1. What might be Asia’s longest-missing bird just came out of hiding. For the first time in 170 years, researchers reported last week that a black-browed babbler has been found in Indonesia. The discovery of the muted black, gray and chestnut-brown bird solves what an authoritative birding guide describes as “one of the great enigmas of Indonesian ornithology.” Ornithologists first described black-browed babblers around 1850 following the collection of the one and only known specimen of the species. The specimen was at first mislabeled as having come from the island of Java rather than Borneo, stymieing early attempts to locate additional black-browed babblers. But even after ornithologists cleared up the geographic mix-up, no one managed to find the bird. (via The New York Times)
2. For a glimpse of the power of sexual selection, the dance of the golden-collared manakin is hard to beat. Each June in the rainforests of Panama, the sparrow-size male birds gather to fluff their brilliant yellow throats, lift their wings, and clap them together in rapid fire, up to 60 times a second. When a female favors a male with her attention, he follows up with acrobatic leaps, more wing snaps, and perhaps a split-second, twisting backflip. By studying the genomes of the golden-collared manakin (Manacus vitellinus) and its relatives, researchers are exploring the genes that drive these elaborate behaviors and traits. (via Science Mag)
3. And then there is this question: How Do Birds “Fall in Love”? When birds hook up, their partnerships can take many forms. Some, such as penguins and albatrosses, form lifelong bonds that can last decades. Other species stick together for only one or a couple of seasons. And then there are groups—such as grouse, hummingbirds, and the astounding birds-of-paradise—where pair bonds often don’t exist at all, and males have no role in raising the young. Most courtship behaviors are more subtle—but most birds, including many backyard birds, have an assortment of actions to clue bird watchers in to any ulterior motives. (via All About Birds)
4. Most bird watchers are not familiar with the concept of bird-friendly coffee or how this product can help bird populations. Over the past 50 years, the coffee industry has prioritised production, often favouring intensive and high-volume monocrop systems, where there’s nothing but coffee plants covering large areas. As a result, birds can’t find adequate habitats, seriously reducing their chances of survival. The answer: bird-friendly coffee. This certification scheme was initially developed by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center in 1996, but bird-friendly brands are now available worldwide. (via European Scientists)
5. It’s a drab little bird — a brown sparrow, not even five inches long, that you wouldn’t give a second glance if it happened to hop across your path. The Florida grasshopper sparrow might be the most endangered bird in the continental United States. Biologists are working hard to save it — and they think they’re making progress. But their efforts raise a persistent question: Why go to the trouble? It’s just a sparrow, after all. Sparrows are everywhere. Don’t we have enough of them as it is? By working to preserve the Florida grasshopper sparrow, we’re also protecting the remaining bits and pieces of a unique natural ecosystem unlike any place else on Earth: the Kissimmee prairie, a natural subtropical savanna unique in the Eastern United States. (via Audubon, The Washington Post)
6. In winter, more than 1 million shorebirds that breed in the Arctic will visit and move throughout the coastline of northwest Mexico. It has been incredibly hard to elucidate how birds use the region and what drives their movements in this vast network of coastal wetlands spanning 3,100 miles of coastline. Tracking birds has always been a challenge. To make it easier, scientists have built a massive network of radio antenna devices called Motus stations across the U.S. and Canada that can automatically track the movements of tagged birds. However, Motus stations are still missing in much of Latin America. This has resulted in large gaps in biologists' understanding of where migratory shorebirds go during their nonbreeding season. (via EcoWatch, Motus)
7. Least they can do: In an unusual — and somewhat controversial — move, federal wildlife officials in California are teaming up with a wind power company to breed endangered California condors in captivity, in an effort to replace any that might be felled by turbine blades. The company, Avangrid Renewables, which operates 126 turbines in the windy Tehachapi Mountains about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles, is working with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to breed the birds in captivity at the Oregon Zoo. The proposed program, which was reported by The Los Angeles Times this week and is still subject to final approval by the Wildlife Service, could begin as soon as this spring. (via The New York Times)
8. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery: A robotic bird with flapping wings covered in real feathers has flown for the first time. It could be used to provide insights into how real birds fly or to create stealthy drones that look like wildlife. Researchers at Guangxi University in China and Chinese firm Bee-eater Technology built a carbon fibre skeleton linked with aluminium joints and some 3D-printed plastic parts. It was covered in a thin foam and then layered with real goose feathers in a pattern that mimicked that on a real bird. (via New Scientist)
9. When you feel safe traveling again: Ideal for maintaining social distance, birding allows partakers to find adventure as near as their local park or just out their window at a feeder, fastidiously plugging their sightings into online communities like eBird and raving about the painted bunting that appeared for one fleeting moment early that morning. Whether you’re a card-carrying Audubon member or a newcomer that just spotted their first chickadee, birding offers a sense of closeness to nature that few other recreational activities can. From Nebraska's Platte River Valley to the rainforests of Puerto Rico, here are eight of the very best birdwatching sites in the U.S. (via Conde Nast Traveler)
10. Photo extra: Typically, bird photographers use high-end cameras with telephoto lenses and trek out into the wilds but enthusiast Ostdrossel has a different method: she lets the birds come to her. Using a feeder-mounted camera, she remotely captures striking images of the birds that visit her home in Michigan. Ostdrossel says that the images she shares are either taken with a timelapse setting or via a motion detector. The setup, which she details on her blog, is what she calls the Bird Photo Booth 2.0. (via PetaPixel)
Bird Photo of the Week
Photo By Mike Hamilton, Bald Eagle buzzing a Snow Goose.
Bird Videos of the Week
By Cornell Lab Bird Cams, “Best of 2020”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Cornell Hawks.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Ospreys feast.