Flower's bellows organ blasts pollen at bird pollinators

Date:

July 3, 2014

Source:

Cell Press

Summary:

A small tree or shrub found in mountainous Central and South American rainforests has a most unusual relationship with the birds that pollinate its flowers, according to a new study. The plant known as Axinaea offers up its male reproductive organs as a tempting and nutritious food source for the birds. As the birds seize those bulbous stamens with their beaks, they are blasted with pollen by the flowers' complex 'bellows' organs.

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Prison terms and hefty fines for criminal gang smuggling birds of prey

Black kites linked the UK to a European-wide trade in wild-caught birds with forged papers

Following a lengthy trial at Ghent in Belgium, five people have been convicted of being part of a criminal organisation engaged in forging and falsifying permits and documents required to possess and trade in endangered species and for possessing rare birds of prey, reports the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). 

The investigation by the Belgian Federal Police, which lasted in excess of six years, resulted in enforcement action in five countries, including search warrants being executed in the UK by the police and NWCU. 

The four men and one woman were part of a criminal gang that were acquiring some of the rarest birds of prey from the wild and then passing them off as having been bred in captivity by using falsified and forged permits.

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First Birds Valued Fashion Over Flight

JUL 2, 2014 01:00 PM ET // BY JENNIFER VIEGAS

Archaeopteryx, the iconic early bird that lived around 150 million years ago, sported feathered “trousers” on its hind limbs as well as other decorative feathers, and researchers now believe at least some non-avian dinosaur and bird feathers evolved for flashy display before they were later recruited for flight.

They've finally found a fossilized mosquito full of prehistoric blood! So a real "Jurassic Park" is right around the corner, right?

DCI

That's the conclusion of a new study, published in the journal Nature, which describes a remarkable new specimen of Archaeopteryx that includes extensive feather preservation.

“The excellent preservation of the feathers in the new specimen helps to clarify many contentious issues,” senior author Oliver Rauhut of Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich told Discovery News. “The specimen not only shows the wing and tail feathers in great detail, but also body plumage and feathers along the hind limbs…(which are) similar to the feather ‘trousers’ found in many modern birds of prey.”

The researchers determined that quill-like feathers covered Archaeopteryx’s entire body up to its head. Its hind limb feathers were symmetrical, indicating they didn't help with flight.

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Study shows merlin thrive in some habitats

They are Britain’s smallest bird of prey but there is some good news for the species with breeding of merlin increasing on grouse moors over the last 20 years.

The Moorland Association (MA) says the birds are breeding well on heather moorland managed by gamekeepers for wild red grouse, however the figures show the picture is not as rosy in other upland areas where the birds of prey are found. A recent independent study for the association found there were four times more breeding records for merlin on the managed landscapes than moorland without keepers.

Peak District head keeper, Fred Mitchinson has been working with licensed bird ringers and recording numbers for over twenty years and said the findings were very encouraging.

Breeding records appear to have doubled on grouse moors in the last 20 years - however the same figures revealed a fall of more than half in other upland areas.

Mr Mitchinson explained: “I take great pride in knowing I have had a direct impact on the success of these wonderful little falcons.

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Study of cliff swallows' flight tactics could help design missile guidance systems

They sing gently outside our windows, these soaring symbols of nature's grace. But sometimes birds' behavior is more consistent with a war movie than a Disney film.

A new University of North Carolina study involving cliff swallows examines the birds' reaction times, turning performance and pursuit tendencies during tandem flights - all often taking place during some less-than-social interaction. The study, appearing in the online Journal of Experimental Biology, is the first to track the birds in the field in high resolution.

"We like to think that animals are cooperative and all that, but they'll sometimes behave badly, just like people do on occasion," said Tyson Hedrick, a UNC biologist and a co-author of the study done the summers of 2012 and 2013. "Animals turn out to not always be that sweet and cuddly thing underneath."

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Die-offs of band-tailed pigeons connected to newly discovered parasite

Date:

July 2, 2014

Source:

University of California - Davis

Summary:

A new parasite, along with one possibly found in T-Rex, has been implicated in the recent deaths of thousands of Pacific Coast band-tailed pigeons. Avian trichomonosis is an emerging and potentially fatal disease that creates severe lesions that can block the esophagus, ultimately preventing the bird from eating or drinking, or the trachea, leading to suffocation. The disease may date back to when dinosaurs roamed the earth, as lesions indicative of trichomonosis were found recently in T-Rex skeletons.

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Only One "Rio" Parrot Left

No Disney ending here: A rare blue parrot named Presley died last week, leaving only one known, wild-born Spix's macaw left. And, unlike in the movie "Rio," which Presley may have inspired, he didn't leave behind any offspring.

The native Brazilian birds are already believed to be extinct in the wild, after deforestation and non-native honeybees started competing with them for nest space. The last sighting of a Spix's macaw in the wild came in 2000.

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