'Gay' Penguin Couple Had No Egg of Their Own. So They Stole One.

By Mindy Weisberger - Senior Writer 18 days ago Animals 

Zookeepers found the two males incubating a purloined egg.

A pair of mated male penguins in a Dutch zoo were so eager for offspring that they stole an egg from another pair of penguins.

Two male black-footed penguins (Spheniscus demersus, also known as African penguins) at DierenPark Amersfoort zoo in the Netherlands were recently found incubating a purloined egg. Their nest — holding the stolen egg — was near a nest that belonged to a male and female penguin couple, zoo representatives said in a statement.

Hatching season was already underway for the zoo's penguin community, and the males likely swiped the egg from their breeding neighbors during "an unguarded moment," according to the statement. 

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Record-size sex chromosome found in two bird species

Date:  December 4, 2019

Source:  Lund University

Researchers in Sweden and the UK have discovered the largest known avian sex chromosome. The giant chromosome was created when four chromosomes fused together into one, and has been found in two species of lark.

"This was an unexpected discovery, as birds are generally considered to have very stable genetic material with well-preserved chromosomes," explains Bengt Hansson, professor at Lund University in Sweden.

In a new study, the researchers charted the genome of several species of lark, a songbird family in which all members have unusually large sex chromosomes. The record-size chromosome is found in both the Eurasian skylark, a species that is common in Europe, Asia and North Africa, and the Raso lark, a species only found on the small island of Raso in Cape Verde.

According to the Lund biologists Bengt Hansson and Hanna Sigeman, who led the study, the four chromosomes have fused together in stages. The oldest fusion happened 25 million years ago and the most recent six million years ago. The four chromosomes that have formed the larks' sex chromosome have also all developed at some time into sex chromosomes in other vertebrates.

"The genetic material in the larks' sex chromosome has also been used to form sex chromosomes in mammals, fish, frogs, lizards and turtles. This indicates that certain parts of the genome have a greater tendency to develop into sex chromosomes than others," says Bengt Hansson.

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Australia's threatened birds declined by 59% over the past 30 years

DECEMBER 3, 2019

by Elisa Bayraktarov and Jaana Dielenberg, The Conversation

Australia's threatened birds declined by nearly 60% on average over 30 years, according to new research that reveals the true impact on native wildlife of habitat loss, introduced pests, and other human-caused pressures.

Alarmingly, migratory shorebirds have declined by 72%. Many of these species inhabit our mudflats and coasts on their migration from Siberia, Alaska or China each year.

These concerning figures are revealed in our world-first Threatened Bird Index. The index, now updated with its second year of data, combines over 400,000 surveys at more than 17,000 locations.

It's hoped the results will shed light on where conservation efforts are having success, and where more work must be done.

Bringing conservation efforts together

The index found a 59% fall in Australia's threatened and near threatened bird populations between 1985 and 2016.

Migratory shorebirds in South Australia and New South Wales have been worst hit, losing 82% and 88% of their populations, respectively. In contrast, shorebirds in the Northern Territory have increased by 147% since 1985, potentially due to the safe roosting habitat at Darwin Harbour where human access to the site is restricted.

Habitat loss and pest species (particularly feral cats) are the most common reasons for these dramatic population declines.

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How humans killed off the only parrot native to the continental U.S.

The last Carolina parakeet died in captivity in 1918. Now, new genetic analysis has revealed what drove the bird to extinction.

BY LIZ LANGLEY

PUBLISHED DECEMBER 12, 2019

The United States was a more colorful place when flocks of Carolina parakeets flew across the sky like daytime fireworks, flashing pops of orange, yellow, and green.

The country’s only native parrot species ranged from southern New England down to Florida and as far west as Colorado, but the last one died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1918. Since then, the Carolina parakeet has symbolized the perils of extinction in the United States, much like the dodo has on the global stage.

A century after the last parakeet soared over America, a mystery endures: Was the demise of the 12-inch-long bird entirely driven by people? Farmers, who saw them as crop pests, easily eliminated whole flocks, since the animals had the unfortunate habit of gathering around their fallen comrades. Hunters killed the parakeets for their plumage, which was a popular hat accessory in the 20th century. And habitat loss—particularly land-clearing for agriculture—also removed trees the birds used or nesting. (Read how parrots may have become too popular for their own good.)

Even so, other experts have speculated other causes were at play: Natural disasters, such as fires and floods, could have fragmented the birds' habitat, and they may have been exposed to harmful diseases spread by poultry.

Now a group of international researchers has sequenced the Carolina parakeet genome and concluded that the bird’s rapid decline shows human interference drove their extinction, according to a study published today in the journal Current Biology.

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Hundreds of dead birds found in mystery mass death

11 December 2019

Hundreds of birds found dead on a north Wales road are to be tested to discover how they died.

About 225 starlings were discovered with blood on their bodies in a lane on Anglesey, North Wales Police said.

Dafydd Edwards, whose partner found the birds, said it was as if "they had dropped down dead from the sky".

The Animal and Plant Health Agency has collected them for testing and will examine whether they could have been poisoned.

North Wales Police said it was investigating the "very strange" discovery and has appealed for information.

"We don't know how it has happened," said PC Dewi Evans.

Mr Edwards, 41, said his partner Hannah Stevens first saw the birds alive as she went to an appointment on Tuesday afternoon.

"She said she saw hundreds of them flying over and thought it looked amazing but on her way back around an hour later they were all dead in the road.

Ms Stevens reported seeing the birds eating something in the road.

"I counted 150 last night but I gave up as there's just hundreds of them littered everywhere.

"It's as if they just dropped down dead from the sky."

A spokesman for the RSPB said: "This is obviously very concerning for us and we will await the test results.

"It would be inappropriate for us to speculate as to how they have died."

Source

Jimi Hendrix is NOT to blame for Britain's plague of 170,000 parakeets: Scientists finally dispel urban legend by tracing historical sightings of the bright birds back to the 1800s

Legend claims the birds were released by Jimi Hendrix or Humphrey Bogart 

Others claim a plane crash or burglars in George Michael's home released them 

New study disproves these theories and says it was likely due to many low-profile releases of unwanted pet parakeets over decades 

By JOE PINKSTONE FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 00:01, 12 December 2019 | UPDATED: 12:21, 12 December 2019

Urban legend has a range of outlandish theories for the origin of Britain's parakeets, including Jimi Hendrix, Humphrey Bogart and George Michael. 

But their true origin in the UK has nothing to do with such glamorous celebrity myths, according to new research, which reveals sightings of the birds actually date back to the 1800s. 

It has been claimed that Jimi Hendrix released the first pair of parakeets, called Adam and Eve, as a symbol of peace when he was stoned in London's Carnaby Street in 1968. A rival theory maintains that the birds escaped from the set of The African Queen, the film starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, in 1951.

But a study, published today in the Journal of Zoology, reveals the birds were reported in Britain as far back as 1855, when one was seen in Norfolk.

The data was drawn from the plotting of parakeet sightings between 1968 and 2014, resulted in 5,072 points across the country. Researchers also looked at newspaper archives from 1800 onwards but did not find any news reports on parakeets being released by Hendrix or The African Queen 

The researchers now believe parakeet numbers may have been boosted by escapes from British bird houses damaged in the Great Storm of 1987.

Experts also suspect many parakeets kept as pets were released en masse after an outbreak of 'parrot fever' in 1929, 1930 and 1952, as newspaper articles urged the public to stay away from the 'dangerous birds'. 

Sarah Cox of Goldsmiths, University of London, says pet owners would have found it less distressing to simply set their bird free from a window than have it destroyed. 

Ring-necked parakeets are an exotic bird native to Asia which now terrorise many UK neighbourhoods. 

Despite originating in warmer climes, they have adapted well to British weather and actually thrive in cities such as London. 

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Emus once roamed Tasmania, so what happened to them?

ABC Radio Hobart 

By Georgie Burgess

Posted Sat at 9:33pm

It's hard to imagine free-ranging emus foraging across Tasmanian plains in 2019.

But, there is a reason why Burnie used to be called Emu Bay. The large flightless birds once called the island state home.

The University of Tasmania's Tristan Derham said the birds were throughout Tasmania's midlands and the north-east and north-west of the state.

"It's not really clear why the emu went extinct in Tasmania," he said.

The emus were said to be a smaller sub-species of the mainland emus but there are few detailed descriptions of the bird.

Mr Derham said he had researched eyewitness accounts of emus through reports by divisive colonial leader George Augustus Robinson, explorer Matthew Flinders and the diaries of clergyman Robert Knopwood.

"I haven't found a lot of evidence they were much different from mainland emus," he told ABC Radio Hobart.

European settlers recorded feasting on emus and kangaroos upon arrival in Van Diemen's Land.

"The early colonists were crazy for hunting emus and kangaroos," Mr Derham said.

The species survived in the wild until 1865, and the last captive bird died in 1873.

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