In the News: Birds of a Feather

Fig.1. House Finch-eggs (Credit: Rich Mooney via Flickr, 2005)

Between Victorian egg collecting and modern day plastic production, humans have endangered bird populations around the world. Living collections and dried specimens found in museums help us to paint a picture of both their ancient relationship with people and future survival:

• Modern scientists are careful to collect within what species population numbers can handle. Unfortunately, this was not always the case with bird eggs in England: “Oology: The Criminal History Of The Fanatical Egg Collectors,” BBC News (30 August, 2015)

• Seabird population declines and an explosion in plastic production mean scary news for the future of birds: “Nearly Every Seabird On Earth Is Eating Plastic,” National Geographic (02 September 2015)

• Living collections, such as zoos or botanical gardens, are critically important in protecting endangered species: “Top Ten Bird Species Surviving Thanks To Zoos,” Phys Org (20 August 2015)

• Subtle differences in size can deter attacks against these clever woodpecker species. Such mimicry serves to both protect the birds and confuse researchers attempting to study them in natural history museums: “Deceptive Woodpecker Uses Mimicry To Avoid Competition,” AMNH News & Blogs (11 August, 2015)

• 3D imaging of a mummified kestrel from the Iziko Museum of South Africa of Cape Town provides new evidence about the role of raptors in ancient Egyptian society: “Greedy Kestrel Provides First Proof Of Bird Breeding In Ancient Egypt,” ScienceDaily (03 September 2015)