Planet of Birds

A University of Leicester conservation biologist – David Harper, from the Department of Biology – is leading a study which will establish whether lesser flamingos of India and Africa are genetically identical or not. The Asian population of flamingos, which is the second largest in the world, is concentrated in Gujarat. However, the African flamingos […]

Nine juvenile whooping cranes on their first ultralight-led migration south will now be taken to Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alabama in the next few days. The nine whooping cranes will be loaded up in travel enclosures onto vehicles as soon as possible, driven about 70 miles from Winston County to Wheeler National Wildlife […]

The announcement of a new bird comes with a twist: It?s a white-eye, but its eye isn?t white. However, what the new bird lacks in literal qualities it makes up for as one of the surprises that nature still has tucked away in little-explored corners of the world. Its eye isn?t ringed in a band […]

The fastest creature in the world – the peregrine falcon – is increasingly opting for city living in the UK. More and more people are now seeing this beautiful bird whilst walking to work or to the shops. And with its striking black hood and speeds of over 100 miles an hour its an incredible […]

A 24 hour nest protection operation is gearing up to be ready if Hen harriers once again nest in North East England this spring. Last year a pair of hen harriers successfully raised five chicks at a nest in Northumberland’s Tynedale, thanks to a 24-hr guard that protect the precious nest from disturbance. The RSPB […]

The first private protected area for the critically endangered Fuertes?s Parrot has been established by Fundacin ProAves. The species, whose population size is estimated at just 160 individuals, lives only in a small area in the Andes of Colombia that is heavily impacted by deforestation. read more at wildlifeextra

Populations of threatened Florida scrub-jays are declining, according to the latest annual Nature Conservancy study of jay populations across Central Florida. The scrub-jay is Florida?s only endemic bird, but these small, light blue birds are disappearing at 40 percent of their population sites, volunteer jay counters observed. read more at wildlifeextra

Efforts to save the Middle East?s rarest bird have been boosted by two chance sightings of the species 1,500 miles apart. Northern bald ibises were seen last month in the Jordan Valley for the first time in 13 years, as well as, for the first time ever, in Djibouti in east Africa, raising hopes that […]