Birds, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 5, 2022

Thousands of starlings form 'bent spoon' swarm over Israel

For a brief moment in Israel last week, an enormous black shape resembling a twisted teaspoon darkened the sky. This was not the work of a spoon-bending telepath, but arguably something much cooler: tens of thousands of migrating starlings, swooping and swarming through the sky together in a type of...

Jan 14, 2022

These birds have been singing the same songs for literally a million years

A million years ago, the soundtrack of the sky island mountains of East Africa may have been very similar to what it is today. That's because a group of tiny, colorful birds has been singing the exact same tunes for more than 500,000 years — and maybe as long as...

Feb 2, 2022

10 of the biggest birds on Earth

Some of the biggest birds on Earth can stand taller than any NBA player and spread their wings wider than kings size bed. There are almost 10,000 species of birds on Earth and they come in all different shapes and sizes — from the tiny bee hummingbird to the massive...

Feb 16, 2022

Watch amazing video of cockatoos that learn to play 'golf'

In an incredible (and perhaps disconcerting) video, a Goffin's cockatoo (Cacatua goffiniana) named Figaro plays a game of putt-putt golf. With seeming ease, the bird places a ball on a platform before using a stick to sweep it into a hole. Researchers say that studying such behaviors in birds may...

Apr 28, 2022

Crows and ravens took over the world because they're spookily smart (and brawny, too)

Crows and ravens have taken over the world in part because they're so big and brainy, new research suggests. Researchers found that crows and ravens have bigger wingspans, brains and bodies than other birds in the Corvidae family. We hypothesize that these three very convenient combinations of traits are what...

May 23, 2022

Why do parrots live so long?

Parrots are exceptionally long-lived, sometimes becoming septuagenarians or even octogenarians. In animals, longevity is often linked to a larger body size, but parrots often live as long as larger birds and much longer than birds of comparable size. So, why do parrots live so long? They're already known for their...

Jun 8, 2022

All hail the hen! Chickens were revered for centuries before they were food

Chickens' first relationship with humans may not have been as a platter of wings or a pair of tasty drumsticks. Researchers have found that people initially saw these now-ubiquitous birds as exotic, and they venerated and even worshiped them. These first domesticated chickens weren't the hefty, fast-growing birds of today....

Jul 15, 2022

Someone decapitated a gaggle of geese in Idaho, and wildlife officials seek answers

A grisly and unusual wildlife crime took place in Idaho over July 4th weekend: Someone mowed down a gaggle of Canada geese — including goslings — with a vehicle, and before fleeing the scene, the perpetrator decapitated many of the birds and apparently removed their heads from the site. The...

Aug 4, 2022

Whooo Knew? 10 Superb Facts About Owls

Introduction (Image credit: Markku Ulander/AFP/Getty)Owls have enjoyed the spotlight around game day ever since wordsmiths, including late-night comedian Stephen Colbert, began using the phrase Superb Owl as a way to get around saying the trademarked term Super Bowl. These wordsmiths were onto something. Owls are beloved by many, even more...

Sep 13, 2022

Tenacious 'trash parrots' locked in escalating 'arms race' with humans Down Under

Residents in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, are in the midst of an escalating feud with a neighboring population of wild sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) over an unlikely prize: household trash. While this conflict may sound comical, researchers report that it shows all the signs of an innovation arms race,...

Sep 30, 2022

What's the fastest airborne animal?

The cheetah is well-known for being the fastest creature on land, but the animal kingdom is not limited to Earth's surface. What is the fastest flying animal? And what biological features enable its speed? Nature's swiftest jet-setter is the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus). Peregrinus is the Latin word for traveler,...

Oct 14, 2022

Flap Flop: Earth's First Bird Not a Bird After All

The legendary winged creature long known as the earliest bird, Archaeopteryx, might have just been dethroned, scientists reveal. Instead, a newfound fossil from China suggests Archaeopteryx was not a bird after all, but one of many birdlike dinosaurs, a finding that could force scientists to rethink much of what they...

Nov 3, 2022

Juvenile bird accidentally breaks record for longest non-stop flight on its first attempt

A juvenile bird recently broke the world record for the longest continuous bird flight on its very first long-haul journey across the Pacific, after the youngster got mixed up and accidentally landed in the wrong place. The bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica), known simply by its satellite tag number 234684, flew...

Nov 9, 2022

Crows outthink monkeys, can grasp recursive patterns

Crows are notoriously clever — the songbirds can use tools, understand the concept of zero and follow basic analogies. Now, a new study suggests that their grasp of one complex cognitive principle in particular is better than that of monkeys and comparable to that of small children. Researchers found that...

Nov 23, 2022

10 terrific turkey facts

(Image credit: Jeff Banke | shutterstock)Turkey sandwiches are gobbled up year-round, but during Thanksgiving, the wattled bird is the star attraction on the dinner table. But there's more to turkeys than meets the eye. Like all birds, the turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is a living dinosaur, meaning its related to Tyrannosaurus...