A hummingbird feeds on a butterfly bush in Washington state on Aug. 18, 2017. Jim Culp / Flickr
Hummingbirds live a more colorful existence than humans do, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Monday confirmed.
<p>While humans only have three color cones, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/birds" target="_self">birds</a> have four, meaning they can theoretically see colors on the ultraviolet spectrum, <a href="https://api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/animals/2020/06/hummingbirds-see-colors-outside-rainbow" target="_blank">National Geographic</a> explained. Until now, however, no <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scientists" target="_self">scientist</a> had really tried to discover what a bird's eye view of color would look like.</p><p>"Humans are color-blind compared to birds and many other animals," lead study author and Princeton University assistant professor Mary Caswell Stoddard said in a <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/news/2020/06/15/wild-hummingbirds-see-broad-range-colors-humans-can-only-imagine" target="_blank">Princeton press release</a>. "Not only does having a fourth color cone type extend the range of bird-visible colors into the UV, it potentially allows birds to perceive combination colors like ultraviolet+green and ultraviolet+red — but this has been hard to test."</p>
<p>To overcome these difficulties, Stoddard and a team of scientists from Princeton, the University of British Columbia (UBC), Harvard University, University of Maryland and the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) set up a series of outdoor experiments with broad-tailed hummingbirds in Colorado. They wanted to test the birds' abilities to see nonspectral colors, colors perceived from widely distinct parts of the color spectrum.</p><p>The only nonspectral color humans can see is purple, which is not part of the rainbow.</p><p>"Instead of being formed by a single light or mixture of similar lights, purple is formed by simultaneously stimulating our non-adjacent red-sensitive and blue-sensitive cones in our eyes," study coauthor and UBC Ph.D. student Harold Eyster explained on Twitter.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Since purple is my favorite color, & birds are my favorite animals, I wondered, "Can birds see purple?" Today, our paper led by Dr. Cassie Stoddard with <a href="https://twitter.com/dylanhmorris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dylanhmorris</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/B_G_Hogan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@B_G_Hogan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidInouye1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DavidInouye1</a> Ed Soucy is in <a href="https://twitter.com/PNASNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PNASNews</a> that shows that yes, birds can! <a href="https://t.co/lcFuu2yt1l">https://t.co/lcFuu2yt1l</a> 3/n</p>— Harold Eyster (@HaroldEyster) <a href="https://twitter.com/HaroldEyster/status/1272627051229376513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 15, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>But birds, because of their fourth cone, can in theory see up to five nonspectral colors: purple, ultraviolet+red, ultraviolet+green, ultraviolet+yellow and ultraviolet+purple.</p><p>To test whether the birds really did see these colors, researchers placed feeders containing sugar and plain water in an alpine meadow next to LED tubes designed to emit a variety of colors, including nonspectral ones, the press release explained. The researchers conducted 19 experiments over three years, recording data from more than 6,000 feeder visits. They found that the birds could learn to visit the sugar water feeder even when the two LED tubes marking the feeders were indistinguishable to human eyes.</p>
<div id="d4f75" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f65de188636d57ec4f34c1168ac5f4db"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1272627060561768448" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The details of color vision are usually studied in the lab, but we wanted to know how birds act in the wild. Thus,… https://t.co/3JoxVNIY29</div> — Harold Eyster (@Harold Eyster)<a href="https://twitter.com/HaroldEyster/statuses/1272627060561768448">1592252910.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"Seeing them do this right in front of my eyes is one of the most exciting things I've ever witnessed," Stoddard told National Geographic.</p><p>The hummingbirds could see purple, ultraviolet+green, ultraviolet+red and ultraviolet+yellow, the researchers confirmed, according to the press release.</p><p>University of Chicago evolutionary biologist Trevor Price, who was not involved with the research, told National Geographic that the findings marked a "big step forward" for understanding how birds and other animals see.</p><p>"We're really only beginning to scratch the surface in our understanding of color vision in animals," he said.</p><p>The scientists think the birds use their enhanced color vision to locate a wide variety of plants for nectar. They found that the birds would be able to distinguish nonspectral colors in 30 percent of birds' plumage and 35 percent of plants from a database.</p>
<div id="3386f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dfb13639f3ff74769af6bf57ef30515a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1272627073484374016" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Birds can see nonspectral colors, and these colors make up a substantial part of the bird visual environment. We ho… https://t.co/160gQITMyo</div> — Harold Eyster (@Harold Eyster)<a href="https://twitter.com/HaroldEyster/statuses/1272627073484374016">1592252913.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"The colors that we see in the fields of wildflowers at our study site, the wildflower capital of Colorado, are stunning to us, but just imagine what those flowers look like to birds with that extra sensory dimension," co-author David Inouye of the University of Maryland and RMBL said in the press release.</p><p>The findings also have <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> implications.</p><p>"We are now studying how hummingbirds use color to find flowers and impress mates — and how these behaviors might be impacted by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate change</a>," Stoddard told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/16/world/hummingbird-ultraviolet-light-colors-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p>
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A bald eagle chick inside a nest in Rutland, Massachusetts. Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
A bald eagle nest with eggs has been discovered in Cape Cod for the first time in 115 years, according to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Mass Wildlife), as Newsweek reported.
<p><br/></p>
<p>That nest is part of a dramatic uptick in the number of active nests, with more than 70 spotted this spring, according to a post on the Mass Wildlife website, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/us/bald-eagles-massachusetts-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. While spotting active nests is not rare, one with eggs is. Also, for the first time, there is a documented case of eagles nesting on nearby Martha's Vineyard.</p><p>The 1905 nest with eggs was in the town of Sandwich.</p><p>On its website, Mass Wildlife said the population of bald eagles is soaring this season. The birds are currently in the middle of their nesting season, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bald-eagle-nest-eggs-spotted-on-cape-cod-for-the-first-time-in-115-years/" target="_blank">CBS News</a>.</p>
<p>The return of bald eagles is a testament to the strength of the Endangered Species Act, since the birds have recovered from the brink of extinction. Bald eagles recently improved from threatened to special concern on the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act list thanks to successful <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> measures. Mass Wildlife embarked on an eagle reintroduction program in the 1980s that has led to an uptick in the population of bald eagles in the New England area, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/us/bald-eagles-massachusetts-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>A bald eagle that hatched in Massachusetts holds the record for the oldest bald eagle in New Hampshire. The eagle, which was photographed in New Hampshire this spring, was identified by banding records as a 23-year-old male that hatched in Ware, Massachusetts, in 1997, according to <a href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/bald-eagle-nest-with-eggs-spotted-on-cape-cod-massachusetts-for-first-time-in-105-years-officials-say/32692454" target="_blank">WCVB</a>, Boston's ABC News affiliate.</p>
<p>While bald eagles are no longer on the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> list, they are still <a href="https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/history/protections.html" target="_blank">protected under multiple federal laws</a>, including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.</p><p>However, their new found strength could spell trouble for other birds.</p><p>In one example, Mass Wildlife said, "[a]n eagle pair took over an osprey nest and were incubating eggs when the ospreys returned from their wintering grounds. The osprey pair that most likely built the nest harassed the incubating eagle who would flip upside down with its talons in the air in defense. Eventually the eagle cracked the eggs doing this, and this historic nesting attempt failed."</p>
<p>In another example, "[t]wo other eagle nests on the mainland have also failed as a result of an intruding eagle invading the territory and killing the chicks in the nest."</p><p>"Although difficult for observers to witness, these events are all signs of a thriving eagle population in Massachusetts," MassWildlife said, as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bald-eagle-nest-eggs-spotted-on-cape-cod-for-the-first-time-in-115-years/" target="_blank">CBS News</a> reported. "On the upside, more and more people across the Commonwealth are experiencing the thrill of seeing eagles in their own neighborhoods as these birds continue to expand their range to urban and suburban landscapes."</p><p>Bald eagles build the largest nests of any bird in North America. Mating pairs build their nests in winter months and then return to them every year to add to the nest.</p><p>The species holds the record for the largest nest ever recorded, with a nest spotted near St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1963 that measured nine feet, six inches wide and 20 feet deep, and was estimated to weigh more than 4,400 pounds, according to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/bald-eagle-nest-cape-cod-first-time-century-1507010" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>.</p>
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A mallard duck among plastic in polluted water in Cardiff Bay on Sept. 22, 2018 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. Matthew Horwood / Getty Images
The gruesome images of whales and deer dying after mistaking plastic for food has helped put into perspective just how severe the plastic waste crisis is. Now, a new study finds that it is not just land and sea animals eating our plastic trash. It turns out that birds are eating hundreds of bits of plastic every day through the food they eat.
<p>The scientists from Cardiff University, the University of Exeter and the Greenpeace Research Laboratories found that birds along Britain's rivers are eating hundreds of fragments of microplastics daily because the worms and insects they feast on have also swallowed the plastics, making this the first study to show how plastic pollution makes its way up the food chain, as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52762120" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported. The study was published in the journal <em>Global Change Biology</em>.</p><p>Previous research has noted that half of the insects in the rivers of south Wales contain microplastic fragments.</p>
<p>"The fact that so many river insects are contaminated makes it inevitable that fish, birds and other predators will pick up these polluted prey — but this is the first time that this type of transfer through food webs has been shown clearly in free-living river animals," said Joseph D'Souza, one of the study's researchers, to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52762120" target="_blank">BBC</a>.</p><p>The Cardiff University researchers analyzed at plastic pollutants found in a bird known as a dipper, which wades or dives into rivers in search of underwater insects. They looked at droppings and regurgitated pellets from the birds and found microplastic fragments in roughly half of 166 samples taken from adults and nestlings at 14 of 15 sites studied.</p><p>"These iconic birds, the dippers, are ingesting hundreds of pieces of plastic every day," said Steve Ormerod, a professor at Cardiff University's Water Research Institute to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52762120" target="_blank">BBC</a>. "They're also feeding this material to their chicks."</p><p>"In almost 40 years of researching rivers and dippers, I never imagined that one day our work would reveal these spectacular birds to be at risk from the ingestion of plastics — a measure of how this pollution problem has crept upon us," said Ormerod, as <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/british-birds-rivers-insects-microplastics-dippers-2861787" target="_blank">iNews</a> in the UK reported.<br></p>
<p>Similarly, another <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32388295/" target="_blank">study</a> published in the journal <em>Environmental Pollution</em> recently found that birds of prey in Florida swallow tiny bits of plastic debris at a rate of hundreds a day, particularly microplastic fragments made of polyester, polypropylene and nylon, as <a href="https://www.sustainability-times.com/environmental-protection/birds-of-prey-swallow-plenty-of-plastic-research-finds/" target="_blank">Sustainability Times</a> reported.</p><p>In that study, the researchers examined dozens of birds of prey, including hawks, ospreys and owls retrieved from the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Florida. From the 63 birds examined, representing eight different species, all were found to have microplastics in their GI tract, according to the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32388295/" target="_blank">study</a>.</p><p>"Birds of prey are top predators in the ecosystem and by changing the population or health status of the top predator, it completely alters all of the animals, organisms and habitats below them on the food web," said Julia Carlin, the study's lead author, in a University of Central Florida <a href="https://www.ucf.edu/news/ucf-study-finds-microplastics-in-floridas-birds-of-prey-for-1st-time/" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p>
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Woman building a diy insect hotel outdoor. Guido Mieth / DigitalVision / Getty Images
By Courtney Lindwall
If you're one of those people cooped up safely at home, with creative energy and free time to spare—count yourself lucky. Here, we've rounded up a list of two dozen environmental projects that can make your time indoors, or right outside, a little brighter. Whether you're ready to start rescuing more of your kitchen scraps, sewing your own cloth napkins, or documenting those backyard butterflies, we hope these simple green ideas will provide a calming means of coping during these unprecedented times. Have fun and stay safe.
Experiment in the Kitchen
<p><strong>Spice up mealtime with recipes from </strong><a href="https://savethefood.com/recipes/" target="_blank">Save the Food</a> that will also help prevent your food from going to waste. Make a fromage fort to spread on your crackers, or "scraps falafel" to use up wrinkly onions and wilted herbs. And for dessert, how about some <a href="https://savethefood.com/recipes/leftover-mashed-potato-apple-cider-donuts" target="_blank">leftover mashed potato apple cider donuts</a>? </p><p><strong>Rescue wilting herbs.</strong> Make <a href="https://savethefood.com/storage" target="_blank">herb oil ice cubes</a><a href="https://savethefood.com/storage" target="_blank"> by </a>packing diced herbs into an ice cube tray, covering with olive oil, and freezing. Thaw for ready-made flavor in your next dish. You can also transform less-than-fresh herbs into sauces, like chimichurri or pesto, or roast them and mix with salt to create longer-lasting seasonings. </p><p><strong>Start a windowsill herb garden. </strong>You'll need some seeds or a small plant, an upcycled container like a coffee canister that leaves room for growth and drainage, and a sunny ledge. (The Herb Society of America can help you determine <a href="https://www.herbsociety.org/hsa-learn/intro-to-herbs/hsa-gardening-for-kids/light-indoor-gardens.html" target="_blank">the right dose of light and water for each species</a>.) In a few weeks' time, you'll be ready to add a sprig of fresh basil to your bowl of pasta or diced cilantro to your batch of guac.</p><p><strong>Arrange a plant-based recipe swap</strong> with friends and family, which will reduce your diet's climate impacts while creating some virtual community. (Remember: If <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sujatha-bergen/saving-planet-starts-our-plates" target="_blank">every American cut just one hamburger</a> or about a quarter pound of beef out of their diet each week, we could reduce emissions by as much as taking about 10 million cars off the road each year.)</p><p><strong><br>Simmer your veggie scraps into a </strong><a href="https://savethefood.com/recipes/basic-vegetable-stock" target="_blank"><strong>flavorful stock</strong></a>, the foundation of your next meal. To get started, keep a clean, half-gallon carton in the freezer, and add trimmings as you prep meals. When you have enough, put the veggies in a pot, cover with water, and crank up the heat.</p><p><strong>Plan a dough swap</strong> by freezing half of the dough from your latest baked good and suggesting friends, family, and coworkers do the same. When you're reunited, you can organize a trade and enjoy someone else's baking for a change.</p><p><strong>Start an indoor compost bin.</strong> It shouldn't smell when you follow this <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/composting-way-easier-you-think" target="_blank">list of what is and isn't compost-friendly</a>. To build your worm bin, find two plastic tubs and <a href="https://nrdc.tumblr.com/post/118984184239/how-to-build-a-worm-bin" target="_blank">drill holes in one of them</a> to provide proper aeration. Layer in moist bedding—made of things like shredded newspaper, leaves, or coconut husk—and then add some red wigglers, which you can order online. Kept well fed with scraps, your worms will soon be producing "black gold" compost to use in your garden and helping you curb greenhouse gases.</p>
Enjoy a Dose of Nature
<p><strong></strong><strong>Make your own basic bird feeder</strong> using pine cones, twine, nut butter, and birdseed. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-rxsVfAvaa/" target="_blank">This video from the Feminist Bird Club shows you one way to do it.</a> Hang it on a nearby tree you can spot through your window, then grab a pair of binoculars and do some armchair birding!</p><p><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-and-why-be-seed-savior" target="_blank"><strong>Create an herbarium</strong></a>—a scrapbook of pressed, dried flowers or other plants. To prepare your samples, press the plant matter in a large book or between sheets of newspaper and place a weight on top. When the leaves are dry, mount them on acid-free paper to preserve them, and label each specimen on the page. You can also include illustrations, photographs, seed packets, and notes.</p><p><strong>Sharpen your naturalist ID skills.</strong> Try to identify every species of plant in your backyard or on a neighborhood walk. You can do the same for wildlife—and share your findings through <a href="https://www.projectnoah.org/" target="_blank">Project Noah</a>, a citizen science platform to discover, share, and identify wildlife.</p><p><strong>Grow new indoor plants</strong> with the use of stems and leaves, rather than seeds. Though it <a href="https://www.bbg.org/gardening/article/how_to_propagate_houseplants" target="_blank">depends on your individual plant</a> species, propagating houseplants is often as easy as cutting off a stem or leaf from an existing plant and sticking it in soil or fresh water. If it takes, a new root system should form within a few weeks—leaving you with a hearty second plant within a few more months. (Pro tip: This works for green onions too! Nearly submerge their sliced-off roots, end down, into a glass of water that you change every few days. Voilà: a nearly endless supply of scallions.)</p><p><strong>Observe monarch butterflies</strong> in your backyard and share your findings with Monarch Watch, an organization devoted to their <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/monarch-butterflies-get-head-start-schoolyard" target="_blank">conservation</a>. Each year, monarchs make a remarkable 3,000-mile trek from as far north as the southern parts of Canada to the mountains of Mexico and back—but these pollinators are <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sylvia-fallon/monarch-butterfly-numbers-fall-again" target="_blank">in danger</a>. Register as one of Monarch Watch's citizen scientists to <a href="https://monarchwatch.org/calendar/?fbclid=IwAR1bawlAoraeMokwdiZa_GVONQqtDnqQxc_EM_UwzbO0zhq733PT6CQIgLc" target="_blank">help track the population's health</a>.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-turn-your-patch-earth-barren-bountiful" target="_blank">Boost your backyard biodiversity</a>. </strong>Plant some milkweed—the main food source for monarch caterpillars and egg-laying habitat for the butterflies. Hang a bee nesting box somewhere it can get sunlight and warmth. Add a barn owl box or attach a simple roosting perch to a pole. For reptile enthusiasts, set up a small wood pile, using brush or old logs as shelter for lizards and snakes (plus fungi).</p>Do Some Handiwork and Art Projects
<p><strong>Make face masks </strong>for your friends, family, and workers on the frontlines. This <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/DIY-cloth-face-covering-instructions.pdf" target="_blank">Center for Disease Control guide</a> breaks down different techniques. If you're comfortable sewing, you'll just need two 10-by-6-inch rectangles of fabric, two pieces of elastic, and a needle and thread for each mask. The no-sew option only requires a T-shirt and scissors. Remember: Cloth masks should be cleaned regularly (the CDC says a washing machine is sufficient) in order to remain effective.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Get your crayons out </strong>and do some therapeutic coloring. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and as part of a collaboration with NRDC, Studio Number One and its creative director, artist Shepard Fairey, have converted some of its archival activist artwork into <a href="http://www.studionumberone.com/free-downloads" target="_blank">black-and-white printouts for at-home coloring.</a></p><p><strong>Tackle your plastic bag stash</strong>, especially if your city or town is among those that recently banned the bag. Since current conditions may eliminate collection and recycling programs for plastic bags in your area, consider upcycling them instead. There are plenty of online tutorials for how to make outdoor pillow cushions stuffed with plastic bags, weave bags into <a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-basket-out-of-plastic-bags/" target="_blank">sturdy baskets</a>, or wind them into jump ropes.</p><p><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/purging-your-closets-dont-stuff-all-your-old-duds-trash-bag" target="_blank"><strong>Cut down on textile waste</strong></a>, which exacts a <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/are-my-denim-jeans-bad-environment" target="_blank">heavy toll on the environment and public health</a>, by giving old clothes a second life. Alter out-of-style garments by embroidering, reshaping, or using nontoxic dye to give them a new look. Take inspiration from fashion designers like <a href="http://zerowastedaniel.com/about" target="_blank">Daniel Silverstein</a>, who makes colorful, collaged clothing out of fabric scraps, or turn old fabric into a work of art, like weaver <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/weaving-beauty-borderlands" target="_blank">Consuelo Jimenez Underwoo</a>d.</p><p><strong>Turn old beach towels or T-shirts into </strong><a href="https://www.papernstitchblog.com/how-to-make-reusable-paper-towels/" target="_blank"><strong>a set of cloth napkins</strong></a>, a perfect beginner-level sewing project. By ditching single-use paper towels and napkins, you'll be helping to protect our forests, like the boreal of Canada that is the source of the virgin wood pulp used for much of the tissue paper products sold in the United States. Instead, switch to more sustainable, washable rags or cloths for cleaning up around the house and at the dining table.</p><p><strong>Get crafty with your recycling efforts</strong> to encourage kids <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-raise-environmentalist" target="_blank">to be more aware of our disposable culture</a>. For example, you could transform empty jars into vases, penholders, and votive candle holders. Or make a fresh notebook from scrap paper with the help of a hole punch and scissors, some ribbon, and an old cereal box (for making sturdy covers).</p>
Build Your Community
<p><strong></strong><strong>Start an environmental movie club.</strong> Various apps let you host movie nights with friends online, so you can chat while you watch. You can find our recs for standout environmental films on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-QNBxqJAUR/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>—including <em>Poisoning Paradise</em>, <em>Virunga</em>, and <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-turn-your-patch-earth-barren-bountiful" target="_blank"><em>The Biggest Little Farm</em></a>—with short summaries and tips on where you can find them online.</p><p>Document the environmental changes in your community<strong>, as they relate to climate change, through the </strong><a href="https://earthchallenge2020.earthday.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Earth Challenge </strong>2020's online portal</a>. The project will collect billions of observations in air quality, plastic pollution, and insect populations, and your insights will help promote policy change to address our warming world.</p><p><strong>Tune in to a new podcast</strong>. We recommend <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/range/hot-take-4#/" target="_blank"><em>Hot Take</em></a>, featuring NRDC's own Mary Heglar and her cohost Amy Westervelt, which takes a critical but constructive, intersectional look at how climates issues are being covered in the media. And despite the weighty content of the podcast, laughter is one of its defining sounds.</p><p><strong>Connect with climate justice activists</strong> by following along with <a href="http://thisiszerohour.org/our-actions/#actions" target="_blank">Zero Hour's Getting to the Roots digital series</a>. Each week, it focuses on a different theme that is a root cause of the climate crisis as well as ways to solve it—through digital leadership training, webinars, virtual open mics on Instagram and Twitter, art competitions, and podcast releases.</p><p><strong>Write a </strong><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-write-successful-letter-editor" target="_blank"><strong>letter to the editor</strong></a> that tackles one of the environmental issues facing your community that's close to your heart. The letter can be written in response to a piece that's already been published by a given media outlet, or it can be a proactive statement of support for or opposition against a particular issue that affects fellow readers. It's the perfect way to reach thousands of individuals and still remain publicly engaged without having to leave the comfort of your home.</p>Related Articles Around the Web
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Spanish Officials Spray Beach With Bleach in ‘Brutal’ Attempt to Sanitize Against Coronavirus
01 May
Health + Wellness
A beach near the town of Zahara de los Atunes near the city of Cádiz, Spain. inigoarza / Room / Getty Images
Spain is facing intense backlash after local officials sprayed bleach across 1.2 miles of beach near the town of Zahara de los Atunes on its southern coast, near Cádiz.
<p>Local officials and the business association in the picturesque fishing village used tractors to spray a bleach solution onto beaches a day before Spain allowed children out of coronavirus lockdown for the first time since early March, the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52471208" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported.</p><p>The move devastated the local ecosystem, causing "brutal damage," reported BBC.</p><p>"It's totally absurd," said María Dolores Iglesias Benítez. "The beach is a living ecosystem. And when you spray it down with bleach, you're killing everything you come across," reported <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/28/spanish-official-apologises-for-spraying-beach-with-bleach-coronavirus" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>Iglesias Benítez heads the local association Trafalgar that protects the beaches and nearby dunes, which serve as breeding and nesting grounds for the Kentish plover as well as several other species of migratory birds, The Guardian said.</p><p>With no humans on the beach for the past six weeks, she had hoped the number of nests would double this year, The Guardian said. Instead, she's dealing with an "environmental crime" that has left everything on the ground dead, even the insects, reported <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52471208" target="_blank">BBC</a>.</p><p>"Bleach is used as a very powerful disinfectant, it is logical that it be used to disinfect streets and asphalt, but here the damage has been brutal," the environmentalist said, reported <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/28/spanish-official-apologises-for-spraying-beach-with-bleach-coronavirus" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p><p>Questioning the decision behind the move, she added, "They have devastated the dune spaces and gone against all the rules," The Guardian reported. "The virus lives in people, not on the beach. It is crazy."</p><p>According to the regional Andalusian Government, the initiative did not have the requisite environmental and sanitary authorizations. The regional body will investigate and they have already voiced their criticism, demanding "a bit of good sense," reported Spanish media <a href="https://www.elperiodico.com/es/sociedad/20200428/polemica-zahara-atunes-cadiz-fumigar-playa-lejia-garantizar-seguridad-ninos-salida-confinamiento-7943577" target="_blank">elPeriódico</a>.</p><p>"They do not think that this is a living ecosystem, but a lot of land," Iglesias Benítez told elPeriódico. "The beach regenerates and cleans itself, it was not necessary."</p><p>Trafalgar is considering going to court because they found at least one plover nest with eggs among the tractor tracks, reported elPeriódico. The plover is currently in full breeding season.</p><p>The public outcry against the fumigation caught the attention of many groups, including Greenpeace Spain.</p><p>Greenpeace reproached the decision on Twitter, comparing it to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-coronavirus-medicine-science-2645823308.html" target="_self">U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion to use bleach injections</a> to stop coronavirus in humans. Greenpeace said, "Fumigating beaches in the middle of the breeding season for birds or the development of the invertebrate network that will support coastal fishing and destroy the tourist value of the coastline is not one of Trump's ideas. It is happening in Zahara de los Atunes," reported elPeriódico.</p>
<div id="1315e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3930fced35d9713d1d730cc4ba2d5c9f"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1254820110130450437" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Fumigar con lejía playas en plena época de cría de aves o de desarrollo de la red de invertebrados que sustentarán… https://t.co/y1Qb5jdpiW</div> — Greenpeace España (@Greenpeace España)<a href="https://twitter.com/greenpeace_esp/statuses/1254820110130450437">1588007402.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>One local official has admitted that it was a "wrong move," reported elPeriódico.</p><p>"I recognize it was an error," said Agustín Conejo, president of the neighborhood board, to elPeriódico. "But it was done with the best of intentions" of protecting minors who might walk along the sea, he added.</p><p>Local ecologists are not fully convinced because of the long distance between the sprayed areas and where minors can access, reported elPeriódico. They think a local hotelier is trying to guarantee that the area is free of COVID-19 for upcoming lucrative summer tourist season.</p><p>With over 23,800 deaths, Spain has been badly affected by coronavirus. It recently announced a four-phase plan to lift its stringent lockdown measures and return to a "new normality" by the end of June, reported <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52471208" target="_blank">BBC</a>.</p>
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Migrating barn swallows rest on electricity cables in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Patricia Fenn Gallery / Moment / Getty images
Thousands of swallows and other migratory birds have died in Greece trying to cross from Africa to Europe this spring.
<p>The birds were buffeted by unusually rough weather, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> groups and experts told reporters Thursday.</p>
<p>"It's a major disaster," Maria Ganoti of the wildlife protection group Anima told AFP, in a story published by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/10/high-winds-kill-thousands-of-migrating-birds-in-disaster-over-greece" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. </p>
<p>Ganoti said the birds had been found injured or dead in the last three days. They have been found on the streets and balconies of Athens, in the country's north, on islands in the Aegean and around a lake in the Peloponnese, AFP reported. The Hellenic Ornithological Society posted images of the carnage on social media. </p>
<div id="f7701" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="36e4c2d6691b7f76a76c9847f2c2ab6d"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1247770692541534215" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Οι αντίξοες καιρικές συνθήκες και οι ισχυροί βορινοί άνεμοι έχουν αναγκάσει χιλιάδες μεταναστευτικά πουλιά να διακό… https://t.co/djVyoLm9MM</div> — ornithologiki (@ornithologiki)<a href="https://twitter.com/ornithologiki/statuses/1247770692541534215">1586326690.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The group <a href="http://www.ornithologiki.gr/page_cn.php?aID=2039" target="_blank">wrote</a> that the night of April fifth to sixth was especially perilous for the birds. A combination of cold weather, strong winds and few insects exhausted birds that had already crossed the Sahara and the Mediterranean. South-blowing winds pushed the birds to North Africa, where they then faced the north-blowing winds of the Aegean and flew towards eastern Greece for rest. The group described what happened next:</p><blockquote>On April 6th, the morning light revealed a shocking sight: tens of thousands of birds, chilly and exhausted, were unable to move. Swallows and martins had to rest on the ground, on the blacktop, on balconies, on rooftops and any other surface available. Swifts –a purely airborne species that can not rest on the ground or on a wire– found a temporary shelter by grabbing a wall or by hiding in scuppers or air ducts. Flycatchers filled parks and gardens in Athens and other cities. All this happened throughout Eastern Greece, from southernmost Crete to northernmost Macedonia.</blockquote>
<div id="6b68c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="73b04ed3e3b74a83ecb8f16f2d4f394d"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1247865185693569024" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">‼️ Δύσκολοι καιροί για τα μεταναστευτικά πουλιά!
Τι μπορούμε να κάνουμε για να τα βοηθήσουμε;
👉Δείτε αναλυτικά εδώ:… https://t.co/nFhN4FyEBI</div> — ornithologiki (@ornithologiki)<a href="https://twitter.com/ornithologiki/statuses/1247865185693569024">1586349219.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Greece is in the flight path of hundreds of thousands of migratory birds, AFP reported, and storms are a major danger for all migrating birds, <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/natures-home-magazine/birds-and-wildlife-articles/migration/dangers-of-migration/" target="_blank">according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds</a>. Some deaths are sadly to be expected, and birds have evolved to weather harsh conditions to a certain degree, the Hellenic Ornithological Society explained.</p><p>"However, this specific weather combination was unprecedented and pushed entire populations to their limits," the group wrote. "If we take into account all the hardships that human activity brings about during their journey — habitat loss, desertification, illegal killing etc. — these losses could prove devastating."</p><p>They urged concerned bird lovers not to approach or feed the resting birds, to protect them from drivers and cats and to call a wildlife center if they encountered one who needed medical help.</p>
<p>Swallows, which were particularly impacted by the harsh weather, are Greece's most popular bird, according to <a href="https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/04/09/thousands-of-swallows-and-other-birds-die-in-greece-after-migration/" target="_blank">Greek Reporter</a>. Their arrival heralds spring. They also make an incredible journey.</p><p>"These birds fly up to 350 kilometers (217 miles) a day, with anticyclones favoring them on their journey as they lift them higher up in the sky," associate professor in the Department of Forestry and Natural Environment at Thessaloniki University Dimitris Bakaloudis explained to Greek Reporter.. "They spent the winter months in southern Sahara and as far as South Africa and start migrating in waves from early March on a route of more than 10,000 kilometers (6,213 miles)."</p>
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Pixabay
With the coronavirus continuing to spread and self-isolation becoming the norm, it feels more important than ever to embrace the power and beauty of nature. Sure, we can't travel as much these days, but the modern world can still bring the natural world to us.
<p>We've picked some great webcams around the globe to help keep you sane in these trying times. Depending on the time of day or night you're reading this, they should offer you some solace and wonder for the long weeks ahead.</p>
Tembe Elephant Park
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="98e42411fff6f35ef0848be2fc7f896c"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z5F1a7_dsrs?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>One of several great livecams from <a href="https://explore.org/livecams/" target="_blank">Explore.org</a>. This one brings you to a very popular watering hole on the Mozambique border.</p>Decorah Eagles
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f7b68d1d59de0180385b1b73b4c3ba09"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eTAsANPVqB8?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>A rare opportunity to see bald eagles up close and relaxed in Decorah, Iowa.</p>Gorilla Forest Corridor
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5257bf5001555c6a8fbe90ca51839767"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rgXWDk7rh4w?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>You may or may not see any critically endangered Grauer's gorillas, but this is a heck of a peaceful site in the Democratic Republic of Congo.</p>Coral City
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ca851b20efb928199cfe942f412a1ee4"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fcDAqe0RhKo?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>An urban reef in Miami, Florida that's part habitat, part science experiment and part art project. You never know who might swim by.</p>Cornell Lab’s Panama Fruit Feeder-cam at Canopy Lodge
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bf75ba8fc1c62cc9cd21f11a80d1c3ab"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WtoxxHADnGk?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Pay attention. All kinds of colorful birds fly by to sample the wares that scientists have left out for them at this conservation site in Panama.</p>Big Sur Condors
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="eac275b9c5bb21353baabe6fa8b17145"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BYfpzcWwieM?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Two webcams from the Ventana Wildlife Society showcasing the amazing California condors in their care. The birds aren't always on camera, but it's worth sticking around to see them.</p>Big Sur Condor Nest powered by EXPLORE.org
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c48f531cba2bccbbcc2385087b2e1150"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/scvFA-ShZwc?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>Otters and More at Monterey Bay
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5b380adf03fdca8d30209c8a097fb029"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5JjGc5fN1K0?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>A neverending parade of sea otters, birds, harbor seals and other marine mammals will entertain you at this feed, courtesy of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.</p>Bison Watering Hole at Grasslands National Park
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7d8a9bec0805ac98b243fbd998755468"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0ZKl4T7o-m8?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Again, you never know what wildlife you'll witness onscreen, but the beauty of this site in Saskatchewan can take your breath away.</p>New York University’s Hawk Cam
<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://ustream.tv/embed/22940835" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen frameborder="0" style="border: 0 none transparent;"></iframe><p>Oh wow, an urban nest whose residents are mini-celebrities. This includes an active <a href="https://video.ibm.com/channel/e3uYJSDgmbz" target="_blank">chat feature</a>, so it's one more way to connect with fellow enthusiasts.</p>Jellyfish at Monterey Bay Aquarium
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="06b2e809befef9812f09abb6ff610162"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2gHKDHmgVlU?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Who knew jellyfish were so Zen? This livecam is about as relaxing as it can possibly get. Get lost in the gentle motion.</p><p>There's more! We found one more essential livestream that we can't embed but it's worth opening a new browser tab to see:</p><p><a href="https://nywolf.org/meet-our-wolves/webcams/webcam-red-wolves-charlotte-jack-family/" target="_blank">Red Wolf enclosure cam</a> — Check out one of the rarest predators on the planet, courtesy of the conservation breeding program at the Wolf Conservation Center, which also maintains <a href="https://nywolf.org/meet-our-wolves/webcams/" target="_blank">several other great webcams</a>.</p><p>Don't find something you like above? You can also try going for a walk to see what wildlife or natural beauties you can find in your neighborhood. After all, self-isolation doesn't mean we have to keep ourselves indoors all day and all night.</p><p>While you're at it, bring your phone and share photos of what you see on <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/" target="_blank">iNaturalist</a> or other citizen-science platforms — that's one more way to stay connected with your community and avoid feelings of isolation. And you can help collect important scientific information along the way.</p><p>No matter what you do, please just stay safe. The world will still need you when all of this is over.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/covid-19-wildlife-livecams/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Scientists have discovered the oldest known modern bird fossil, dating back to one million years before the asteroid strike that drove the dinosaurs to extinction.
<p>The find, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2096-0" target="_blank">published in Nature Wednesday</a>, can help researchers understand why birds survived while the dinosaurs they evolved from did not, according to the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/wonderchicken" target="_blank">University of Cambridge</a> researchers who led the team behind the discovery. It is thought to be almost the oldest common ancestor of a group that includes ducks and chickens. </p><p>"This is a unique specimen: we've been calling it the 'wonderchicken,'" Dr. Daniel Field of the University of Cambridge told <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-51925335" target="_blank">BBC News</a>.</p>
<p>It also has a more formal name: <em>Asteriornis maastrichtensis, </em>so called for Asteria, a Greek goddess of falling stars that turns into a quail. </p>
<p>But the fossil's importance wasn't always recognized, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/science/wonderchicken-bird-fossil.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. </p>
<p>A fossil collector first found the piece of rock it was hidden within in a limestone quarry in Belgium in 2000. All that was visible in the rock were tiny femur and shin bones. It wasn't until 18 years later that Field and doctoral student Juan Benito took a CT scan of the deck-of-card sized rock and found a fully preserved bird's skull inside. </p>
<p>"The moment I first saw what was beneath the rock was the most exciting moment of my scientific career," <a href="https://www.esc.cam.ac.uk/directory/daniel-field" target="_blank">Field</a> said in the University of Cambridge press release. "This is one of the best-preserved fossil bird skulls of any age, from anywhere in the world. We almost had to pinch ourselves when we saw it, knowing that it was from such an important time in Earth's history."</p>
<p>The fossil is between 66.7 and 66.8 million years old, The New York Times reported. Birds first diverged from dinosaurs around 165 million years ago, but many species died out. This fossil can help to understand why some survived. </p>
<p>Field has hypothesized that small, ground-dwelling birds were more likely to survive the asteroid strike, partly because birds that lived in trees were vulnerable to wildfires. The new find fits this hypothesis: it lived on the ground and weighed less than one pound, according to BBC news. </p>
<p>"The origins of living bird diversity are shrouded in mystery — other than knowing that modern birds arose at some point towards the end of the age of dinosaurs, we have very little fossil evidence of them until after the asteroid hit," co-author and Cambridge PhD student Albert Chen said in the press release. "This fossil provides our earliest direct glimpse of what modern birds were like during the initial stages of their evolutionary history."</p>
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The piece of amber measures only 1.25 inches (31.5 millimeters) in length. The skull is a mere 0.6 inches (11 millimeters). Xing Lida / CC BY-ND
By Lars Schmitz, Jingmai Kathleen O'Connor
In 2016, our colleague Xing Lida held up a small piece of polished, deeply yellow amber. As sunlight shone through the ancient resin, Lida saw the outline of a pristinely preserved, amazingly small skull. There was a prominent eye socket, a dome-shaped crown of the head, a long, tapering snout and even small teeth. It was bird-like, but in a strange and ancient way.
<p>
The amber contains the skull of <em>Oculudentavis khaungraae</em>, a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2068-4" target="_blank">newly described dinosaur</a> and one of the smallest ever discovered. Its tiny stature is forcing paleontologists to rethink the lower limits of body size in birds, and the nearly 100-million-year-old fossil is challenging the current understanding of when and how dinosaur giants shrank into the birds of today.
</p>
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A Mysterious Transformation
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjg3Mzc4Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjY5NDI3Nn0.3F6ZGuMvqL-UaQ-ecuysp5Mlptj8-nhLbDUft-CpZU4/img.jpg?width=980" id="a9b9c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c527e7c6d67cbf79dfcc12fc5c9082cb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Tiny Oculudentavis may have occupied a unique ecological niche in the ancient world. Han Zhixin / CC BY-ND
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/take-a-t-rex-and-a-chicken-and-youll-see-how-dinosaurs-shrank-survived-and-evolved-into-birds-29996" target="_blank">evolutionary transition of dinosaurs to modern birds</a> is one of the most astounding transformations in the history of life: large, bipedal and mostly carnivorous dinosaurs morphed into small, flying birds. Famous discoveries like <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-discovered-a-new-species-of-the-missing-link-between-dinosaurs-and-birds-102363" target="_blank">Archaeopteryx</a></em> and more recently the fossils from the <a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/birds-stone" target="_blank">Jehol Biota in China</a> have given researchers some hints about the process. But finds from this <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-birds-evolved-from-dinosaurs-20150602" target="_blank">evolutionary phase</a> — which researchers think began about 200 million years ago — are rare.</p><p>Paleontologists are far from having a complete picture of the evolution of birds, and even farther from a full inventory of Earth's ecosystems in the age of dinosaurs. Our research on the tiny <em>Oculudentavis</em>, published in the journal Nature, adds valuable information to the puzzle of when, how and to what extent dinosaurs shrank.</p>Clues in Bone
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjg3Mzc4NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMTY5NzQxOX0.0KyC36RpiiWX9Qq-nMjwY94cpvMT3iH8k3dKiO_gmco/img.jpg?width=980" id="adc36" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="92fc96bb8c622eeae35025533c7e7484" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />This high-resolution scan allowed us to see the intricacies of a bone structure unlike any before seen in birds or dinosaurs. Xing Lida / CC BY-ND
<p>Our team needed to see the minute details of the skull, and we needed to do it without cracking or ruining the specimen - a difficult task with a skull encased in 99-million-year old amber from Myanmar. To do that, we scanned the skull with high-resolution X-rays and created a digital model with very fine anatomical detail. What emerged was a picture of an overall bird-like anatomy. But in some interesting ways, <em>Oculudentavis</em> is unlike any bird or dinosaur that has ever been found.</p><p>The obvious curiosity of the fossil is its size: <em>Oculudentavis</em> rivaled the smallest bird living today, the bee hummingbird, and likely was no more than 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) from beak to tail. We considered whether the skull possibly belonged to a very young animal, but the extent and pattern of bone growth and the proportional size of the eye pointed to a mature bird.</p><p>With a total skull length of just about 0.6 inches (1.5 centimeters), <em>Oculudentavis</em> pushes against what is considered the lower limit of size in birds: the head still had to hold functional eyes, a brain and jaws. The small size is especially surprising if one considers that <em>Oculudentavis</em> lived during the same time as <a href="https://svpow.com/2017/08/09/dont-believe-the-hype-patagotitan-was-not-bigger-than-argentinosaurus/" target="_blank">giant plant-eating dinosaurs like <em>Argentinosaurus</em></a>.</p>Small and Specialized
<p>The small size of <em>Oculudentavis</em> is striking, but to a trained eye there are other extremely unusual features, too.</p><p>First of all, the skull seems to be built for strength. The bones show an unusual pattern of fusion and the skull lacks an antorbital fenestra, a small hole often found in front of the eye.</p><p>The eyes of <em>Oculudentavis</em> also surprised us. The shape of the bones found within the eye, the scleral ossicles, suggests that it probably had conical eyes with small pupils. This type of eye structure is especially well adapted for moving around in bright light. While daytime activity might be expected for an <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2011/04/14/dinosaurs-around-the-clock-or-how-we-know-velociraptor-hunted-by-night/" target="_blank">ancient bird from the age of dinosaurs</a>, the shape of the ossicles is entirely distinct from any other dinosaur and resembles those of modern-day lizards.</p><p>Adding to the list of unexpected features, the upper jaw carries at least 23 small teeth. These teeth extend all the way back beneath the eye and are not set in deep pockets, an unusual arrangement for most ancient birds. The large number of teeth and their sharp cutting edges suggest that <em>Oculudentavis</em> was a predator that may have fed on small bugs.</p><p>The sum of these traits — a strong skull, good eyesight and a hunter's set of teeth — suggests to us that <em>Oculudentavis</em> led a life previously unknown among ancient birds: it was a hummingbird-sized daytime predator.</p>One of the Earliest and Tiniest Birds?
<p>Placing <em>Oculudentavis</em> in the tree of life is, given its strange anatomy, challenging. Our phylogenetic analysis — the investigation of its relationships to other dinosaurs — identifies <em>Oculudentavis</em> as one of the most ancient birds. Only <em>Archaeopteryx</em> branched off earlier.</p><p>Scientists consider the nectar-feeding hummingbirds — <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/ancient-hummingbirds-in-surprising-places/" target="_blank">which appeared 30 million years ago</a> — the smallest dinosaurs on record. But if our placement of <em>Oculudentavis</em> holds true, the miniaturization of dinosaurs may have peaked far earlier than paleontologists previously thought. In fact, the largest and the smallest dinosaurs may have walked and flown the same earth nearly 100 million years ago.</p><p>Our work demonstrates how little scientists know about the little things in the history of life. Scientists' snapshot of fossil ecosystems in the dinosaur age is incomplete and leaves so many questions unanswered. But paleontologists are eager to take on these questions. What other tiny species were out there? What was their ecological function? Was <em>Oculudentavis</em> the only visually guided bug hunter? To better understand the evolution of the diversity of life we need more emphasis and recognition of the small.</p><p>Amber holds strong potential to fill that gap. Maybe one day a scientist will hold up another piece, and let sunshine reveal a complete <em>Oculudentavis</em>, or even a previously unknown species. More finds in amber will help illuminate the world of the tiny vertebrates in the age of dinosaurs.</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/ancient-bird-skull-found-in-amber-was-tiny-predator-in-the-time-of-giant-dinosaurs-132949" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>
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Guam Rails Are No Longer Extinct in the Wild (Something Only One Other Bird Can Claim)
07 March
Animals
Guam Rail. Dukas / Universal Images Group / Getty Images
By Jason Bittel
When you walk into the tropical rainforest room at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, the first thing you'll probably notice are the hyacinth macaws perched in mango trees. The feathers of these massive parrots are so impossibly blue that the birds look like birthday party piñatas. And the first thing you'll likely hear is the trill of the much tinier laughing thrushes as they swoop from tall cacao plants to the indoor-jungle floor. But watch out for Gus! He's the blue-headed great argus pheasant who likes to commandeer the walkway while unfurling his four-foot-tall fan of feathers in an attempt to woo female pheasants.
<p>In all, there are 90 tropical birds in this lush and misty room, representing 32 species from all over the world. But in the midst of all this avian splendor, there's one bird you aren't likely to set eyes upon: the <a href="https://www.aviary.org/hyacinth-macaws" target="_blank">Guam rail</a>. They're in there — I just doubt you'll spot one.</p><p>"We can't make a liar out of me," said <a href="https://www.aviary.org/leadership" target="_blank">Kurt Hundgen</a>, the aviary's director of Animal Collections as he scours the understory looking for the small, dirt-colored birds. Not seeing any, Hundgen purses his lips and whistles out a few short calls of rail-speak. "There are nine rails in here!" he laughs. None answer his calls.</p><p>Unfortunately, the rail is even more difficult to find in its native habitat on the Micronesian island of Guam. Impossible, actually. This is because sometime in the mid-1900s, brown tree snakes made their way onto the island, likely stowed away in cargo delivered by a U.S. Navy supply ship. And once these lithe, narrow-necked serpents made landfall, they started gobbling up every native species in sight. Prior to the snakes' arrival, Guam had no large predators that would eat eggs or chicks. So it took just a few decades before 9 of Guam's 11 native species of forest-dwelling birds disappeared for good down the snakes' gullets. In 1987, the Guam rail was added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) ignoble list of species considered <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22692441/156506469" target="_blank">extinct in the wild</a>.</p>
<p>But there is some good news. Just before the species left this world entirely, scientists managed to capture 21 rails and create a captive breeding program on Guam and at several mainland American institutions, including the National Aviary. The breeding program has performed so well that new populations of Guam rails have been reintroduced to the nearby islands of Cocos and Rota. These islands never had rails, but they also don't have any snakes, which makes them ideal sanctuaries for Guam rails. And with just 60 birds on Cocos and 200 on Rota, Hundgen says there are no indications that the birds are becoming an invasive species themselves.</p><p>To date, Pittsburgh has provided 39 birds. That's more than any other Association of Zoos and Aquariums institution, Hundgen points out proudly.</p><p>The IUCN announced at the end of last year that the continued survival of the breeding program's birds justified relisting the species as critically endangered — a step up from extinct in the wild. Guam rails are only the <a href="https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/red-list-2019-guam-rail-2nd-bird-species-recover-extinction-wild" target="_blank">second bird in history</a> to accomplish this feat. The other is the California condor, North America's largest bird. The condor's numbers plummeted in the last century due to poaching, lead poisoning, and habitat loss. If not for extreme conservation interventions, both the California condor and the Guam rail would no longer be around.</p><p>The rails were lucky in that they breed well in captivity, but reproduction is just part of the story. To successfully reintroduce an animal to the wild, you also have to prepare it for what it will face there. Hundgen believes Pittsburgh's tropical enclosure has been especially beneficial on that score. The rails' wild-like tropical rainforest habitat is 80 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 60 feet tall, allowing them to constantly interact with other birds as well as to practice defending their territories from other rails — just like they would do in a real forest.</p>
<p>As if to demonstrate this visually, an aviculturist named Danielle Minkus appears below the raised walkway where Hundgen and I are talking and starts flinging handfuls of mealworms into the leaf litter. Almost immediately, half a dozen long-legged birds with black and white underbellies begin to materialize from the dark understory. They find and snatch up the mealworms Minkus tosses so quickly, I find myself wondering how a snake would ever be able to catch one of them.</p><p>But that would be underestimating the brown tree snake. These suckers can grow longer than 10 feet, are excellent climbers, and pack a venomous bite. Most unfortunately, they have next to nothing keeping their numbers in check on Guam.</p><p>"At one point, there were so many snakes on Guam that they were causing electrical outages on a daily basis," says <a href="https://www.dickinson.edu/site/custom_scripts/dc_faculty_profile_index.php?fac=bobacks" target="_blank">Scott Boback</a>, an animal ecologist at Dickinson College. This happens when a large snake turns itself into a living conductor by trying to move between a power line and a tree branch.</p><p>Oddly, acetaminophen is the snake's kryptonite, with just a small dose able to disrupt its blood's ability to carry oxygen. Scientists like Boback have found that dropping pills glued to dead mice from helicopters flying over fenced-off areas can actually put a considerable dent in the local snake populations. Still, as Boback showed in a recent <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.3000" target="_blank">study</a>, when just a handful of snakes remain, it is nearly impossible to find them. Which means it may never be safe for the Guam rail to return to Guam.</p><p>So prevention on the rails' new islands is "absolutely paramount," said Boback. To that end, the U.S. Geological Survey has installed snake-proof fencing all around the port on Rota — the only such structure on Earth.</p><p>To contribute to the effort of returning these birds to the wild has been rewarding, said Hundgen, but we shouldn't lose sight of just how much time, effort, and money it takes to bring a species back from the brink. "You can bring a species back. It can happen," he said, as the aviary's nine rails disappear back into the underbrush. "But it's 35 years later. It took 35 years to get that."</p><p>Honestly, it's incredible that we still have Guam rails at all, Hundgen said. "It'll probably go down in the conservation history books."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/guam-rails-are-no-longer-extinct-wild-something-only-one-other-bird-can-claim" target="_blank">onEarth</a>.</em><em></em></p>Related Articles Around the Web
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British conservationist and environmental activist Mya-Rose Craig, known as Birdgirl, addresses a "Youth Strike 4 Climate" protest in Bristol, England on Feb. 28, 2020. GEOFF CADDICK / AFP via Getty Images
By Naomi Larsson
Mya-Rose Craig was just nine days old when she spotted her first bird — a lesser kestrel. She doesn't remember it now, of course, but a grainy photo shows her looking through a telescope on the Isles of Scilly off the English coast.
<p>It's no surprise then that Mya-Rose caught the birdwatching bug early. Her father is an avian enthusiast and cultivated a love of the hobby within his family. At 17-years-old, she's now the youngest person to have spotted half the world's known birds — an impressive 5,369 species.</p><p>"I've always felt this very strong connection with birds," she says, binoculars slung around her neck. "I think especially when I was younger, just the fact that they could fly I found so interesting. And I mean, what little kid doesn't dream of flying?"</p>
<p>Strolling through the lush woodlands of Ashton Court Estate on the outskirts of Bristol, the English city close to her home, Mya-Rose spots a blue tit. They are common in the UK, but she says long before she was able to travel in search of rarer species, local birds offered her a way to connect with nature.</p><p>"Especially when I was younger, I definitely appreciated the fact that I didn't have to go out into the wilderness and hunt them down," she said. "You could go out and they would just be in the garden. It was that real accessibility that appealed to me."</p>
<p>Yet as a young woman of Bangladeshi heritage, Mya-Rose noticed early on that there were very few people in the field who looked like her.</p><p>"I noted that people going out into nature were nearly all white," she says. "And as someone who was lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to engage with nature her entire life, I found it really upsetting that other people just weren't having the same opportunities."</p><p>That's something she set out to change. Under the name "<a href="https://twitter.com/birdgirluk?lang=en" target="_blank">Birdgirl</a>," Mya-Rose has become a prominent voice for diversity in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a>, and joined a global chorus of young female environment campaigners, such as <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/greta-thunberg-scathing-about-politicians-as-thousands-join-hamburg-climate-protest/a-52468581" target="_blank">Greta Thunberg</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/vanessa_vash?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">Vanessa Nakate</a>.</p>
<h3>'White and Elitist' Countryside</h3><p>Mya-Rose's was just 13 when, with the help of her parents, she organized her first "Race Equality in Nature" conference to highlight this lack of diversity not only in access to nature, but also in conservation and environmental work. The environmental sector is among the least diverse in the UK — <a href="https://www.sustainabilityexchange.ac.uk/files/20181206_nus_race__inclusivity_and_environmental_sustainability_report.pdf" target="_blank">just over 3% of environment professionals identify</a> as non-white minorities according to one study.</p><p>The event brings NGOs, academics, young naturalists and representatives from black, Asian and minority ethnic and faith communities together to work out the <a href="http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5289189142691840" target="_blank">complex reasons for the lack of diversity</a>, she says.</p><p>"It ranges from things like a lot of people in these communities not having appropriate clothes for English weather," said Mya-Rose, "or this massive cultural fear of dogs, to much more difficult issues such as this feeling within the communities that the countryside is very white and elitist, and that they're not welcome."</p>
<p>In the intervening years, the young conservationist has amassed more than 13,000 Twitter followers and launched a blog that's been viewed more than a million times. She's been on TV, given a TED talk and held lectures. In February 2020, Mya-Rose became the youngest Briton to receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Bristol for her diversity and environmental campaigning.</p><p>The birdwatcher also runs regular nature camps for inner-city teenagers through the organization <a href="http://www.birdgirluk.com/2019/05/black2nature-me.html" target="_blank">Black2Nature</a>, which she set up in 2016.</p><p>Over one or two nights, kids camp in the British countryside and take part in workshops during the day on everything from sketching and birding to talks about the environment and the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate crisis</a>.</p><p>"I personally felt that it has got to the point where being able to access and enjoy nature has almost become a privilege and I just find it completely unacceptable, especially because people forget that we're animals too and we're supposed to be constantly surrounded by nature — and we're just not," said Mya-Rose.</p>
<h3>When the Personal Is Political</h3><p>Through <a href="http://www.birdgirluk.com/2019/05/black2nature-me.html" target="_blank">Black2Nature</a>, she's trying to change the idea of what "connecting with nature" means in the first place.</p><p>"I feel like there's this very old-fashioned picture here — it's going out in your fancy birding clothes with your pair of binoculars, and a lot of people just don't really fancy that idea," she explained.</p><p>"So broadening that to going down to the community gardens and growing some plants that you're going to eat, or even just like watching the foxes in your garden at night in the city, will massively help in the future."</p><p>Studies <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44097-3" target="_blank">have shown</a> getting out into green spaces and getting in touch with nature is good for mental health.</p><p>But Mya-Rose says the impact is more than just personal.</p><p>Birding gave her an appreciation for the natural world and became a gateway for her environmental activism, including getting out on the streets as part of the youth climate movement, she says. She also tries to lessen the impact of her overseas birding trips by choosing ecotourism that benefits local communities and by using the knowledge she gains to raise <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity">biodiversity</a> issues at home.</p><p>In turn, she believes, if simple joy in spotting a bird can lead to political activism, then it stands to reason a disconnect from nature must be a factor in harming the environment and climate.</p><p>"It's increasingly important to make sure people really care and understand the environment because without knowing it and loving it, there's no way that they're going to be able to make the sacrifices to look after it," she said.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/uk-birdgirls-fights-for-the-planet-and-equality-in-conservation/a-52527367?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>
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