This Hawaiian Island Is Home to Thousands of Feral Chicken
The island of Kauai, in the Hawaiian archipelago, is home to thousands of feral chicken that have developed a complex relationship with the island’s human inhabitants. From the pristine beaches of Lumbahai, to airports, gas stations, even urban parking lots, feral chickens are everywhere on Kauai Island. They roam freely, and have adapted to lead […]
Japanese Fruit Farmers “Employ” Owls as Pest Control
Japanese field voles can seriously impact the profits of apple orchard owners, if left unchecked. For centuries, many farmers have relied on owls to keep vole numbers to manageable levels, and research has shown the night predators to be incredibly efficient. Ural owls have been setting up their nests in orchards with high rodent populations […]
World’s Most Expensive Racing Pigeon Is Worth At Least $1.5 Million, Has Its Own Bodyguards
New Kim, a two-year-old racing pigeon from Belgium has recently been crowned the world’s most expensive pigeon after a South African collector bid a whopping 1.3 million euros ($1.5 million) in an online auction. Hok Van De Wouwer, a renowned pigeon breeder in Antwerp, Belgium has recently put its entire collection of racing pigeons on […]
Researchers Find Extremely Rare Half-Male, Half-Female Bird Specimen
Researchers at the Powdermill Nature Reserve in Pennsylvania recently came across a “once in a lifetime discovery” – a half-male, half-female rose-breasted grosbeak. Annie Lindsay and her colleagues at Powdermill Nature Reserve were catching and banding birds with identification tags on September 24, when a fellow researcher called her over via walkie-talkie to supposedly see […]
The Botanical Bird Art of Hannah Bullen-Ryner
Hannah Bullen-Ryner creates beautiful ephemeral artworks by arranging twigs, leaves, flower petals, and berries into detailed bird portraits. A trained painter and a photographer, Bullen-Ryner found that going back to nature and channeling her creativity into ephemeral, botanical art was the perfect escape from her anxiety and the “chaos in her brain”. Using only natural […]
Man Leaves Window Open for Five Months, Finds Apartment Invaded by Pigeons
A UK student who left his apartment window open before going away for five months found his home covered in bird droppings after it was taken over by pigeons. 20-year-old Oluwageorge Johnson had to leave his rented apartment in Nottingham in a hurry back in March, after his parents turned up to take him home, […]
Finch Sitting – The Controversial Sport Where You Sit on a Chair And Count Bird Calls
Sports are usually associated with skill and effort, be they physical or mental, but in Vinkensport or vinkenzetting (literally ‘Finch Sitting), a traditional animal sport practiced in the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders, it’s all about sitting down and listening to birds singing. In Vinkensport, small cages are lined up in a row about six feet […]
World’s Largest Soaring Bird Can Fly 100 Miles Without Flapping Its Wings
According to a fascinating new study, the Andean condor spend almost all of their flying time in soaring mode, flapping their wings only 1.3 percent of the time. Weighing up to about 16 kilograms and with a wingspan of roughly 3.3 meters, the condor is the largest flying bird in the world by combined measurement […]
Frillback Pigeons – A Fancy Pigeon Breed With Naturally Curly Feathers
Frillback pigeons are one of the most coveted breeds among pigeon fanciers, prized both for its relatively calm temperament and for their unique frills or curls. Believed to have originated somewhere in Asia Minor, the frillback pigeon is the result of many years of selective breeding. Its distinctive features are the frill or curls on […]
Pakistani Villager Demands Return of Pigeon Detained in India for Spying
Last week authorities in India announced the capture of a suspicious pigeon believed to be a spy from neighboring Pakistan. Now the bird’s owner is demanding that his bird be set free… The alleged spy was captured on Sunday by villagers in the disputed region of Kashmir, between India and Pakistan. The pigeon caught the […]
The Sad Truth Behind the “Funny Hairdo” of Crested Ducks
If, like me, you spent a fair bit of your childhood on a farm, or if you’re simply fascinated by domestic birds, you’ve probably seen a crested duck at least once in your life. Their fluffy headgear is a adorable to look at, but it comes with some severe side-effects. First of all, the funny-looking […]
Woman Hatches Duck Egg by Carrying It in Her Bra for 35 Days
A California woman is being praised for going above and beyond to ensure that a cracked duck egg she found in a park hatched, by incubating it in her bra for over a month. Betsy Ross, an independent contractor from Visalia, California, was walking with her family in a public park when her kids noticed […]
Born to Fly – The Bird That Spends Up to 10 Months Without Landing
Scientists have long suspected that some species of birds can eat drink, mate and even sleep while flying, but even they were stunned when data showed that one such species could go up to 10 months without landing. As its name suggests, the commons swift (Apus apus) is a common bird that lives all across […]
World’s Smallest Bird Lays Its Eggs in a Nest the Size of a Quarter
Only slightly larger that the insect it’s named after, the Bee Hummingbird weighs no more than two grams and lays eggs roughly the size of coffee beans. It is officially the world’s tiniest bird. Found only in Cuba, the Bee Hummingbird is extremely small even for a hummingbird, so much so that people often mistake […]
The Tailor Bird Uses Its Beak as a Needle to Literally Stitch Up Its Nest
As children, we learn that birds build their nests out of twigs and dry grass, but the truth is that bird nest architecture varies greatly, as demonstrated by the tiny Tailor Bird, which uses as its beak as a needle to stitch a protective nest out of leaves. Orthotomus sutorius, or the Common Tailor Bird, […]