Arctic birds weaken their own immune systems to save energy for hunting and keeping warm during the coldest months, study shows Study authors examined the immune system of the Svalbard rock ptarmigan They found it can deliberately weaken its immune system to conserve energy It does this during the five coldest months of the year from October … Read more
Impressionable young birds pick up style tips from their elders just like humans and ‘feather their nests’ with coloured materials they associate with older trendsetters. Experts set out to see if birds might prefer to build nests of the same colour as the one they hatched in, or whether juvenile experiences were more important. They … Read more
NATURE GREENERY: JOURNEYS IN SPRINGTIME by Tim Dee (Jonathan Cape £18.99, 355pp) One of the most joyous sights of spring is the return of the swallows, swooping and diving in the air, their forked tails slicing through the sky. Few of us give much thought to the journey that brings them back to Britain each year. … Read more
Climate change is forcing birds to find new and ‘extraordinary’ ways to survive including using bread to bait fish and dropping mussels on rocks to break the shell. Researchers from McGill University, Montreal studied data on more than 8,600 bird species to look at changes in their feeding and hunting techniques over time. They found … Read more
Britain’s water birds have declined by a QUARTER in 10 years as climate change leads to milder winters and endangered ducks and waders become more reliant on protected wetland sites Volunteers survey British wetlands every month to assess population numbers The British Trust for Ornithology has been running the bird survey for 70 years Its results … Read more
Margot Robbie delves into her surprisingly in-depth preparations for roller derby scenes in the new digital edition of Birds Of Prey. The 29-year-old Australian actress revealed that she worked with Los Angeles–based roller derby stars to give the scenes a touch of veracity in a bonus featurette on the digital edition of the film, according … Read more
To thrive in urban environments birds need to either develop large brains like seagulls or have more offspring like pigeons, a study finds. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg say big brains or lots of offspring are the two strategies that are key to survive in an unnatural environment. The team say a number of … Read more
NATURE TURNING THE BOAT FOR HOME By Richard Mabey (Chatto £18.99, 262pp) As a young man working in publishing, Richard Mabey would use his lunch hour to go for a walk, observing kestrels wheeling overhead, sand martins burrowing in a sandbank and the profusion of plants such as Canadian fleabane and Indian balsam. Far from … Read more