/newsroom/taxonomy/term/391/all en /newsroom/channels/news/why-are-some-birds-more-intelligent-others-340593 <p>If you’ve ever seen a starling peck open a garbage bag or a grackle steal your dog pellets, you get a sense that some birds have learned to take advantage of new feeding opportunities – a clear sign of their intelligence. Scientists have long wondered why certain species of birds are more innovative than others, and whether these capacities stem from larger brains (which intuitively seems likely) or from a greater number of neurons in specific areas of the brain.</p> Mon, 01 Aug 2022 15:18:53 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 288279 at /newsroom /newsroom/david-bird Thu, 23 Jun 2022 17:23:49 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 288228 at /newsroom /newsroom/andrew-hendry Thu, 10 Feb 2022 16:54:35 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 286029 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/arctic-seabirds-are-less-heat-tolerant-more-vulnerable-climate-change-331800 <p>The Arctic is warming at approximately twice the global rate. A new study led by researchers from ����SM���� finds that cold-adapted Arctic species, like the thick-billed murre, are especially vulnerable to heat stress caused by climate change.</p> <p>“We discovered that murres have the lowest cooling efficiency ever reported in birds, which means they have an extremely poor ability to dissipate or lose heat,” says lead author Emily Choy, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Natural Resource Sciences Department at ����SM����.</p> Tue, 06 Jul 2021 20:42:55 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 269913 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/reduction-wetland-areas-will-affect-afrotropical-migratory-waterbirds-330768 <p>Migratory waterbirds are particularly exposed to the effects of climate change at their breeding areas in the High Arctic and in Africa, according to a new study published in <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bird-conservation-international/article/climate-change-exposure-of-waterbird-species-in-the-africaneurasian-flyways/9292D944ABCEBC7641208AAE7A2BE440"><i>Bird Conservation International</i></a>.</p> Fri, 30 Apr 2021 20:04:04 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 262351 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/well-built-muscles-underlie-athletic-performance-birds-327669 <p>Muscle structure and body size predict the athletic performance of Olympic athletes, such as sprinters. The same, it appears, is true of wild seabirds that can commute hundreds of kilometres a day to find food, according to a recent paper by scientists from ����SM���� and Colgate universities published in the <a href="https://jeb.biologists.org/content/223/22/jeb234104"><i>Journal of Experimental Biology</i></a>.</p> Wed, 13 Jan 2021 22:17:00 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 256067 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/bat-winged-dinosaurs-could-glide-325614 <p>Despite having bat-like wings, two small dinosaurs, <i>Yi</i> and <i>Ambopteryx, </i>struggled to fly, only managing to glide clumsily between the trees where they lived, according to a new study led by an international team of researchers, including ����SM���� Professor <a href="http://redpath-staff.mcgill.ca/larsson/personalpages/hans_larsson/hans_larsson.htm">Hans Larsson</a>. Unable to compete with other tree-dwelling dinosaurs and early birds, they went extinct after just a few million years.</p> Wed, 21 Oct 2020 19:49:44 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 244354 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/ctv-news-some-dinosaurs-were-flying-there-were-birds-new-research-suggests-323691 <p>Biologists now have a better idea of the origin of birds and the evolution of flight, two iconic events in the history of life on earth, thanks to work by a group of international scientists including a ����SM���� professor. In updating the evolutionary tree, the team’s findings show some dinosaurs could fly before they evolved into birds, and many others were experimenting with powered flight.</p> Thu, 13 Aug 2020 23:28:35 +0000 amelia.souffrant@mail.mcgill.ca 233899 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/expert-world-migratory-bird-day-may-9-322035 <div><a href="https://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/">World Migratory Bird Day</a> is May 9. The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and Environment for the Americas (EFTA) have joined forces to strengthen global recognition and appreciation of migratory birds.</div> Tue, 05 May 2020 15:42:51 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 209878 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/innovative-birds-are-less-vulnerable-extinction-321475 <p>Bird species that have the capacity to express novel foraging behaviors are less vulnerable to extinction than species that do not, according to a collaborative study involving ����SM���� and CREAF Barcelona and published today in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1168-8"><i>Nature Ecology & Evolution</i></a>.</p> Mon, 06 Apr 2020 14:18:33 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 206856 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/cnn-birds-learn-new-behaviors-less-likely-go-extinct-says-study-321496 <p>Now, a new study has found that birds that are able to change their behavior in this way are less likely to become extinct than those that do not adapt.</p> Tue, 07 Apr 2020 17:09:32 +0000 amelia.souffrant@mail.mcgill.ca 207075 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/brain-genes-related-innovation-revealed-birds-285749 <p>Wild birds that are more clever than others at foraging for food  have different levels of a neurotransmitter receptor that has been linked with intelligence in humans, according to a study led by ����SM���� researchers.  The findings could provide insight into the evolutionary mechanisms affecting cognitive traits in a range of animals.</p> <p>The study, published in <em>Science Advances</em>, was conducted by ����SM���� biologists Jean-Nicolas Audet and Louis Lefebvre, in collaboration with researchers from Duke and Harvard universities.</p> <p><strong>Barbados birds</strong></p> Mon, 12 Mar 2018 00:21:10 +0000 christopher.chipello@mcgill.ca 34166 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/why-guillemot-chicks-leap-nest-they-can-fly-266829 <p>Before they have the wing span to actually permit them to fly, young guillemots (also known as murres) leap hundreds of metres off towering cliffs and flutter down towards the sea, guided by their fathers. Scientists have long wondered why these tiny chicks make this remarkable leap, hoping to avoid the rocks below them, in what seems an unlikely survival strategy for a species.</p> Wed, 08 Mar 2017 18:03:53 +0000 priya.pajel@mail.mcgill.ca 26762 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/baby-talk-can-help-songbirds-learn-their-tunes-261074 <p><strong><em>����SM���� Newsroom</em></strong></p> <p><em>The research has implications for understanding human developmental disorders such as autism</em></p> <p><span>Adult songbirds modify their vocalizations when singing to juveniles in the same way that humans alter their speech when talking to babies. The resulting brain activity in young birds could shed light on speech learning and certain developmental disorders in humans, according to a study by ����SM���� researchers.</span></p> Tue, 31 May 2016 14:46:05 +0000 nima.adibpour@mail.mcgill.ca 25902 at /newsroom /newsroom/hans-larsson Thu, 19 Dec 2019 19:35:06 +0000 Anonymous 23362 at /newsroom