What if your snack… talked back? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Birds often copy each other, but some even mimic their predators. Why? Enter Trinity Harvey and team at Cal Poly Humboldt. They tracked forty-nine Steller’s Jays in California. For a year, researchers followed
Continue reading
Ice ice birdy! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Arctic birds are ecosystem all-stars. But when did they first take on the poles? Enter Patrick S. Druckenmiller and team from University of Alaska’s Museum of the North! They discovered Arctic bird fossils from seventy million
Continue reading
Those wild birds eat WHAT? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Alice Dunbar and team from the University of South Australia studied the role of foraging on wild birds’ gut health. Okay, we mean coprophagy: eatin’ poop. Ew. But wait! Synthesizing previous studies on birds’
Continue reading
Is what’s good for the goose… good for the farmer? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We’ve been raising chickens for over four thousand years. But were they our first feathered friends? Masaki Eda from the University of Hokkaido and team went on a
Continue reading
Wait, what did you SQUAWK? I didn’t quite catch that! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. For humans speaking different languages, Google translate is a lifesaver! But for the many voices of the animal kingdom, does a natural translator exist? Enter Claire Spottiswoode and Brian
Continue reading
Help, Siri! I need directions to my house – AGAIN!! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. How did we ever navigate without our GPS friends? But birds ALWAYS find their way home! What’s their secret? Enter Joe Wynn and colleagues at Oxford and University of
Continue reading
Flying off to a beach vacation? Pack sunscreen, bathing suits, and…feathers?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Birds also migrate thousands of miles to warmer climates! But while we humans fly in air-conditioned comfort, how do these birds of a feather stay cool? Kasper Delhey
Continue reading
Do seabirds sign prenups? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. All aboard for Love Island! For the albatross seabird, that’s The Falklands. Albatrosses are monogamous, generally mating with one partner for life. Or at least, for a while — like us, they can divorce and
Continue reading
What do you call a pink bird who loves to socialize? A fla-mingle! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We all love to primp for a party – flamingos are no exception! They rub their cheeks on a gland by their tails to keep their
Continue reading
Ever dream of flying? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. During sleep, our brains alternate through dream AND non-dream states. But does this happen in other species as well? Gianina Ungurean and team from Ruhr University Bochum explored this – in PIGEONS!
Continue reading