Birds continue to be amazing. Crows can use tools and hold grudges against specific people. Magpies can recognize themselves in mirrors. And now, hawks are using traffic signals to hunt down prey, according to a study published today in the journal Frontiers in Ethology. The story starts with Vladimir Dinets, a zoologist at the University […]
Immaculate Feather Fossil Reveals the Unlikely Preserving Power of Volcanoes
Fossilized feathers discovered 136 years ago are still revealing new secrets. Researchers found that the volcanic rock preserving the feather holds microscopic details preserved within the fossil. The team’s research—published today in Geology—found that the feathers are preserved in zeolite, a mode of preservation that hasn’t been reported for soft tissues until now. “Fossil feathers […]
Plastic Triggered a New Geological Epoch—and the Evidence May Be in Bird Nests
Plastic may have started a new geological era on our planet, sometimes called the Anthropocene. Hundreds and even thousands of years from now, scientists may date sediment layers by finding bits of old plastic, similar to how today’s archaeologists date excavations by the art styles of ancient pottery. In fact, this has already begun: Researchers […]
Plastic Triggered a New Geological Epoch—and the Evidence May Be in Bird Nests
Plastic may have started a new geological era on our planet, sometimes called the Anthropocene. Hundreds and even thousands of years from now, scientists may date sediment layers by finding bits of old plastic, similar to how today’s archaeologists date excavations by the art styles of ancient pottery. In fact, this has already begun: Researchers […]
Hundreds of Ducks Found Dead of Suspected Bird Flu Around Chicago
Roughly 200-300 ducks have been found dead in Chicago and the northern suburbs around Lake Michigan in recent days, according to a new report from local news outlet NBC5. The red-breasted mergansers have died of suspected bird flu, according to local experts who spoke with NBC5, though it doesn’t appear tests have confirmed that suspicion […]