Bird banded in Dominican Republic found in Vermont

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Though its natural habitat is shrinking in the Caribbean, a brownish-gray songbird twice discovered on top of Vermont's highest mountain is giving scientists hope.

Just weeks ago, researchers identified a Bicknell's Thrush on Mount Mansfield that had been banded in the Dominican Republic while wintering there in 2010. It was the second time since 2010 that the bird had been captured on the mountaintop as part of research.

"The chances of that are amazingly small and to have that happen is not only just remarkable and very cool ... it's really compelling because it shows you that we have to pay attention to both ends of this bird's range if we're going to conserve it," said Chris Rimmer, executive director of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies.

The vulnerable species has an estimated population of 100,000 worldwide. The migratory birds nest and breed in coniferous forests in northern New England, the Adirondacks and eastern Canada, then fly south to winter in the Caribbean.

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Cockatoos Get Protection to Curb Illegal Pet Trade

By RAMONA YOUNG-GRINDLE 

WASHINGTON (CN) - Three species of cockatoos have received final listing status under the Endangered Species Act, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Philippine cockatoo and the yellow-crested cockatoo are listed as endangered, while the white cockatoo is listed as threatened.

Because the white cockatoo is listed as threatened, the USFWS has also issued a special rule for that species under the ESA to allow import, export and interstate commerce of the birds without a permit if they are captive-bred or already in captivity at the time of listing, as long as those activities were in compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Wild Bird Conservation Act, according to the agency's press release. The ESA's special rule clause is not applicable to species listed as endangered.

The Friends of Animals (FOA) petitioned the USFWS to list the cockatoos and 11 other parrot species in 2008. In 2010, the FOA and the WildEarth Guardians sued the agency for failure to issue a 12-month finding on the petition. A 2010 settlement agreement outlined a timetable for determining listing status for the species and the three cockatoos were proposed for listing in August 2011, according to the action.

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Foodborne bacteria can cause disease in some breeds of chickens after all

Date:

July 1, 2014

Source:

American Society for Microbiology

Summary:

Contrary to popular belief, the foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni is not a harmless commensal in chickens but can cause disease in some breeds of poultry according to research. Campylobacter jejuni is the most frequent cause of foodborne bacterial gastroenteritis in the world and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate it affects approximately 1.3 million people per year in the United States. Chicken is the most common source of infections.

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Birding In The National Parks: Odd Birds Showing Up In National Parks

Submitted by Kirby Adams on July 1, 2014 - 2:15am

I write this from the south shore of Lake Superior, not far from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Two days ago, while casually birding the lakeshore, my wife Sarah spotted a Black-crowned Night-heron. That’s an extremely unusual bird to find as far north as the Superior shore. We put word out on the e-mail lists, and before long a group of the Upper Peninsula’s intrepid birders had added the heron to their list. It was a lifer for at least one, and a new “UP bird” for many of them.

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Rare bird breeding success at nature reserve

A BIRD that rarely breeds in Worcestershire has successfully raised a family on a nature reserve for the first time since 1947.

A pair of shoveler ducks has successfully bred on The Moors Pools at the Christopher Cadbury Wetland Reserve, in Upton Warren, near Wychbold.

The site, consisting of both fresh and saline water pools, is owned by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.

John Belsey, a volunteer at Upton Warren, said: “These unmistakeable birds, with their large spatula-shaped bills, are regular visitors to the county but rarely breed here.

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Bird brains: Public asked to look out for clever rooks

1 July 2014 Last updated at 00:08

By Victoria Gill

Science reporter, BBC News

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is asking the public to take part in a national survey of bird intelligence.

From 1 July, the charity is asking people to submit video clips or descriptions of the behaviour or rooks - some of our cleverest garden birds.

Rooks have already demonstrated their intelligence in lab-based studies that have tested their ability to solve problems and use tools.

This survey will examine if and how wild rooks apply these skills.

The rook is a member of the corvid or crow family, which is famed for its intelligence.

As well solving laboratory-based puzzles, crows have been spotted exploiting urban environments by, for example, dropping walnuts onto busy roads and using the traffic to crack them open.

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Promiscuous males die young, childless females live longer

30 minutes ago by Vicky Just

(Phys.org) —A study of birds by researchers from our Department of Biology & Biochemsitry in collaboration with the University of Sheffield shows for the first time how sexual behaviour is linked with life expectancy and can cause an imbalance in sex ratios.

The research could be used to predict the causes and effects of unbalanced sex ratios in human populations.

The team of scientists have previously shown that the adult sex ratio (ASR, the ratio of males to females) affects mating behaviour in terms of mate choice, divorce rates, infidelity and promiscuity, and also determines the parenting roles of males and females.

In a new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the team looked at what causes an imbalance in the ratio between the sexes. They analysed data from 187 bird species to see whether sex ratios at birth, termed 'hatching sex ratios', or sex ratios at independence of the young, termed 'fledgling sex ratios', correlate with the ASR. Instead they found that difference in mortality of adult males and females was by far the most significant predictor for ASR. The study established that the unbalanced adult sex ratios were due to the biased death rates of adult males and females, rather than biased sex ratios of offspring.

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