Zebra finches survive Australian heatwaves by predicting high temperatures

DECEMBER 2, 2019

by Curtin University

The survival habits of a native Australian bird have given Curtin University researchers vital clues that may help understand how wildlife can withstand harsh heatwaves that may prove fatal.

The research, published in Frontiers in Physiology, monitored the physiological and behavioural responses that enabled zebra finches, an iconic desert bird, to survive extreme temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius over three to four days at Fowlers Gap, north of Broken Hill in New South Wales.

Lead author Dr. Christine Cooper, from Curtin's School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said researchers monitored zebra finches, which are distinctive native birds known for their zebra-striped tails and commonly found in the drier parts of Australia, while they were feeding and drinking.

"Given that birds are particularly susceptible to extreme weather events and there have been recent cases of mass bird deaths during heatwaves, it is important to understand how desert Australian birds respond to heatwaves," Dr. Cooper said.

"Our research found that zebra finches survived heatwaves of 40 to 45 degrees Celsius by avoiding or limiting their movement during the hottest parts of the day and pre-emptively feeding and drinking in preparation for long periods of inactivity."

Dr. Cooper said the research offered important clues to understand how other species may respond to extreme weather events, including harsh Australian heatwaves.

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It takes a school, and a community, to save this rare Philippine hornbill

by Leilani Chavez on 28 November 2019

The rufous-headed hornbill, known locally as dulungan, is a critically endangered bird found only on the Philippine islands of Panay and Negros.

The species is threatened by poaching and habitat loss, but a grassroots conservation campaign over the past decade has sought to put the community in Panay front and center of efforts to save the bird.

The campaign has focused on schools; by raising awareness and understanding of the species among children, conservationists hope the message ripples out through the community.

Researchers have also emphasized the need to further studies into the dulungan, given how little is known about it, including its flight range and the fruit species it prefers to eat.

The school bell rings for recess and as the students prepare to leave their rooms, a screeching bird call blares through the rooms and hallways of Sebaste National High School, a public school in the province of Antique in the Visayas region of the Philippines.

It initially caught them off guard, says Joenas Tunguia, one of the teachers behind the unusual announcement. The sound, followed by a series of short spiels, forms part of a series of a school-based information campaign to raise awareness about the rufous-headed hornbill or Walden’s hornbill (Rhabdotorrhinus waldeni), known locally as dulungan.

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Study shows link between health and size of social group

Date: November 14, 2019

Source: Anglia Ruskin University

A new study has found that crows living in large social groups are healthier than crows that have fewer social interactions.

The research, led by Dr Claudia Wascher of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), has been published this week in the journal Animal Behaviour.

Dr Wascher and her colleagues studied a population of captive carrion crows over a six-year period. They monitored the behaviour of the crows in different sized groups and measured friendship by ranking the birds using a sociality index.

At the same time, they studied the crows' droppings to measure for the presence of coccidian oocyst, a gastrointestinal parasite that can represent an important health threat for birds.

Increased exposure to parasites and disease transmission is considered as one of the major disadvantages of group living. This new study, however, shows the opposite effect.

The researchers found that crows with strong social bonds, living with more relatives, and in larger groups, excreted a significantly smaller proportion of droppings containing parasites than less sociable crows.

The study did not find a connection between health and the crow's dominance within the group, but found that male crows (33%) were slightly more likely to carry the parasite than females (28%).

Dr Wascher, Senior Lecturer in Biology at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: "Crows are a highly social bird and we found that crows with the strongest social bonds excreted fewer samples containing coccidian oocyst, which is a common parasite in birds.

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New evolutionary insights into the early development of songbirds

DECEMBER 2, 2019

by Uppsala University

An international team led by Alexander Suh at Uppsala University has sequenced a chromosome in zebra finches called the germline-restricted chromosome (GRC). This chromosome is only found in germline cells, the cells that hold genetic information which is passed on to the next generation. The researchers found that the GRC is tens of millions of years old and plays a key role in songbird biology, having collected genes used for embryonic development.

The ability to reproduce is a fundamental trait of all life. How reproduction has evolved and how it functions on a genetic level is therefore of great interest to evolutionary biologists. During the early development of an animal embryo, cells are divided into two major types, germline and somatic cells. Germline cells are present in the reproductive organs and hold genetic information which is passed on to the next generation, whereas somatic cells are the cells which make up the rest of the organism. Biologists have discovered that in some organisms, certain genes and repetitive DNA-sequences are eliminated when cells become either somatic or germline, which means that not all cells in an organism contain the same genome.

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Video shows group of crows repeatedly 'ice skating' down frosty roof of Cork on Ice

By

Andrew Byrne Video Editor

A group of crows were filmed repeatedly "ice skating" down an icy roof on Monday morning.

The video was filmed in the early hours of the morning in Cork city as the birds used the ice covered roof of Cork on Ice to slide down.

Originally, the video shows just one bird performing the unusual act but as the camera spans across the roof a number of other crows are seen doing the same thing.

The footage was filmed by Paddy O'Shea on the Centre Park Road before posting the video on Twitter.

The freelance lighting technician told the Irish Mirror: "I was working on the lighting set up for Cork on Ice so I was on site early.

"There was a bunch of crows messing about on the ice covered roof of the marquee.

"I thought it was very funny that the crows were ice skating on the roof of the Cork ice rink."

He added: "We'll have to charge them next time."

The video has been praised online with one Twitter user saying: "They're clever yokes!"

While another added: "Coup for city as Winter Crow-lympics hosted in Cork."

The ice rink opens at the end of the week on the 22nd of November but these "early birds" just couldn't wait.

Watch video

Source

NZ hatchery welcomes 2000th kiwi chick

14 November 2019

After two days of exhausting kicking and pecking through egg shell, the 2000th chick at New Zealand's National Kiwi Hatchery Aotearoa has been born.

And it already has a huge fan base, after its birth was livestreamed around the world.

Smitten viewers watched on as the egg started to jiggle. The chick then made a tiny hole in the air-filled sac inside the egg before poking the pink tip of its beak through the shell and breathing clear air for the first time.

The fluffy chick, yet to be named, weighs a healthy 342.8 grams and is already using its long beak to find stability as it explores its new environment.

Its gender will be unknown for another month until DNA tests are completed.

Kiwi mums lay up to 100 eggs in a lifetime, yet New Zealand's wild kiwi population is declining by three per cent every year. Of every 100 kiwi eggs laid in burrows in the forest, only five kiwi chicks will make it to adulthood.

Without ongoing support, experts estimate the brown kiwi will be extinct in the wild within two generations.

The National Kiwi Hatchery Aotearoa at Rainbow Springs Nature Park in Rotorua is the leading kiwi hatchery in the world, incubating and hatching over 130 kiwi chicks each year - about 75 per cent of all kiwi incubated and hatched outside their natural setting in New Zealand.

Spokesperson Helen McCormick said she expected the new celebrity to draw thousands of fans to the hatchery.

"This is a wonderful time to visit the hatchery as hatching season is in full swing, visitors can join a guided tour and experience first-hand where the kiwi are incubated, the hatching process and hopefully see some newly hatched chicks," she said.

Kiwi are unusual birds in many ways. They can't fly, they sleep standing up, and they can run as fast as a human. They also have cool body temperatures that resemble mammals more than birds, have whiskers like cats, and big ears with keen hearing.

Source

Bugged backpack for Brazilian birds

1st October 2019

Purple martins will soon begin their yearly winter migration but this time they’ve got a new accessory. The birds will be wearing little backpacks that will track their roosting sites.

As the bird travels north from Brazil, the purple martin roosts in small forested patches on their rout to North America.

“This is highly unusual behavior for songbirds, which typically roost in heavily forested areas,” said Auriel Fournier, a co-author of the study with University of Manitoba biological sciences professor Kevin Fraser, who led the research. Fournier is the director of the Forbes Biological Station at the Illinois Natural History Survey.

“It’s surprising to see them roosting in these forest islands, which are small, isolated clusters of trees typically surrounded by agriculture, water or recently cut forest,” Fournier said.

The research is intended to determine whether the birds are responding to a change in the environment or whether their roosting behaviour has always been this way.

“We believe they must be intentionally seeking out the forest islands,” Fournier said. “Because these habitats don’t occur very frequently on the landscape, the birds’ use of them is unlikely to be by chance.”

“We are curious if birds are choosing these isolated patches of habitat because they have fewer predators than in larger patches of forest,” Fraser said.

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