This week in birds - #29

News of birds and the environment this week:

(Picture by Greg Lavaty courtesy of American Bird Conservancy.)

The American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week is the pretty little Black-capped Vireo. This bird is considered vulnerable and its status is of highest concern. It breeds in low deciduous shrubs and at the edges of woods in the Hill Country of Central Texas up to Oklahoma and down to northern Mexico. It winters in western Mexico.

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Researchers at the University of North Carolina have discovered that female Lincoln's Sparrows find the songs of males sexier if they hear them in the cold. They theorize that this may be one reason for the frenzy of song in the cool early morning before the sun comes up, known as the "Dawn Chorus."

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It's been a pretty dismal summer in the U.K. so far but some rare British Ospreys have managed to beat the odds and thrive in spite of the weather.

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What is the world's biggest insect? Well, it depends on whether you are referring to the longest or the heaviest. Insect Museum has pictures of them both. 

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An investigation has found the Solomon Islands to be a hub for the illegal trade in wild-caught birds, some of them endangered, for the cage bird trade.

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Most birds have little if any sense of smell, but scientists have shown that European Storm-petrels are able to discern from the bird's scent whether or not that bird is a suitable mate. The birds avoid close relatives.

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Giant Swallowtail butterflies, like the one shown here feeding in my backyard, are common in Southeast Texas, but this summer the beautiful insects have been found breeding in Quebec, far north of their normal range.  

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Another unusual visitor in the north this summer has been the Dickcissel which has been found across the northern tier of states and even into Manitoba, Ontario, and western New York. Again, this is far north of the bird's normal range.

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In recent weeks, 512 dead Magellanic Penguins have washed up on the shores of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.  The cause of the deaths is still under investigation.

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An iceberg twice the size of Manhattan has broken off from the Petermann glacier in Greenland and has moved into the waters of the northern Atlantic.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has doubled the size of critical habitat in California, Oregon, and Washington for the endangered Western Snowy Plover.

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Around the backyard:

Around my backyard this week, the hummingbird activity has picked up a lot, including visits by some male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds like the one above. It seems a bit early for fall migrants to be coming through, but it has been a tough, dry summer in the Midwest and this may have caused the movement south to have started earlier than usual. For whatever reason, it has certainly added entertainment value to my yard!