Nigeria’s Hadejia wetlands are a vital stopover for migrating birds: new survey records species found in the park: The Hadejia Wetlands National Park in north-western Nigeria is a vital ecological treasure, designated as both a globally important wetland (Ramsar site) and an Important Bird Area, a site recognised internationally for conserving birds. Spanning 297km², the …
South Africa’s wattled cranes are no longer critically endangered: why the birds’ numbers are rising: Cranes are some of the world’s most majestic birds, with 15 species found globally. Four of these are found in Africa. The wattled crane in South Africa was in decline, but seems to have turned a corner. Its numbers have …
Kalahari weaver birds lay bigger eggs when they have female helpers to feed nestlings: Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is a protected nature reserve at the southern edge of the Kalahari desert in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. It’s an arid area with high daytime temperatures and unpredictable rainfall. One of the species that lives in this …
Grouse shooting in Scotland has an alarming death toll – and not just for game birds: Mark Caunt/Shutterstock The Scottish moors are considered areas of outstanding beauty, and often assumed to be “wild” and “untamed”. However, these landscapes are the result of management techniques that are now under scrutiny by the Scottish government. These practices …
Birds of east Africa: new book reveals their extraordinary diversity and changing behaviour: 101 Curious Tales of East African Birds is a new book that uses academic research to tell fascinating stories about the tropical birds of east Africa, from well-known species to rare ones. It also explores changing bird behaviour in the region. Its …
Billions of birds collide with glass buildings – but architecture has solutions: Bird stickers are used to deter collisions with a glass wall in Korea. Ki Young/Shutterstock At least 1,000 birds were killed in one day in early October, when they collided with a single Chicago building, McCormick Place – the largest convention centre in …
Plastic pollution threatens birds far out at sea – new research: Northern fulmar Beth Clark, Author provided Seabirds are one of the world’s most threatened animal groups. They already contend with multiple issues, including climate change, accidental capture in fishing gear and being eaten by invasive species like cats and some rodents. But these birds, …
Why we’re ‘interviewing’ captive birds to find the best to release into the wild: A Bali myna at the Waddesdon Aviary in England. National Trust Not all animals are the same. Even within a species, some are bolder and better at solving problems than others. We have found this to be true in the case …
Europe has lost over half a billion birds in 40 years. The single biggest cause? Pesticides and fertilisers: Farmland birds like the corn bunting have seen their numbers plummet since 1980. Aurélien Audevard, Author provided A trickle of studies warning that the enormous variety of living things on Earth is diminishing has turned into a …
Daphne du Maurier’s The Birds predicted environmental crisis 70 years ago: In Daphne du Maurier’s short story, The Birds (1952), a change in bird behaviour is linked to the impact of technological developments after the second world war. Birds, as the 2022 State of the World’s Birds report warns, are “barometers for planetary health”. Nearly …
Want to help protect rare birds in nesting season? Keep your dog on its lead: SGM/Shutterstock There are few sights more joyful than a dog bounding through the countryside. But for ground-nesting birds and other wildlife, the experience is quite different. Letting a dog off its lead can disturb several species without the owner even …
Wild Isles: starling murmuration in BBC documentary reveals as much about people as it does about birds: Starlings flock to Brighton Pier. SamuelJB/Shutterstock I’m sitting on the sofa, watching starlings. There are thousands of them circling above and around me, swirling into spectacular, ever-shifting shapes. They curve and loop in a hypnotic dance, merging at …
The best fiction of 2022: Ayanna Lloyd Banwo’s When We Were Birds – an exquisite exploration of love and legacy: Ayanna Lloyd Banwo c Penguin Books USE Ayanna Lloyd Banwo’s debut novel When We Were Birds is a spellbinding, beautifully told blend of love story and magical realism ghost story. When We Were Birds book …
Bird flu: UK is seeing its largest ever outbreak – which may prove particularly deadly for wild birds: In the UK, more than 150 cases of bird flu have been reported between September and November of this year alone. Mark Agnor/ Shutterstock The outbreak of avian influenza which has hit the UK since the autumn …
Birds evolve different body temperatures in different climates – new study of 53 African species: Red-billed quelea adult breeding male Linn Currie/Shutterstock During the northern hemisphere summer of 2022, yet another round of extreme heat waves roasted Eurasia, North America and northern Africa – a stark reminder that these conditions are becoming the new normal. …
3-D techniques shed light on what makes a bird’s lungs so efficient: A Cinnamon-Chested Bee-Eater is released after being ringed at the National Museum of Kenya. Luke Dray/Getty Images Birds are profoundly important animals. As predators, pollinators, seed dispersers, scavengers and ecosystem bioengineers, the world’s 11,000 species of birds play critical roles in the food …
We’ve been tracking birds in a small Nigerian forest for 18 years. What we found and why it matters: Little bee-eater (Merops pusillus) Frans Sellies/ Getty Images If you live in Europe, you can find almost any statistic you like about the birds in the environment. How many there are of a species, where you …
A nice South African City image: Birds of Paradise by Kipper MIlsap Image by jay galvin Painted for the International Public Art Festival (IPAF) in Cape Town, South Africa, this piece depicts a couple walking through a Western Cape scene of giant protea flowers and fynbos – plants that are endemic to the region. The …