birds

That Whole Supernova Thing Was a Big Misunderstanding

Hamilton Nolan · 10/24/11 04:05PM

Chambered nautilus! Flying satellite! Supernova mystery! Cycad fossils! Ancient art! Geoengineering recognition! Black scientists! Mastodon extinction! And crazy birds think they can fly around with nail heads? That's crazy! It's your Monday Science Watch, where we watch science—explosively!

How Much Does This Hurt, Exactly?

Hamilton Nolan · 09/14/11 04:11PM

Pain measurement! Pyromania analysis! NASA rocket! Hefty bacteria! Galaxy shapes! Hot summer! Murderous bird! Flying snails! And scientists playing with hoses for fake experiments! It's your Wednesday Science Watch, where we watch science—in agony!

Giant Eagles 'Could Target Children'

Maureen O'Connor · 09/02/11 01:48PM

The Scottish government recently imported 14 sea eagles from Norway, to reintroduce the giant bird of prey into the wilds of Scotland. Unfortunately, they chose areas not quite wild enough, according to the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, which is calling for an inquiry into the feathered monsters with wingspans of up to eight feet:

Your Cell Phone Won't Kill You

Hamilton Nolan · 07/28/11 04:11PM

Life lives! Bears menace! Phone cancer! Asteroid stowaways! Booby bullies! Lab dangers! Electron dancing! Neanderthal crowding! And dangerous health experiments that you can do at home! It's your Thursday Science Watch, where we watch science—on the road, baby!

Yes, Human-on-Bird CPR Works

Max Read · 07/16/11 02:47PM

Haven't you always wondered if mouth-to-beak resuscitation—"bird CPR"—would actually work? Well! We can confirm that, yes, in at least one instance it has: Bend, Ore. veterinarian Jeff Cooney saved a bald eagle (named, boringly, "Patriot") this week by performing CPR on it. Patriot, whom Dr. Cooney is rehabilitating from an apparent car accident, was under anesthesia at the time; KTVZ provides the image above, though we're not sure if the photograph is a staged re-creation of the event or an actual action shot of the heroic lifesaving attempt. Either way, it's good to know that, in the event that you come across a dying bird, you may have a shot at saving its life. [KTVZ]

City Birds Have Bigger Brains

Adrian Chen · 04/28/11 01:55PM

According to science, birds that live in the city have larger brains than birds that live in the sticks. European researchers studied 82 species of birds and compared their brain sizes. From the BBC:

Bird Plays Dead After Being Shot

Lauren Soroken · 04/06/11 04:15PM

We've seen this trick before, but something about Rio's dramatic, feathered head flick of death makes it even more adorable. Bonus: Rio's shooter kind of looks like Jeff Bridges.

Portlandia: Put a Bird on It

Whitney Jefferson · 01/31/11 01:59PM

Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein took on the ridiculously cliché trend of putting a bird on prints, housewares, clothes—really anything a hipster could ever want. But what happens when an actual bird enters a shop like that?

Drug Smuggling Pigeon Arrested Outside Colombian Prison

Jeff Neumann · 01/19/11 06:37AM

Police in Colombia have arrested a pigeon that was struggling to fly over the walls of Bucaramanga prison with 1.6 ounces of weed strapped to its back. A police commander called it "a new case of criminal ingenuity."

This Bird Likes to Whistle After Sex

Matt Cherette · 01/11/11 02:56PM

Here's a video of two cockatiels doing the nasty—but wait, that's not all! After all the bumpin' and grindin' is over with, one of the birds begins to whistle—what else?—"Whistle While You Work." But he's already done!

Bird of Prey vs. Bird of Play

Jeff Neumann · 01/10/11 07:45AM

[A bird attacks a kite during the International Kite Festival in Ahmadabad, India today. Image via AP]

Dead Animals Are Not Signs of End-Times, Claims 'Science'

Adrian Chen · 01/06/11 09:17PM

All these scary bird, crab and fish die-offs have prompted many to wonder if the world was coming to an end, a whole year before it's officially supposed to. But so-called "scientists" say these massive die-offs happen all the time.