This week in birds - #69

A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment:

Black-bellied Whistling Duck, the ubiquitous year-round duck of  Southeast Texas.

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A mismatch between the departure schedules of songbirds and higher spring temperatures at their breeding sites is putting them at risk, according to a new study out of York University. The study of Purple Martins concluded that the birds have not yet adjusted their migration schedule to fit the new climate reality. They still arrive at their breeding grounds at around the same time as they have during their recorded history.

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Did you know that this is National Moth Week? Moths, as all creatures in the wild, face many challenges to their survival, but scientists have identified a new one that is a bi-product of our modern culture - light pollution.  

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The huge ExxonMobil pipeline oil spill in Mayflower, Arkansas, that made news earlier this spring is still creating a huge mess and economic impact on that area. It is unknown when - or if - that mess will be completely cleaned up. This has again highlighted the dangers of these pipelines to human or animal life when they inevitably rupture and spill.

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Male ducks and geese have penises, unlike most birds that make do with a cloaca. Some of those penises are rather impressive; those of some ducks are as long as the bird's body! Why that is so and why we should care is the basis of some interesting research.

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The Dragonfly Woman had a chance to observe and photograph the emergence of some dragonflies from their nymph exoskeleton.

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The Hula painted frog, long thought to be extinct, has been discovered to be alive and well and living in an Israeli nature preserve. The newly renamed Latonia nigriventer may be the only surviving species of its genus. 

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The Atlantic Puffin population is at risk in the United States, and there are signs the seabirds are in distress in other parts of the world. The birds found in the Gulf of Maine have been dying of starvation and losing body weight and their chicks have a very low survival rate, all due, it is believed to the shifting of fish populations because of the warming ocean.

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It seems that Northern Gannets are surprisingly good neighbors to their fellow gannets. Each colony has its own exclusive fishing range and they do not poach on their neighbors despite doing nothing to defend their territory from rival colonies.

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The Skeptical Moth wonders if all butterflies in the U.S. have now been discovered and described. (I would say it seems very unlikely since new species of animals are being discovered all the time.) For sure there are many moth species still not described and documented.

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A study finds an evolving diversity of microbial life in the guts of adult and juvenile birds. The subject of the study was the Black-legged Kittiwake and researchers found that adults and chicks have very different bacteria in their guts.

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A recent study finds that climate science deniers are also more likely to be proponents of other conspiracy theories as well.

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Around the backyard:

Around the backyard this week, the birds and I are all just trying to stay cool!