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ornithology

Pub goers asked to butt out after blue tits lay eggs in ashtray

Pub goers asked to butt out after blue tits lay eggs in ashtray

By Jack Fifield A pair of blue tits have sparked a flap at a pub after shacking up inside a wall-mounted ashtray. The surprise nest was discovered by the general manager of the Mulberry Tree pub and Premier Inn in Essex on Saturday, April 11, while she was emptying

Newly hatched penguins weigh less than chocolate bars

Newly hatched penguins weigh less than chocolate bars

By Jack Fifield Cute photos show newly-hatched penguins — weighing less than a pack of chocolate bars. Three gentoo penguin chicks hatched at Edinburgh Zoo on Wednesday weighing around 98g at birth. They are roughly the weight of a bar of soap — or less than a standard bar of chocolate.

Wild parrots learn what’s safe to eat by watching friends

Wild parrots learn what’s safe to eat by watching friends

By Stephen Beech Wild parrots quickly learn to eat new foods by copying their feathered friends, reveals new research. They grasp whether different types of food are safe to eat by observing other members of their social group, according to the findings published in the journal PLOS Biology. The learning

Traffic stop: Warsaw's celebrity birds on perilous urban quest

Traffic stop: Warsaw's celebrity birds on perilous urban quest

Waddling across a Warsaw expressway, a brood of wild sea ducks brought traffic to a halt as volunteers held motorists at bay -- an annual ritual to protect the bustling Polish capital's famous ducklings. Every spring, dozens of days-old ducklings must make the risky trek from a centrally

Newly hatched baby penguins weigh the same as a kiwi

Newly hatched baby penguins weigh the same as a kiwi

By Elizabeth Hunter Adorable photos show newly hatched penguin chicks - who weigh roughly the same as a kiwi fruit. Two Northern Rockhopper penguins have been born at Edinburgh Zoo, to parents Bruce and Pinhead. The chicks have been named Wesley and Penny, and weigh 63g and 95g respectively - roughly the

Montana Raptor Conservation Center in Bozeman sees more birds with lead poisoning

Montana Raptor Conservation Center in Bozeman sees more birds with lead poisoning

BOZEMAN, Mont. — The Montana Raptor Conservation Center in Bozeman is reporting an increase in cases of lead poisoning in the birds they are treating. Becky Kean, the center’s director of rehabilitation, said so far this year they have treated four birds for extreme levels of lead toxicity in their

'Happy tears': Rescued bald eagle returns to the wild in Belgrade

After 10 weeks of intensive care, Montana Raptor Conservation Center director of rehabilitation Becky Kean watched a female bald eagle return to the sky March 20 — released to the wild on the same Belgrade property where the bird was found clinging to life in January. “After 70 days of watching