Songbirds who make the arduous flight from their nesting sites in northern boreal forests to warm, southern climates in the winter may be rewarded for their journey with greater genetic diversity, according to a University of Michigan study. Greater genetic diversity could help a species survive better, but that gain is threatened by habitat loss…
We’ve just returned from an incredible spring migration tour on the beautiful island of Lesvos, and what a season it was! This year, we had the pleasure of guiding a small, private group of birdwatchers and bird photographers through some of the island’s most productive and picturesque habitats. 5 Days, 131 Species | Private tailor-made…
A few nights before Mom died, my brother, sister and I lay in bed with her, doorman and women of her soul, for we knew she was going to go but not when and we wanted to be there at the threshold when she did. It is fitting, my brother said, that we spend her…
The number of species does not increase evenly when going from local ecosystems to continental scales – a phenomenon ecologists have recognised for decades. Now, an international team of scientists, including researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), has developed a new theory to explain…
Efforts to protect birds from the growing impacts of climate change may be missing a key piece of the puzzle. According to new research, understanding the specific climate conditions that birds need to survive – known as their climatic niche breadth – could be crucial for identifying which species are at greatest risk. Scientists from…
Bird species that do well in urban areas are more colourful and less brown Urbanization has a huge impact on the ecosystem and poses enormous challenges to animals and plants. The ongoing, worldwide increase in urbanization is considered one of the main causes of the steady decline in biodiversity. Urban ecology is the field of…
With the first birdwatching visitors already arriving in Lesvos, the tourist season is starting with positive omens for the local community. From mid-April, nature lovers from all over the world – known to the locals as “poulakides” – will flood the island’s wetlands, forests, and beaches to observe the region’s rare endemic and migratory birds….
The Mediterranean Basin is a critical biodiversity hotspot hosting numerous bird species that are likely to be sensitive to climatic changes. This study integrates ecological niche modeling and Bayesian skyline plot analyses to assess the historical, current, and future geographic distributions, and population dynamics of 45 endemic bird species in the region. Using occurrence data…
Birds are steadily moving north. Or at least those who can are. “California Scrub Jays moved to Port Townsend the same year I did,” said Steve Hampton, speaking Tuesday to the Peregrine Audubon Society in Ukiah about how birds in Northern California are adapting to the changes in their environment caused by both rising temperatures…
You can know a lot of things about birds just by the shape of their wings. A seafaring albatross, stretching out its sail-like airfoils, lives a very different life from a ground-dwelling antpitta with its long legs and short, stubby wings that it uses in rare, short bursts of flight. But can bird wing shape…