Monthly Archives: January 2011

Let your offspring have an extended childhood in a stable and loving home; lead by example; offer positive reinforcement; be patient and persistent; indulge even a near-adult offspring by occasionally popping a fresh cockroach into its mouth; and realize that at any moment a goshawk might swoop down and put an end to the entire pedagogical program.

An article in Wired Science reported a recent discovery that raptors use nest decorations as signals; biologists suspect that many other bird species may do the same. According to researchers, black kite raptors were found to use white plastic to show territorial dominance.  Other combinations of trash and plastic may signify that a bird is [...]

“Conspiracies don’t kill birds, people, however, do.” That’s the headline of an article in today’s N.Y. Times about the rash of recent bird deaths in the U.S. and the numerous conspiracy theories that have surfaced in their aftermath. The uproar began after 5,000 winged blackbirds were found dead one morning in Arkansas last month. Conspiracy [...]

The death of over 1,000 turtle doves last week in Italy was the result of indigestion, according to Italian officials. The birds were scattered across the small Italian city of Faenza and were found with blue stains on their beaks, which is often a sign of oxygen deprivation. However, according to Nadia Caselli of the [...]

Five thousand blackbirds lay dead in the city of Bebee, Arkansas on New Year’s Day.  The macabre scene horrified residents and caused many to wonder if a great bird die off was to come. That’s not very likely according to Gary Graves, a Smithsonian curator of birds who has spent the last 25 years researching [...]