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Birding Yancheng, Jiangsu

10,000 Birds

In Daurian Redstarts , personality traits (specifically, whether a bird is shy or bold) partly determine how good an individual is in rejecting cuckoo eggs in its nest. Apparently, birds that are fast in exploring new things – bold birds – are better at rejecting parasitic eggs ( source ).

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The Secret Perfume of Birds: Uncovering the Science of Avian Scent–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

Whittaker’s adventures in olfactory research take unexpected turns into genetics, chemistry, and the halls of academia. One of Whittaker’s first experiments was to place other birds’ preen oil on the nests and eggs of Dark-eyed Juncos. Whittaker’s research road is more serpentine than most academics.

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Every sperm is sacred

10,000 Birds

That’s the finding of researchers from the University of Sheffield in the UK, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. (If By studying Zebra Finches and domestic chickens, the scientists discovered that multiple sperm appear necessary for a fertilized egg to progress to the embryo stage (a process called “polyspermy”.)

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Clemson Researcher Investigates Impacts of Cages on Laying Hens

Critter News

Nearly 95 percent of the 90 billion table eggs produced in the United States come from high-density cage systems. The value of all egg production in 2007 was $6.68 In South Carolina egg sales tally about $90 million annually. Tags: battery hens eggs USDA farm animal welfare us agribusiness.

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Bird of Prey: The Story of the Rarest Eagle on Earth – A Film Review

10,000 Birds

Today, we know a little more, such as the fact that an eagle couple produces one egg every two years, but numbers remain low, too low. And, he tells us about the time he was attacked by a parent Philippine Eagle as he handled an egg at the nest, hundreds of feet above the ground. It’s a future that seems fragile.

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Vote Now for Awesome Ornithology Projects!

10,000 Birds

Peripatetic ornithologist Nick Sly has long been a friend of the blog here and has contributed such classics as Green-rumped Parrotlets from Egg to Adult and Forpus passerinus and the Ornithologists of Masaguaral. Please read and then vote for either Nick or Maria’s research! To win, we need your votes! Thanks for your support!

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Altruism, Albatrosses, and Vicious Young Men

10,000 Birds

They emerged from their bloody rampage leaving fifteen adults dead, and fifteen destroyed nests with either smashed or missing eggs. There are eggs that are not viable, nestlings who fail to thrive, natural predators who snatch a chick for a meal, freak storms that blow through and destroy part of a population.

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