Gene expression in alligators suggests birds have "thumbs"

sea-maid submitted, created time 2 months 3 weeks (esciencenews.com)

Scientists have long known that the bones in modern bird wings extend from cartilage that is homologous to fingers two, three, and four (pointer, middle, and ring) in humans. However, new information shows that early ancestors of birds, such as archaeopteryx, had wings based on one, two, and three (thumb, pointer, and middle) instead. Scientists now believe that modern birds are the result of a homeotic frame shift mutation.

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Warmer Climate Sends Birds North

sea-maid submitted, created time 2 months 3 weeks (www.currentresults.com)

Some birds nesting in the central and eastern United States have moved their range over a hundred miles farther north in less than three decades. Scientists at the University of Louisiana attribute the northward movement of breeding birds to climatic warming.

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Brainy birds have the best tunes — and the most pulling power.

sea-maid submitted, created time 4 months 3 weeks (www.nature.com)

When shopping for a mate, female zebra finches might choose males with the sweetest song because singing ability advertises intellectual prowess. Male zebra finches with the most complex songs also tended to be the ones best at solving food-related puzzles.

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Secret sleep of birds revealed in brain scans

sea-maid submitted, created time 5 months 4 weeks (www.newscientist.com)

Birds may not be as "bird-brained" as we thought. Zebra finches show many features of sleep that had previously been assumed to be the sole preserve of mammals.

The finding raises new questions about the complexity of the bird brain and about the evolution of sleep as we know it.

Mammalian sleep is characterised by distinct stages: slow wave sleep (SWS), intermediate sleep (IS) and rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, with a progression towards more REM sleep.

EEG recordings of the brain's electrical activity also show specific landmarks called "K-complexes" and "spindles" during SWS.

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Listen to the Three-Alarm Jay

DanyC submitted, created time 11 months 3 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

This is an impressive accomplishment for the jays,and they have a third call--a combination of low and high sounds--that distinguishes a hunting hawk in the sky that is looking for prey from a hawk that has spotted its next meal and has begun a downward attack dive.
Woo...such alam can do a lot of thing than we ever thought before.

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Duetting birds found to be unfaithful

Eric wu submitted, created time 1 year 2 weeks (www.nature.com)

Birds that sing in harmonious duets with one another have always been considered monogamous partners, with the singing thought to help in building faithful relationships. Now, research has shown at least that one such species sleeps around.

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Speech Gene Helps Birds Sing

Native genes may save Hawaiian birds

Ancient Birds Were Turkey-Like

seven submitted, created time 1 year 1 month (www.postchronicle.com)

Australian biologists have determined ancient birds acted more like turkeys than common cuckoos, primarily remaining on the ground rather than in trees.

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Big Bird was never like this! Huge birdlike dinosaur found.

Darkfrog submitted, created time 1 year 6 months (www.nature.com)

The creature, a young adult, is estimated to have weighed 1400 kg, over thirty-five times as much as its next-biggest relative. We don't know for sure whether it had feathers, but it did have birdlike bone structure and no teeth -- so probably a beak.

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