Atoosa Samani started learning about pigeon genetics at a young age. She grew up surrounded by pet pigeons in Isfahan, a city in central Iran famed for its pigeon towers.…
Category: Animals
Chickadees use memory ‘bar codes’ to find their hidden food stashes
Much like squirrels, black-capped chickadees hide their food, keeping track of many thousands of little treasures wedged into cracks or holes in tree bark. When a bird returns to one…
Here’s how magnetic fields shape desert ants’ brains
For desert ants, Earth’s magnetic field isn’t just a compass: It may also sculpt their brains. Stepping outside their nest for the first time, young ants need to learn how…
By fluttering its wings, this bird uses body language to message its mate
Be it an arched eyebrow, a shaken head or a raised finger, humans wordlessly communicate complex ideas through gestures every day. This ability is rare in the animal kingdom, having…
Dogs know words for their favorite toys
Dogs may know more than they let on. Pet dogs’ brains displayed neural signs of surprise when their owners showed them an unexpected toy. The findings, published March 22 in…
American bullfrogs may be threatening a rare frog species in Brazil
American bullfrog DNA has turned up not far from the only known habitat of Pithecopus rusticus — a small, critically endangered tree frog that lives in Brazil. Bullfrogs are native…
Daddy longlegs look like they have two eyes. That doesn’t count the hidden ones
Despite its two-eyed appearance, Phalangium opilio has six peepers. The four optical remnants shed light on the arachnids’ evolutionary history.
Male dragonflies’ wax coats might protect them against a warming climate
Some male dragonflies have a waxy coat that keeps them cool while pursuing mates and may also help the insects shrug off a warming climate. U.S. dragonfly species that produce…
Male mammals aren’t always bigger than females
The idea that male mammals tend to be larger than females has been scientific dogma since Darwin. Bigger bodies, the thinking goes, are better in the battle to win the…
Newfound bee species help solve a decades-old mystery
In 1965, renowned bee biologist Charles Michener described a new species of masked bee from “an entirely unexpected region,” the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia. Michener named the bee Hylaeus…
