poultry

The Merlin app has become one of the most popular tools for bird identification. Photo: pexels, technobulka

Man vs. Machine: Who is better at identifying birds?

The "Merlin" bird identification app is being tested by expert birders and amateurs. What were the results, and why is it still less accurate in Israel?
Cuckoo chicks look similar to their host chicks. Cuckoo chicks (left) and their host "brothers" of different species (right) | Source: Naomi Langmore

The divergent adaptation of cuckoos

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Cuckoos develop eggs and chicks that resemble those of their hosts, to avoid detection. When they have more than one host, this can lead to the creation of new species of cuckoos – especially if they are “violent”.
bird of prey Illustration: depositphotos.com

Podcast: The nature of the environment - why did the buzzard become Israel's national bird?

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The Tel Aviv 360 podcast of Tel Aviv University with the participation of Prof. Yossi Leshem (Hebrew only)
Birds migrate in the skies of northern Israel. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The complex language of birds

Studies from Israel and abroad have found that birds do not chirp only for courtship purposes, and that they have a complex language that affects their choice of who to communicate with and how - even during migration
The study presents the drawing of the meclist owl from the Hawaiian island of Kauai, in which three species are shown that have become extinct at the hands of man (the meclist owl, the grousebeak's wahi, and the Kauai ʻōʻō). Credit to avian paleontologist Julian P. day.

Due to the extinction of many bird species, the variety of roles they played in the ecosystem was eliminated

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Crow in the desert. Photography: Ran Natan

Wise from the source: the surprising minds of the desert crows

The crows have become a routine part of our landscape. How smart are they really, and why is one species more successful than another?
A large eagle flies in the sky of the Israeli mountains with a tracking device on its back. Credit - Tubla Salomon

Like humans: in old age, eagles also go out less to "hang out" and prefer to "stay at home"

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the call of the crow. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The crows know how to count... out loud!

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Research shows that crows can intentionally produce up to four vocalizations in response to specific cues, indicating a non-symbolic number system and vocal control similar to that of human infants. This ability offers a foundation
A solar eclipse affects animal behavior. Credit: The Science website, via DALEE

The solar eclipse may confuse the behavior of the birds

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Unlike the 2017 eclipse that occurred in August, this eclipse occurs when the spring migration is already underway. And since most birds fly at night, a solar eclipse may affect them significantly
Researchers at the University of Queensland have found that humans can understand the emotional state of chickens from the sounds of their clucking. This ability, which is not affected by previous experience with chickens, has significant implications for improving poultry welfare and can assist in the development of artificial intelligence-based surveillance systems. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Interspecies communication: Humans have cracked the chickens' clucking code

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Research led by the University of Queensland has found that humans can tell if chickens are excited or disappointed, simply by the sound of their clucking
The siksak is a chicken whose wings are brown, the rest of its body is "painted" black and white, and its legs are long and thin. Photo: Reut Alon

Who is braver, the city bird or the country bird?

A new Israeli study examined the siksak, a common species of bird - and found that urban siksaks are braver than their rural brethren. Although we usually all appreciate this nice feature, it is possible
Photo: Yossi Avgana

Rahamim ("Egyptian eagles") who were born in Israel, disappeared in Yemen - and were found thanks to volunteers in Poland and Portugal through watching YouTube

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According to Dr. Motty Charter, the fact that two amateur observers are the ones who identified the raccoon, an endangered species, through watching the YouTube channel Birds Online Charter Group, emphasizes the enormous importance of
The success of the model can improve the study of bird migration. Pelicans, photo: Reot Alon

If birds were visible to the planes

A new Israeli study presents a solution to the many accidents between aircraft and winged creatures, and for the first time succeeds in identifying with the help of radar flocks of large birds, which until now were considered "invisible"
A mother goose and her goslings cross a road. Illustration: depositphotos.com

How are the birds coping with the climate crisis?

Researchers have found changes in the body structure of birds, which are probably due to adaptation to global warming
A cat hunts a sparrow. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Things that donors know: are cats to blame for the disappearance of sparrows?

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My father asks: Do stray cats cause a decrease in the number of birds?
Courtesy of Prof. Arnon Lotem, Tel Aviv University

Lessons from birds

"A wise man learns from the experience of others, a fool learns from his own experience." indeed? According to sparrow research, the answer is: it depends
A selection of migratory bird species that stopped to rest in Agmon Hula. Illustration: depositphotos.com

For the first time artificial intelligence for the benefit of the birds

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Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a system that allows the tracking of hundreds of birds using a tiny GPS device * Thanks to the new system, the researchers were able to encourage the culture of breathing in agricultural areas, thus
A tractor with a manure spreader at a feeding station in Emek Hula. The sprinkler is used to spread the corn kernels to feed the cranes during the winter to prevent damage to agriculture. Photo: Yuri Mirkin

Does artificial feeding of cranes affect them negatively?

Examination of faeces (and movement) of migratory birds, reveals the effect of nutrition on intestinal bacteria. The feeding is of course intended to prevent the birds from raiding the fields
Flying birds. Photo - Spokesperson of the Hebrew University

Why do the birds fly?

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The researchers mapped the birds' neural network, which controls the coordinated movement of the wings. They found that the evolutionary basis for the development of the coordinated and uniform flapping ability of the wings in birds was created thanks to a natural mutation that developed
The effect of the types of lighting on the reproductive systems of chickens. The image was prepared by DALEE and is not a scientific image

The reproductive performance of roosters improves according to the changes in the lighting color

It turns out that artificial lighting plays a central role in the reproductive processes of poultry. Prolonged exposure to light in a red wave absorbed through the extraretinal receptors while suppressing the activation of retinal photoreceptors has a positive effect on the ability
Falcons in the window. Photo: Weizmann Institute Spokesperson

Falcons in the window

In the spring of 2019, the pot in the window of Shlomit ben Meshulam in the Department of Veterinary Resources became a falcon's nest. Shlomit, the secretary of the department, accompanied the chicks until they flew from the nest
Chickens. From Jumpstory

Things that donors know: what are chicken wings used for?

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In honor of Yom Kippur and the chickens of atonement, we will answer the question of the Yosef family "We wanted to ask and can't find an answer - what is the function of the chicken's wings?"
sparrows Photo: Image by GLady from Pixabay

The free market economy of sparrows

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Researchers have found that the same laws that characterize the "free economy" of humans also exist in social animals
wing to wing The motorized lander on a research flight with Yossi to Leshem (photo: Eyal Bartov, courtesy of Halat)

Hasidism of collaborations

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Research on bird migration led to bringing hearts closer together in Israel, to helping farmers and to a life-saving project with the Air Force
Onon, before going on a journey. Photo: The Mongolia Cuckoo Project

Cuckoo without borders

A particularly energetic cuckoo crossed 26 thousand kilometers in the last year and visited 16 countries. Along the way, she became an international network star and provided more important information about the migratory patterns of the world's birds
The Ugly Duckling. Artist: Milo Winter, Wikimedia

Things that Yoram knows: the cuckoo, the swan and the ugly duckling

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Sis in the cracks of the Kotel. Photo: Flash 90 for Tel Aviv University

A study by Tel Aviv University on Sisi of the Western Wall was ranked among the top 100 articles in the number of downloads in 2019

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A well-preserved oak detail on display at the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow. Mike Pennington / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Man caused the extinction of the northern equivalent of the penguins

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The house sparrow. Photography: Ehud Fest

A sharp decrease in the number of common birds in Israel alongside a dramatic increase in the number of invasive birds

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Archeopteryx from the Jurassic period. Now the creature that preceded it has been found - which had features of reptiles and birds at the same time. Illustration: shutterstock

A new species of the 'missing link' between dinosaurs and birds has been discovered

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Flying dinosaurs. Illustration: shutterstock

The asteroid wiped out almost all the birds along with the dinosaurs

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Mina is located in Ashkelon National Park. Photo: Minozig, Wikimedia Commons.

A problem of bird relations

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Simulation of the feathered dinosaur Zhenyuanlong. Image: Emily Willoughby/Wikimedia.

How dinosaurs became birds

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Photo: Vincent van Zalinge.

How do mammals and birds maintain their body temperature?

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The chicken and egg paradox. Photo: shutterstock

The full story about the chicken and the egg

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There are wild chickens running around the island of Kauai, descended from domesticated chickens that have bred with chickens of an older breed. Photo: PROBethany Weeks, Flickr

What preceded what?

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Image: A toothless chicken may have been the ancestor of modern birds. Illustration: Danielle Dufault

The birds survived the extinction of their dinosaur relatives thanks to the ability to eat seeds

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Common kestrel falcon. From Wikimedia

Delivery inspired by the falcon

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A soul carries its prey. Photo: shutterstock

What do night breathing do? Much more than we thought…

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Chicken skeleton. Photo: shutterstock

Actually - it's easy!

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jay. Photo: shutterstock

Why doesn't the color of the birds' feathers fade?

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Penguins. Photo: shutterstock

Super Penguin - the mystery of the penguins that don't freeze

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A selective mating approach in a chicken population that began in 1957 led to a 10-fold difference in size between chickens. Photo Credit: Virginia Tech/ John McCormick

Research in chickens has provided direct evidence of "paternal leakage" in which mitochondria are inherited from the father instead of the mother

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Maglit beach on the water's edge. Photo: shutterstock

Why don't birds get wet?

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Breathe in silent flight towards the prey. Photo: shutterstock

quiet round

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Tiny bundles of melanin bound between keratin found in the feathers of this African starling react with light to produce the iridescent colors on its back. [Courtesy of Liliana D'Alba]

Colorful nanomaterials inspired by bird feathers

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A girl scout sucks nectar from a flower. Photo: shutterstock

Does the scout fly like a bird or an insect?

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Cobwebs. From Wikipedia

Birds rethink their route before a purple traffic light

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A wildebeest herd crosses a river in the great migration of 2008. Photo: shutterstock

Wandering…

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Indian crow in Goa. Photo: shutterstock

Crow invades

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