The Dutch oil company NAM and Philips have developed a new type of lighting . The lamps radiate a limited part of the color spectrum. Due to the lights’ unique coloring, migrating birds traveling over the North Sea are less likely to be distracted by them.

A Bar-tailed Godwit set a long distance migration record for the longest non-stop flight when it flew from New Zealand to China, a distance of more than 10,000 kilometers. The bird was tracked via satellite.

The Dutch nature agency Staatsbosbeheer is using images from the camera they placed on a White-tailed Eagle nest over the winter to learn more about these large birds of prey. Experts and scientists are discovering new information about their nesting habits and look forward to learning about the fledge once the hatchlings emerge from the nest in the Oostvaardersplassen natural area.

Researchers studying birds around the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster found that the birds favored sites with lower background radioactivity.

Researchers have determined that nuthatches are able to understand warning calls by chickadees. Depending on the type of warning call given, the nuthatches reacted in different ways.

Chinese scientists have implanted electrodes into a pigeon’s brain to control behavior by electrical stimulation. Using remote control, the scientists have been able to command the bird to such tasks as turning during flight and landing.

Laysan and Black-footed Albatrosses fitted with GPS tracking devices have been gathering important information about their habits and habitats. The devices measure temperature as well as track the movements of the birds with a ten meter margin of error.

talitiainen läheltä
From Marko_K on Flickr.

A recent study indicates that birds living in urban environments sing faster, shorter songs than their country counterparts. The study was conducted by Dr. Hans Slabbekoorn of the University of Leiden.

Winter Wren
From Ralph Hocken on Flickr.

“Two sub-species of a singing bird have met in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. the first sighting since the eastern and western winter wren split apart during the last Ice Age. Up until last year, scientists weren’t even sure if the two populations co-existed since nobody had ever been able to find their elusive contact zone.” Read about the discovery by zoology professor Darren Irwin at Canada.com.

Clark’s Nutcracker
From Michael Woodruff on Flickr.

“Scientists at the University of New Hampshire hope to learn more about memory and its evolution by studying the Clark’s nutcracker, a bird with a particularly challenging task: remembering where it buried its supply of food for winter in a 15-mile area. Like many animals preparing for the winter, every fall the Clark’s nutcracker spends several weeks gathering food stores. What makes it unique is that it harvests more than 30,000 pine nuts, buries them in up to 5,000 caches, and then relies almost solely on its memory of where those caches are located to survive through winter.” Read more about the study on Newswise.