Ancient feathered animal challenges dinosaur-bird link
...t beyond that, this animal looks like an ancestral bird even if you ignore the feathers. The teeth, pector...prior to this that everyone agrees was a feathered bird is called Archaeopteryx, which first appears in the fossil record about 75 million years after Longi...Feathers on reptile older than dinosaurs, reported in Science
...arities between the fossil feathers and modern day bird feathers suggest an evolutionary link between the two. Although the exact relationship between the reptile, named Longisquama insignis , and modern birds is uncertain, these findings may pose a challenge to the prevailing theory that birds evolved ...Cadmium makes brittle bones in Rocky Mt. birds
...ing areas and may threaten some populations of the bird with extinction. Cadmium from abandoned mines may also affect other wildlife species in the area, including deer, elk, moose, rabbits, beaver and other birds, the researchers predict. "Even humans in the region may not be immune to the effects of ca...Grasslands, deserts, mountains and fire
...hat invade the nests and eat the eggs. Some of the bird species that may be threatened are lark bunting and horned lark. Scientists already know that the number of birds that survive to adulthood in grassland areas is very low and that the reason why may relate to differences in vegetation type. Scientis...Microscopic bone evidence supports dinosaur-bird evolution link
...extbooks that show this," he said. The debate over bird evolution grew more heated in June when a team of Russian and U.S. researchers suggested a fossil of a small flying reptile with feathers, called Longisquama, came from 225 million years ago. That's about the time dinosaurs first appeared but 75 mill...Hummingbird studies raise questions about birdsong evolution
...avior such as vocallearning." In applying the bird findings to mammals, Jarvis pointed out that, like the bird family,mammals have only a few members who demonstrate learned vocalizations humans, bats, whalesa...Farmers and GM crops should both impact farmland birds, Science study predicts
...erbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops may severely reduce bird populations on a small percentage of farms, while ... of the study links the decline in weed numbers to bird numbers, predicting that such a decline in seed abundance should seriously reduce the numbers of sky...Conservation under the shade coffee canopy: ant-bird interactions in Panama croplands
...ates the efficacy of using shade grown coffee as a bird conservation measure. Published in the ESA peer-... levels of disturbance may affect different forest bird species, because a wide variety of species typically use the swarms to obtain food. During the cour...USGS scientists warn: West Nile Virus is on the move
...460. Note: B-roll video of USGS West Nile Virus bird capture and testing in New York and New Jersey will be available through ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates in Washington, DC. Digital still photographs for print will be available through the USGS website....USGS scientists warn: West Nile virus is on the move
...re especially susceptible to the virus, many other bird species are now carriers. As they migrate, mosquitoes in new areas may become infected and then carry that infection on to humans. So far this year, the virus has caused 16 people to become ill and led to one death. Other mammals also appear at ri...USGS finds West Nile Virus in North Carolina crow
...migrating birds move south. Primarily a wild bird disease, the virus has affected a small number of ...ly are mild. The virus has been found in nearly 70 bird species and 8 mammal species, McLean said. Its been responsible for the deaths of thousands of birds...Singing silently during sleep helps birds learn songs
...mpared the activity of each neuron while the awake bird sang, while a sleeping bird could hear a recording of its own song, and during undisturbed sleep. While the birds are awake an...Ancient running reptile was bipedal, say Science researchers
...al times. It happened in some dinosaurs, and their bird descendants, and it happened in mammals, so it must be a good idea in terms of evolution," said Reisz. Reisz and colleagues plan to continue excavations at the site, which has already yielded a number of other well-preserved fossils. "It's a super si...Female birds choose best singers to have smarter offspring
...ity" of bigger brain structures in three different bird species were published this year by Cornell scient...o think in human motivational terms. "An elaborate bird song is like a Grand Cherokee in the driveway or an M.D. after the name -- a kind of shorthand for a...Taking the long view: examining factors which influence Northern Spotted Owls
...s. Interior old growth forest allowed for better bird survival, possibly providing them with an area in which to hide from predators, such as the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus). Great Horned Owls primarily depend upon their sense of sight when hunting, and so the darker areas of the forest prov......nction throughout a 24-hour day. And if "the early bird gets the worm," it's because birds also have a built-in clock that helps them to rise before the sun. High school students in the Washington, D.C., area and throughout the world will learn about biological clocks during the annual Holiday Lectures...USGS issues alert for deadly disease in birds
A deadly bird disease, avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM), is affecting mallard ducks and coots on Woodlake in North Carolina; coots on Lake Juliette in central Georgia; and coots, bald eagles and -- for the first time -- a Canada goose on Strom Thurmond Lake on th...DNA research reveals new bird species in Colorado
...nnison sage-grouse is not a particularly secretive bird yet just recently has it been identified as a new ...f bird. The collaborative research designating the bird as a new species was conducted by researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Denver, W...Changes in Australian ecosystems tied to arrival of exotic animals
...ew study. The eggshells of the large, flightless bird are unique in that they can be dated by traditiona...animal species. The study showed an ostrich-sized bird known as Genyornis -- as well as 85 percent of the Australian "megafauna" weighing more than 100 pou...Science's Top 10: genome sequencing named top scientific advance of 2000
...rchaeoraptor, thought to be a novel combination of bird and dinosaur, but exposed as the combination of two different fossils. In a box on Biomedical Ethics, Science also reviews the fallout from gene therapy fatalities and recent efforts to update international agreements governing human subjects in me...