Animals
- Animals
Mates or survival: Which explains a bird’s color?
When male birds are brightly colored, we assume that’s because their plumage attracts the gals. But a new study with thousands of museum specimens shows that sometimes survival is just as important a factor behind bird color.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Irruption
Sometimes populations of animals can suddenly increase. The word for that is irruption.
- Animals
Why you’ll never see a dirty gecko
By knowing how a gecko’s skin works, could self-cleaning, water-repelling, antibacterial clothes be far behind?
- Animals
News Brief: Rabbit-hunting pythons are altering Everglades
Rabbits may breed rapidly, but not fast enough to compensate for the huge summer appetites of huge pythons roaming Florida’s Everglades.
- Animals
Finding out why birds are out of range
Sometimes people see large numbers of birds outside of their normal range. A student examined how to predict these excursions.
- Animals
The social lives of whales
New tools are giving scientists an unprecedented glimpse into the behaviors of whales and dolphins. And these new data are upending long-held assumptions.
- Animals
Where an ant goes when it’s gotta go
The black garden ant has been spotted defecating inside its own nest. Scientists now characterize these spots as ant toilets.
- Animals
Penguins? How tasteless
Penguins may look all dressed up in tuxedo-wear, but their taste buds are the bare minimum. This means that the birds will never sense more than a hint of their meals’ true flavors.
- Animals
Eyelashes: The ‘sweet’ length
New mathematical and aerodynamics studies find what seems to be the optimal length for eyelashes — the length that protects best. And surprise: Longer is not always better.
- Animals
Ocean animals have mushroomed in size
Compared to a half-billion year ago, sea creatures are, on average, roughly 150 times bigger, a new study finds.
- Animals
Cats and foxes are eating up Australia’s mammals
Since the arrival of Europeans in Australia, a startling number of mammal species have disappeared. A new study puts much of the blame on cats and foxes introduced by the early settlers.
- Animals
Orangutans take the low road
Cameras spotted orangutans walking down logging roads to get around. That may be a good sign that they can adapt to changes in their woodsy environment.
