Crocodiles and birds were 'prehistoric bedfellows'

February 28, 2019

Romanian palaeontologist Matyas Vremir and a team of researchers found that the fossilized eggs discovered in 2011 belonged to two bird species as well as two reptile species, the ancestors of modern crocodiles and geckos

Crocodiles and birds may not seem the most obvious bedfellows, but scientists now say a prehistoric fossil find in Romania suggests that at one time the two species may have shared nests.

In 2011 Romanian palaeontologist Matyas Vremir found fossilised eggs and eggshell fragments dating back roughly 68 million years on a river bank in the Oarda de Jos area of central Romania.

Some two million years later, land-based dinosaurs were wiped out by a cataclysmic event, probably an asteroid strike that may have also triggered massive volcanic activity.

Vremir analysed the find with an international team of researchers who found that the eggs belonged to two bird species as well as two reptile species, the ancestors of modern crocodiles and geckos.

The team published its conclusions this month in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, saying the fossil find was "unique in the vertebrate fossil record and represents the earliest record of disparate animals sharing the same nesting area".

The authors say that the presence of the two reptile species "perhaps suggests that these animals were not only tolerated, but were perhaps not perceived as a threat to enantiornithine eggs or nestlings," referring to one of the prehistoric bird species.

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Wild ducks caught on camera snacking on small birds - via Mike Playfair

By Helen Briggs BBC News

30 June 2017

This has never been documented before and is probably a new behaviour, say scientists.

Zoologists at the University of Cambridge filmed a group of mallard ducks hunting other birds on a reservoir in Romania.

Two fledglings - a grey wagtail and a black redstart - were chased and swallowed when they landed in the water.

Mallards are one of the most abundant types of wild duck, and a common sight in parks and on lakes.

The duck normally snacks on seeds, acorns, berries, plants and insects.

It has, on occasions, been seen to eat small fish, but bigger vertebrates are normally strictly off the menu.

Dr Silviu Petrovan noticed the unusual behaviour of a group of mallards while he was out bird watching with friends near a national park in southwest Romania.

He saw the adult female duck grab the grey wagtail in her beak, and repeatedly submerge it in the water, before eventually eating it.

A second bird - a fledgling black redstart - then landed in the water, where it was chased by juvenile mallard ducks.

"The poor bird landed on the water and was screaming and trying to navigate itself out of danger," said Dr Petrovan. "Then it was almost instantaneously attacked by the mallards."

The bird eventually disappeared - assumed to be drowned or consumed.

The scientists could find no record of mallard bird predation in the scientific literature, which suggests such behaviour is both "very rare" and newly-learned.

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Romanian conservationists and hunters unite to save Red-breasted Geese

For the first time in Romania, conservationists and hunters are working together to protect a threatened species: the Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis).

At the request of the Romanian Ornithological Society (SOR, BirdLife Romania), the National Association of Romanian Hunters (AGVPS, the FACE partner in Romania) have agreed to a temporary hunting ban in one of the most important Special Protected Areas (SPAs) for the Red-breasted Geese - Lake Balta Alba in Buzau County.

The Red-breasted Goose is the smallest goose species in the world. It nests in Siberia and when it migrates, it travels 9.000 km to its wintering grounds in Romania and Bulgaria. Hunting, illegal killing, loss of feeding sites and displacement by windfarms in their wintering grounds are major threats that have led to a continuing decline in the species’ population.

“We monitored this area with our partners and we found that the geese began wintering in October. We saw 1.260 birds on 30 October... By the end of November, we had approximately 10.000 individuals, which is 20% of the global population,” said Emil Todorov, project officer of SOR.

To make matters worse, Red-breasted Goose flocks mix with other geese species, such as the Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons), which are allowed to be hunted. This increases the risk of Red-breasted Geese being accidentally shot, especially in the morning when the whole flock takes off together from their roosting place.

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Romania set to approve bird hunting during spring migration

A proposed law that would allow spring hunting and trespassing on private property in Romania could be approved Imminently, Bird Life International  has reported

This would mean birds could be legally killed during spring migration and goes against the Birds and Habitats Directives, as this is a critical time for migrating birds on their way to breed. The legislation would extend the legal hunting periods for up to 3 months, including spring migration, for 18 species of birds, mostly goose and duck species (Northern Pintail and Gargany among them). It is particularly threatening for non-target species like the endangered Red-breasted Goose, which forms mixed flocks with target species and then gets accidentally killed.

One of the other 18 species for which this law would apply is the Eurasian Skylark. It’s one of Romania`s most beloved birds and has been an inspiration for many great musicians all over the world. It is currently legal to hunt Skylark in Romania and five other EU countries - Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France and Malta. But the Skylark population in Europe has declined up to 50 percent since 1980, so extending the hunting period would only worsen the situation. Also, people are known to hunt under the guise of targeting skylark, but end up killing other species that are legally protected as well.

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Where did 50,000 'lost geese' go?

Researchers fit satellite tags to unlock secrets of ‘lost' geese

February 2013. Researchers in Bulgaria have taken the largest ever catch of Endangered red-breasted geese and fitted satellite tracking devices in a bid to unlock one of the biggest mysteries of the natural world.

red-breasted goose (Wikipedia)

Just over ten years ago, more than 50,000 of the small, brightly coloured geese seemingly disappeared from their wintering grounds along the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine.

Relocated or exterminated?
Coordinated international counts have not since recorded a significant increase, leaving scientists speculating whether the missing geese - half the world population - have relocated to unknown sites in southwest Asia or fallen foul of hunting, development and changes in farming.

Teams from the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) and the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) caught 91 red-breasted geese and fitted 11 tags to follow the birds' individual movements along their 6,000 km migration to breeding grounds in Arctic Russia.

But conservationists working to save the red-breasted goose are being realistic about the chances of rediscovering the ‘lost' population. The data gathered will also help conservationists work with farmers, planners and developers in Bulgaria.

Peter Cranswick, Head of Species Recovery at WWT, has been at the heart of the international effort to catch and tag the geese. He said:

50% of the world's population disappeared
"Almost overnight, we were unable to account for around half the world's red-breasted geese. The reasons are still unclear and we are tracking these individual birds to find out more.

"The data we get will be invaluable to our work with local communities in Bulgaria - the farmers, shooters and landowners - to work out how we support the remaining geese, while still meeting their needs. It is also possible that, as the climate has changed, some birds have started to winter further east. We hope our tagged birds will reveal as yet unknown sites, so we can assess their importance and - if necessary - ensure their protection."

The project ‘Safe Ground for Redbreasts' is funded the contribution of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Community.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/bulgaria-geese.html

New Kind of Extinct Flying Reptile Discovered

Feb. 4, 2013 — A new kind of pterosaur, a flying reptile from the time of the dinosaurs, has been identified by scientists from the Transylvanian Museum Society in Romania, the University of Southampton in the UK and the Museau Nacional in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

The fossilised bones come from the Late Cretaceous rocks of Sebeş-Glod in the Transylvanian Basin, Romania, which are approximately 68 million years old. The Transylvanian Basin is world-famous for its many Late Cretaceous fossils, including dinosaurs of many kinds, as well as fossilised mammals, turtles, lizards and ancient relatives of crocodiles.

A paper on the new species, named Eurazhdarcho langendorfensis has been published in the online journal PLoS ONE. Dr Darren Naish, from the University of Southampton's Vertebrate Palaeontology Research Group, who helped identify the new species, says: "Eurazhdarchobelong to a group of pterosaurs called the azhdarchids. These were long-necked, long-beaked pterosaurs whose wings were strongly adapted for a soaring lifestyle. Several features of their wing and hind limb bones show that they could fold their wings up and walk on all fours when needed.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130204111548.htm