Bird Related Headlines From Around the Internet

Emerging Infectious Diseases V3,n3,July-Sept'97 Molecular Epidemiologic Investigations of

Mycoplasma gallisepticum Conjunctivitis in Songbirds by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Analyses  
Summary: To investigate the molecular epidemiology of this outbreak, we produced DNA fingerprints of MG isolates by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD). We compared MG isolates from songbirds examined from 1994 through 1996 in 11 states, representing t 28420 bytes, updated 05-28-98

Mycoplasmal Conjunctivitis in Wild Songbirds: The Spread of a New Contagious Disease in a Mobile Host Population

What Do Birds Dream About? Singing, Of Course

Thursday December 17 5:10 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sleeping birds are not only dreaming, but probably dreaming about
the songs they sing during the day, researchers said Thursday.
They said their findings add to evidence that dreaming helps animals -- including humans --
"rehearse'' things they have learned to do in the day, and help them perform better the next day.
 Biologist Daniel Margoliash and colleagues at the University of Chicago were studying zebra
finches.
They noticed that when the birds were asleep, their brains showed a burst of activity in an area
known as the robustus archistratalis (RA), which is known to be involved in singing.
"One would expect this area to be quiescent during sleep,'' Margoliash, who published the study
in the journal Science, said in a statement.
They played recordings of the birds singing while the birds were awake, asleep and knocked out
with anesthesia. They looked at the electrical activity in the RA of the birds.
The awake birds showed no response -- just their normal, oscillating patterns. But the sleeping or
unconscious birds showed strong bursts of activity from the RA. When they were awakened, the
signals went back to normal.
"This is surprising because the same neurons that show no response during the day have these
strong responses to the bird's own song when they are asleep,'' Margoliash said.
"It's possible that songs learned during the day affect the bursting patterns of the RA at night,
serving to solidify the newly learned songs in the animal's mind.''

The Things We Make Birds Say
From: Christian Science Monitor
Posted 11-13-98

MU Researchers Argue For Better Management Of Small Wetlands
From: Science Daily
Posted: 11-13-98

Fewer Songbirds May Be Result Of Forest Fragmentation Across The American South, New Study Suggests
From: Science Daily
Posted 11-13-98

What Do Bluebirds And Oil Slicks Have In Common?

From: University of Kansas
Posted 11-13-98

Beaver, Architects To The Birds
From: Penn State

Fruit-Eating Birds Discovered Crucial To Rainforest Survival
San Francisco State University

Researchers Improve Genetic Variation In Wildlife
From: Perdue University
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Group by group, animals such as pronghorn

antelope and wild turkeys that once disappeared from America's landscape are
returning as wildlife biologists reintroduce them to their native areas.

Loon Watch
From: Northern Michigan Journal - 7/15/98

Wildlife Dying At The Doorsteps Of World's National Parks,Study Says

From: Wildlife Conservation Society - 6/30/98
Hunting, collisions with automobiles and trucks, and diseases from domestic
animals are killing grizzlies, tigers and other large predators at alarming rates
when they leave the confines of national parks, according to a study by the
Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society and Cambridge University.
The study warns that regional populations of these animals may collapse if
such mortality continues.

Two feathered dinosaurs from northeastern China
From: Nature - June 1998

When is a bird not a bird?
From: Nature - June, 1998

Feather Find Redefines Dinosaurs
From: Christian Science Monitor - June 24, 1998

An Owl's Early Lessons Leave Their Mark On The Brain

From:  Stanford University Medical Center - March 6, 1998

Among Wrens, Moms Teach Daughters To Call, Dads Teach Sons, Study Reveals
From: University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill - April 8, 1998

Songbird Salmonella Tracked Across Country By Cornell Scientists
From: Cornell University - March 31, 1998

Pollution, Food Stress Take Toll On Bald Eagles
From: Simon Fraser University - June 8, 1998
The work of a Simon Fraser University graduate student may have helped

solve a bald eagle mystery on Vancouver Island.

Using the Web to track the albatross
From: MSNBC - June 16, 1998

Watching wildlife is big business in U.S.
From: CNN - June 16, 1998

Plover Paradise

Promise for Plovers: by Sarah E. Dooling / An Article on the Piping Plover in North Dakota.

Fresh Pond: The Real World
From: Virtual Birder

Bits about birds, jelly and fawn
From: The Holland Sentinel - June 11, 1998
In response to a barrage of recent mail and phone calls, here's some
timely information many readers will appreciate.

MYSTERY DISEASE IS KILLING BALD EAGLES AND COOTS. 
From: The Ornithological Newsletter On-Line - June 1998 
The disease, which first appeared in southwest Arkansas, may now be present in North Carolina and Georgia. This disease, which affects the brain and central nervous system by creating holes in the myelin layers that insulate the nerve bundles, killed at least 55 bald eagles at three lakes in southwestern Arkansas and an unknown number of coots in the winters of 1994 and 1996. No other birds or mammals have been found to be affected. The cause or source of the disease remains a mystery. Bacteria, viruses or parasites have been ruled out. While microscopic evidence suggests that a neurotoxin may be the cause, tests for natural and man-made toxins that can cause this type of disease have so far been negative. Please report observations of coots exhibiting disoriented or uncoordinated behavior such as erratic flying or impaired ability to swim and dive, or of dead coots or eagles to DR. KIMBERLI MILLER, National 
Wildlife Health Center (608-270-2448) 

Loggerhead shrike sighted
From: Detroit News - May 8, 1998

New bird discovered in Ecuador
From: CNN - June 11, 1998
Robert S. Ridgely was hiking down an
Ecuadorean mountain path on a trip to record bird songs last November when
he and a fellow ornithologist heard a strange sound -- a call akin to an owl's
hoot and a dog's bark. "He and I recognized right off the bat that this ...

Birdman of the Outback
From: Christian Science Monitor - 5/21/98
An Australian devoted his life to recording the sounds
of vanishing animals.

Baseball Pitches Plight of the Baltimore Oriole
From: Christian Science Monitor - 4/8/98
One of the most popular giveaways at Camden Yards baseball
stadium in Baltimore last season was packs of trading cards with
orioles on the front and statistics on the back. These featured orioles
could really fly around the bases, but they were not on the team.
Instead, the cards honored the birds themselves: the Baltimore and
Bullock's orioles.

Platform lures endangered bird to nest
From: T.C. Record-Eagle 4-10-98

The wild turkey is on the comeback trail
From: CNN 4-7-98

Our Summer in A Secret Garden
From: Christian Science Monitor

High-Flying Drama Enlivens Our Backyard
From: Christian Science Monitor

The Birds I Never Saw Welcomed Me Home
From: Christian Science Monitor
This is a wonderful article, if you haven't read it please find time to do so. --- Keith

So, Who's Coming to Dinner? It Depends on What You're Serving
From: Christian Science Monitor

Bird Feeding: Don't Wing It

From: Christian Science Monitor


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