the ivory-billed woodpecker gone forever ? A final decision from the US Fish and Wildlife Service is expected sometime this spring on whether to declare the bird extinct, reports Ryan Felton for the Wall Street Journal . His story, and another by lifelong birder Jim Williams at the Minneapolis Star ...

Airbnb Oddity: 700 Pounds of Acorns Stashed in Wall

A couple of very industrious critters caused a little trouble at a California rental

(Newser) - Sometimes when you walk into an Airbnb, you don't want to know what its previous occupants have been up to. And sometimes once you know, there's no unknowing. In the case of a two-story house in Glen Ellen, California, the previous occupants had been very busy, but in...

Research Refutes Common Theory on Woodpeckers
Research Refutes Common
Theory on Woodpeckers
new study
Jul 15, 2022 9:44 AM CDT

Research Refutes Common Theory on Woodpeckers

Birds don't have a natural 'shock absorber' to protect their brains

(Newser) - Why don't woodpeckers knock themselves loopy when bashing their head against a tree? For years, the prevailing wisdom has been that they have some kind of natural shock absorber in their skulls to protect their brains, explains NPR . But a new study in Current Biology refutes the idea. By...

For 23 Endangered Species, All Hope Is Now Gone

Ivory-billed woodpecker, nearly 2 dozen other species have been declared extinct by US

(Newser) - Wednesday is set to be a sad day for nearly two dozen endangered species, with all hope gone that we'll ever see them again. Federal wildlife authorities are expected to announce that the ivory-billed woodpecker, Bachman's warbler, and 20 other animals, as well as one plant, are now...

Why Woodpeckers' Brains Don't Burst

Scientists found a spongy plate that protects the birds' brains

(Newser) - After jackhammering their heads into trees all day, how is it that woodpeckers don't head home with the mother of all headaches, much less brain injury? The key is an astonishingly strong skull, say researchers in Beijing. Scientists discovered that the birds' skulls are insulated with a remarkably thick,...

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