1. What looks like an elaborate sequined mask on this male hummingbird could disappear the second he tilts his head. The throat and face feathers are iridescent—depending on the viewing angle, the plumage might flash brilliant or mundane hues. In this species, called Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna), only males have an iridescent face and neck. The male Anna’s hummingbird courts mates by sitting absolutely still and singing his heart out to a potential companion. By freezing in place, he guarantees she sees his magenta face coloring. Researchers are still investigating the purpose of the kaleidoscopic coloring. (via Scientific American)
2. Last spring, people opened their windows to a symphony. Swallows burbled, doves cooed, and sparrows chirped—and to many listeners, these passerine performers had never seemed so loud. For nature lovers, wearied by the tragedy of coronavirus and lockdown challenges, this music was a source of joy. But to scientists, these reports presented a puzzle—as did the stream of sometimes surreal sightings like pumas strolling Santiago, Chile, and wild boar trotting traffic-free streets in Haifa, Israel, and masses of pink-plumed flamingos in Mumbai’s waterways. Were these flukes, or in the case of birds, were housebound humans simply extra observant? Since then, scientists have been studying the complex consequences of what they are calling the ‘anthropause,’ or the unprecedented global slowdown in human activity linked to efforts to control COVID-19. (via Audubon)
3. Cardinals are known for their bright red color, but an Illinois couple had a one-in-a-million experience with a member of the species in a different hue. In February 2020, Chelsea Curry noticed a yellow songbird perched on a feeder at her home in Rushville. She called her husband, Richard, to come look at the unknown bird. He said it looked like a cardinal, which she did not believe. "I argued that it was not because there was no such thing. He told me he didn’t know there was either, but it was definitely a cardinal. We Googled it, and that’s when we realized that it really was a yellow cardinal and just how rare they are," told Curry. This week, Geoffrey Hill, a professor, bird curator and expert on bird coloration at Auburn University, confirmed that the couple spotted the rare bird. (via USA Today)
4. Who knew: Animals, including humans, depend on accurate information to navigate the world. But we can easily succumb to deliberate misinformation or “fake news”, fooling us into making a poor choice. In a new paper out today researchers show how a form of fake news can be deployed to help save vulnerable wildlife. They protected endangered shorebirds by spreading misinformation — in the form of bird smells — to deceive predators. This helped reduce the number of birds lost, without using lethal force. (via The Conversation)
5. Songbirds are dying across parts of California and the Pacific Northwest, and officials think crowds at bird feeders are to blame. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and wildlife rehabilitation centers have been "inundated" with calls since December 2020 from California residents reporting that they found sick or dead finches at their bird feeders, according to a statement posted Feb. 8. An investigation into the deaths revealed that the birds were infected by the Salmonella bacteria and had developed salmonellosis. A tale as old as (pandemic) time: large gatherings were to blame. (via Live Science)
6. When we asked how many species she has handled throughout her career, Amy Scarpignato starting listing off entire guilds until she eventually lost count. “I started with songbird banding, then worked with raptors, then waterfowl,” Scarpignato explained. “I wanted to travel and work with as many species as I could.” And travel she did. A formative stage in many biologists’ careers when they work a series of three- to six-month long positions as technicians. In many ways, this vagrant lifestyle embodies so much of what attracts many of us to conservation biology. These positions are also vital to conservation, with technicians often doing the bulk of the legwork to collect scientific data needed for conservation plans or to put conservation efforts into action. (via Audubon)
7. A year after the last of the fires were doused, their toll on species is becoming increasingly clear. Flames devoured more than 20 percent of Australia’s entire forest cover, according to a February 2020 analysis in Nature Climate Change. Even if plants and animals survived the flames, their habitats may have been so changed that their survival is at risk (SN: 2/11/20). As a result of the scale of the disaster, experts say that more than 500 species of plants and animals may now be endangered — or even completely gone. (via Science News)
8. In January, just weeks before former President Donald Trump left office, the Interior Department finalized a regulation asserting that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act should only prevent the intentional hunting of birds and that it doesn’t apply to deaths caused by industrial projects unintentionally. This “midnight regulation” was one of many last-ditch efforts on the part of the Trump administration to ease regulations of the oil and gas industry, whose oil spills and other environmental disasters often wind up killing birds. On Monday, the Biden administration scrapped the Trump administration’s move, arguing that it failed to incorporate decades of legal precedent and removed any incentives for these industries to update their facilities. (via Grist)
9. Some of the tallest buildings in Philadelphia will go dark for a few months a year in order to prevent migratory birds from striking the buildings as they head north or south, depending on the season, city officials and environmentalists said Thursday. The buildings will shut off the lights from midnight to 6 a.m. every night between April 1 and May 31, and Aug. 15 and Nov. 15 to accommodate dozens of the migratory bird species. The buildings that have already signed on to the Lights Out Philly initiative are: BNY Mellon Center, Comcast Technology Center and Comcast Center, Jefferson Center, One South Broad, One Liberty Place, Two Liberty Place, and 1515 Market Street. (via NBC Philadelphia)
10. For you Granite State birders: New Hampshire Audubon has a new study on the status of the many migratory and local bird species that are commonly found across the state’s varied habitats. It shows conservation measures that have been effective to improve some species’ populations, as well as the pressures from climate change and human development that threaten others. Since the last version of this report 10 years ago, Audubon has gotten more data on species that weren't well studied before. Of the species with useful data, the new report says 46% are stable or increasing, and about 39% of species are in decline. (Click here to read the full report.) (via NHNPR)
Bird Photo of the Week
Photo By Hap Ellis, Common Gallinule.
Bird Videos of the Week
By Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Be a Better Birder: Warbler Identification”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Barred Owl.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Osprey Parents.