Will lemmings fall off climate change cliff?
... that specialize on eating lemmings, such as snowy owls and arctic foxes, may suffer if lemmings are no longer so productive. Other predators may benefit. For example, there is evidence that red foxes have usurped considerable areas from arctic foxes in recent decades. Warmer temperatures may have inc...Male owls pitch their hoots to advertise body weight to competitors
Why do male owls hoot? Researchers from the Centre d'tudes Biologiq... whether this information is actually used by male owls during territorial interactions, the authors conducted a series of playback experiments (commonly us...Eavesdropping nuthatches distinguish danger threats in chickadee alarm calls
...y see flying raptors birds of prey such as hawks, owls and falcons they issue a soft, high-pitched "seet" call. However, when they see a stationary or perched predator, chickadees use a loud, wide-spectrum chick-a-dee-dee-dee alarm to recruit other birds to harass, or mob, the predator and chase it awa...Age is more than a number -- in barn owls, it reveals how susceptible one is to climate change
...ral variation in survival and reproduction of barn owls in western Switzerland that had been observed over the past fifteen years. Using recently developed statistical tools, they were able to show that those fitness components that experienced stronger selection were indeed less variable over the years. ...Ancient DNA provides clues to the evolution of social behavior
...l for prowling owls. For thousands of years, these owls have roosted in two caves near the Chilean border and regurgitated pellets of indigestible fur, bones and teeth while they rest. From these teeth, scientists can determine which rodent species lived in a roughly 3-mile radius of the cave at any given...NASA technology monitors wildlife habitats from the air
Two rare species, California spotted owls in the Sierra Nevada and the Delmarva fox squirrel in the mid-Atlantic U.S. have something in common. Using NASA technology, scientists have been able to identify habitats to help forest managers monitor and protect these species and other wildlife. ...DNA from feathers tells tale of eagle fidelity
...an 24 different species of hawks, eagles, falcons, owls and harriers. Also participating in this study were Evgeny A. Bragin of the Naurzum State Nature reserve, Karamendy, Kazakhstan; and O. Eugene Rhodes Jr., of the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. The Wildlife Conservation Society p...Chickadees' alarm calls carry information about size, threat of predators
...y see flying raptors birds of prey such as hawks, owls and falcons they produce a soft, high-pitched "seet" call. But when they see a stationary or perched predator, the birds use a loud, wide spectrum chick-a-dee-dee-dee alarm to recruit other chickadees, as well as other bird species, to harass or mo...Early life stress harms mental function and immune system in later years
...s of the central nervous system in barn owls. Barn owls have proven to be an excellent model for studying ...e more difficult with old age. Barn owls must localize prey precisely in order to hunt successfully at night. Hunting relies on the accurate ...Is more better: Counting birds may only tell part of the story
...e disturbances. In southern France, Eurasian eagle owls were more productive and abundant in areas where long-term human activity maintained an open habitat and abundant prey. This suggests some birds are able to adjust to changes, seizing the "ecological opportunities" that may arise from human disturba...