1. Let’s start with self-medicating Bustards: Taking drugs if you’re feeling under the weather is old news for humans, but new research shows that the world’s heaviest bird capable of flight could be the latest animal to use plants as a form of medication. Researchers from Madrid in Spain studied data on 619 droppings belonging to great bustards and discovered that the two species of plants that were eaten more than other foods in their diet had “antiparasitic effects.” “Here we show that great bustards prefer to eat plants with chemical compounds with antiparasitic effects,” Luis M. Bautista-Sopelana, a scientist at Madrid’s National Museum of Natural Sciences and lead author, said in a news release Wednesday. (via CNN)
2. A Playbook for sustainable ranching in Latin America and the Caribbean: This Fall, Audubon Americas launched the Sustainable Cattle Ranching Playbook, an illustrative publication for producers to showcase how cattle ranching can boost productivity while helping birds. The playbook shares best practices and information that, although showcased in Colombia, can be used in almost any farm in Latin America and the Caribbean, regions where the transition to sustainable cattle ranching practices is urgently needed to stop deforestation, land exhaustion, and overall environmental degradation. (via Audubon)
3. Look who has resurfaced!: Birdwatchers regularly flock to the Grand Codroy Estuary, a designed RAMSAR site regularly, but the most recent rare bird sighting may entice even more. The Steller's Sea Eagle, typically known as the heaviest eagle in the world, has been sighted in the region, and it is currently believed to be the only one present in North America. Native to Northeast Asia, specifically Russia, Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan, the Steller’s Sea Eagle has dark brown plumage with white wings and tail, and most noticeably, a bright yellow beak and talons. Mark Lomond with Sou’Wes Newfoundland Delta Waterfowl and the founder of the Facebook group ‘The Newfoundland & Labrador Birdwatching Group’, the largest birdwatching group on the island with over 13,000 members, said this is an important sighting. (via Yahoo! Finance)
Photo by Hap Ellis, BNI was on the case last January.
4. No better weekend to highlight the Wild Turkey: American Thanksgiving and turkeys are forever, inextricably linked together. Turkey may very well have been served at the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth more than 400 years ago, and today the delicious bird is so ubiquitous that consumers fret over turkey prices and whether its meat makes you sleepy. Yet in addition to being a food, turkeys are also birds — intelligent birds, at that. Indeed, turkeys are so intelligent that just like another intelligent animal (humans), turkeys will form complex social hierarchies. There is even a popular colloquial term for those hierarchies: A pecking order, which is used as a metonym for any social hierarchy, particularly workplace ones. (via Salon)
5. Wild Turkey in some cities not so wild anymore and definitely annoying: Eric Case was bicycling through Alameda on a recent afternoon when he saw a cluster of wild turkeys, walking at their usual subglacial speed across one of the city’s busiest intersections. They were holding up an Alameda Police Department officer in a marked car. And they did not care, or seem to notice. (via San Francisco Chronicle)
6. The problem with being unique: A new study finds that bird species with extreme or uncommon combinations of traits face the highest risk of extinction. Losing these species and the unique roles they play in the environment, such as seed dispersal, pollination and predation, could have severe consequences to the functioning of ecosystems. The researchers found that in simulated scenarios in which all threatened and near-threatened bird species became extinct, there would be a significantly greater reduction in the physical (or morphological) diversity among birds than in scenarios where extinctions were random. (via Phys Org)
7. Birds and planes – a persistent challenge: The aircraft, which has “United States of America” written on its fuselage and is painted blue and white, was carrying General Daniel Hokanson when birds struck in mid-air. The general was in Chicago to discuss national security issues with business leaders and to address an ROTC event at Chicago State University in the late afternoon. Birds are responsible for increasing accidents at airports. Despite their best efforts, no amount of technology seems to keep these flying creatures at bay. Last month, a United flight headed for Miami had to make an emergency landing at O’Hare International Airport after hitting a bird shortly after takeoff. Fortunately, no one was hurt despite an engine catching fire. (via The EurAsian Times)
8. Bird flu news: An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu in both wild birds and backyard flocks has killed thousands of birds throughout several states, including Oregon. The disease, typically known as bird flu, has been detected in almost every county in Oregon. Its current strain is especially deadly for wild birds, which are dying in larger numbers than during previous outbreaks. The number of backyard flocks – which include chickens, ducks and other domesticated birds – that have been impacted also has been much larger than in recent outbreaks. (via The Oregon Live)
9. Something to think about on New Year’s Eve and 4th of July: Movement data from 347 geese showed that on New Year's Eve, birds suddenly leave their sleeping sites and fly to new areas further away from human settlements. The disturbed birds rested two hours less and flew further, sometimes up to 500 kilometers non-stop, than they did on nights without fireworks. The unusual behaviors didn't end with the celebrations. For all studied days after the New Year, geese spent more time foraging and never returned to their original sleeping sites. Every year, fireworks are set off around the world to welcome the new year. This nighttime spectacle of light, color, and sound is enjoyable for humans, but less so for animals. As anyone with a pet knows, the combination of loud bangs, bright lights, and smoke can provoke fear and disorientation in animals. (via Phys Org)
10. “Poetry in the Sky”: Hummingbirds have rainbows on their wings. You can’t see them with your eyes, but it’s a prism effect when they hover with the sun behind them. Australian artist and photographer Christian Spencer discovered that colorful spectacle while making a nature film about a decade ago. Filmed over four years in the Atlantic rainforest in Brazil, “The Dance of Time” opens with a black jacobin hummingbird fluttering with the sun behind it.1 Spencer worked on capturing that natural rainbow, creating the “Winged Prism” photo series. The colorful images are collected in his book, “Birds: Poetry in the Sky”. (via Treehugger)
11. And …more beautiful photographs: Game birds include some of the most familiar fowl, such as turkeys, partridges, and chickens—ground-dwelling species that have long been domesticated for their meat and eggs. But many members of the order Galliformes are anything but ordinary barnyard birds. Gloriously colored peahens, vibrant pheasants, fancy-feathered quail, and many other species are visual standouts in any forest or field. In many cases, male game birds compete for females by showing off their bright hues, fleshy wattles, knobby head combs, and more. Many of these spectacular birds, found on every continent except Antarctica, are hunted for meat while their home territories are fractured and shrinking due to human development. (via National Geographic)
12. Sharks and songbirds: Songbirds and sharks have received what conservationists say are vital new trade protections. Several shark species and two songbirds were added to a list of species whose trade is restricted to prevent them being "traded to extinction”. The decision was made on Friday at a global summit in Panama. The meeting takes place against the backdrop of an ongoing global extinction crisis. Other animals given additional protections in the international wildlife trade treaty, known as CITES, include dozens of freshwater turtles and frogs. "Over a million species are at risk of extinction if we do not change the way we treat wildlife," said Matthew Collis, deputy vice president for conservation at the International Fund for Animal Welfare. (via BBC)
13. Some humorous observations from Down East: I was going through some old columns the other day and found this one that first appeared on Nov. 27, 2015. It still makes me laugh, mostly because every morsel remains so true. Thus, I present it again — my Thanksgiving leftovers — tidbits that did not get published this year but should have:
— The prettier the bird, the less likely it will sit still for a photo.
— The rare bird I am looking for will turn up moments after I leave.
— Birding generates more vanity plates than any other hobby.
— If I can still hear golden-crowned kinglets, I’m not deaf yet. (via Bangor Daily News)
14. Finally, this from the New York Times – understanding….chickens!: It was a crisp October day at Farm Sanctuary, and inside the small, red barn, the chicken people were restless. A rooster, or maybe two, yodeled somewhere out of sight. A bruiser of a turkey strutted through an open door, tail feathers spread like an ornamental fan. And a penned flock of white-feathered hens emitted tiny, intermittent squeaks, an asynchronous symphony of chicken sneezes. The hens were experiencing a flare-up of a chronic respiratory condition, said Sasha Prasad-Shreckengast, the sanctuary’s manager of research and animal welfare, who was preparing to enter the chicken pen. (via The New York Times)
Bird Photo of the Week
Photo by Chris Ellis, Wintering Birds - Piping Plover - Grand Bahama Island.
Bird Videos of the Week
By CBS News, “Bird not seen for 140 years captured on camera”.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - American Kestrels.
Cornell Live Bird Cam - Collection of colorful finches.