Rescuing endangered seabirds: world’s biggest single operation to remove mice from island

Patrick Barkham Non-native house mice are to be removed from Marion Island in the southern Indian Ocean to protect the wandering albatross and other endangered seabirds, in the world’s largest eradication programme of its kind. Mice accidentally introduced on to the remote island by 19th-century seal hunters have thrived in warmer and drier conditions over… Read More Rescuing endangered seabirds: world’s biggest single operation to remove mice from island

Wildlife photographer took 40,000 photos to capture these extraordinary birds

Rebecca Cairns, CNN. Photos by Tim Laman I’m willing, more than most people, to go through some discomfort.” That’s how American conservation photographer Tim Laman ended up with water rising over his knees in a marshy river delta at midnight, his camera gear floating by his side. “I got myself into a situation,” he admits.… Read More Wildlife photographer took 40,000 photos to capture these extraordinary birds

Pale Blue Flycatcher

I was walking a trail today when I spotted this juvenile actively self-feeding. No adults were in attendance and no calls were heard. The bird was feeding largely by aerial-sallying from perches and snatching caterpillars and insects from the tree foliage. Prey was extensively branch-swiped before being eaten and the bird would land on a… Read More Pale Blue Flycatcher

Assam’s ‘hargila army’: how 10,000 women saved India’s rarest stork

Today the greater adjutant is endangered, with fewer than 1,200 adult birds in its last strongholds – the Indian states of Assam and Bihar, and Cambodia. Most of the global population is found in Assam, making Barman and the hargila army’s work critical to its survival. Indian conservationist Purnima Devi Barman transformed attitudes to the bird –… Read More Assam’s ‘hargila army’: how 10,000 women saved India’s rarest stork

The man who has transformed our understanding of evolution

Katie Hunt, CNN On the Galapagos Islands, a ground finch that usually munched on small, soft seeds was forced, during a drought, to eat harder, larger ones. Within the space of a few generations, the bird evolved a larger but shorter beak better suited to cracking large seeds. The Galapagos medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis).… Read More The man who has transformed our understanding of evolution

‘We need to be braver’: young naturalists on the world beyond Cop15

Birdwatchers Mya, Arjun and Kabir have grown up seeing the effects of wildlife decline. They talk about what inspires them, their hopes for future action and how everyone can connect with the nature on their doorstep More than 300 young people from around the world are gathering in Montreal for a two-day youth summit ahead… Read More ‘We need to be braver’: young naturalists on the world beyond Cop15

Bird thought to be extinct for 140 years has been rediscovered in the forests of Papua New Guinea

Zoe Sottile, CNN A bird thought to be extinct for 140 years has been rediscovered in the forests of Papua New Guinea. https://ebird.org/species/phepig1 The black-naped pheasant-pigeon\ was documented by scientists for the first and last time in 1882, according to a news release from nonprofit Re:wild, which helped fund the search effort. Rediscovering the bird required… Read More Bird thought to be extinct for 140 years has been rediscovered in the forests of Papua New Guinea

Birdsong reveals rare hybrid coupling 10 million years in the making

October 8 (ANI): A team of researchers was able to use a combination of genomic sequencing and song analysis to identify a rare hybrid bird, whose ancestors haven’t shared the same breeding location or lineage for 10 million years. When Gosser finally located the songbird, he saw what appeared to be a rose-breasted grosbeak, but… Read More Birdsong reveals rare hybrid coupling 10 million years in the making

Could bringing back its love song save one of Australia’s rarest songbirds?

The regent honeyeater is an endangered native Australian songbird, with only a few hundred left in the wild. A few years ago scientists noticed something odd – they were mimicking other birds, and unable to sing their own song. Environment reporter Graham Readfearn and Dr Joy Tripovich explain how this species lost its song, and whether teaching it how… Read More Could bringing back its love song save one of Australia’s rarest songbirds?