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Tag: birds

A new bird has been found on Bear Island

Modern DNA technology allows biologists to now peer into the genes of historical specimens that are over a century old at the Natural History Museum in Oslo and other museums. Through this method, the researchers made an unusual discovery in their lab.

Thrushes spread the most dangerous Lyme bacteria

“Everyone knows that the forest harbours ticks, but perhaps not many people think about the fact that ticks are also on lawns and at rest areas along the road,” says researcher.

Should you help injured birds?

A little duckling has injured its foot. Should you help, kill it or do nothing?

Seagulls have found safety in cities, but can this save them?

They bother those of us who reside in these cities but the seagulls have moved here because life at sea is too rough.

Record numbers of Norwegian sea eagles are exported to Europe

Norwegian authorities exported a record number of white-tailed sea eagle chicks this summer. They are hatching new, viable populations in Ireland, Spain and Scotland.

Biological sex: What kind of variations exist in nature?

In plants and animals, one type of gamete – reproductive cell – is larger than the other.

The Norwegian medieval kings were known to give the best gifts: Falcons

Norwegian falcons given as gifts from the Norwegian king during the Middle Ages are said to have been valued more highly than silver and gold by the English royal family.

Do birds like modern architecture?

Birds need hiding places, and some like to build nests in our buildings. So how are birds dealing with all the flat roofs and clean lines in modern construction?

House sparrows and humans are old buddies

These little beggars have hung around humans for more than 11,000 years, new Norwegian research suggests.

When two raven species become one

On the outside, they look similar, but common ravens in North America contain a counterintuitive tale about evolution in their genes.

Why do starlings dance in the sky?

Flocks of several hundred thousand starlings can fly swiftly in coordinated and mesmerising formations, even when trying to evade predator birds. Why do they do it, and more significantly, how?

Be careful not to overfeed wild birds

It gives advantages to certain species but can make life – and survival – harder for others, warns an ornithologist.

Zebra stripes keep birds from colliding with aircraft

Colliding with birds can cause an airplane to crash. Researchers are working on ways to scare birds away from planes, and zebra stripes have so far proven effective.

Why do female birds mate with more than one male?

Possibly for protection, according to one study. The potential fathers will work together to stop predators from attacking their young. Ths challenges established ideas about the passive female, says philosopher.

Conservative seabirds in a squeeze

Seabirds don’t like changes. This trait can kill them.

The valley at the end of the world – and the magical mysteries we found there

OPINION: Plant life in parts of the high Arctic are changing fast, possibly due to changing climate and local bird populations, but scientists are still putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

Mysterious bird was unique cross of two unrelated species

In 2013, volunteer bird banders captured a strange looking bird in Lista, on the southern tip of Norway. Now scientists have determined that the bird was a cross between two different genera – a first for this type of bird.

Videos reveal the secrets of the Eleonora’s falcon

Every fall, Eleonora’s falcons nest by the Mediterranean, preying on migrant birds coming from the north. A Norwegian scientist has filmed the species over a long period to study the bird’s diet and activity.

Puffin chicks die of hunger

For seven years now, Atlantic puffins have been abandoning chicks and eggs in their nesting colonies because they cannot find enough food. The ocean is teeming with mackerel which consume the small fish that puffins normally feed to their offspring.

Scanning the forest for birds

The data were intended to help foresters appraise timber. But laser scanning from an airplane makes it possible to predict where specific bird species can be found.

Great Tit tackles earlier springs

Species could be more resistant to climate change than simple models suggest.

Ivory gulls threatened by eggshell thinning

High levels of environmental contaminants are linked with thinner eggshells in the ivory gull, a red-listed high Arctic seabird. Scientists are concerned that pollutants and the stress from global warming could cause populations to plummet.

Tracking the cuckoo's nest

Squatting in other birds' nests and kicking out legitimate chicks might not give the cuckoo any prize for 'best house guest', but as the only brood parasite in Northern Europe it is a good indicator for the current state of affairs for several bird species.