Sunshine has sufficiently given an untold number of sunbathers warmth and a kind of meditative period as well. But did you know that other animals are equally keen on spending time in the sun? The sun provides a few benefits for people (as well as some concerns due to the possibility of skin cancer), and sunshine can also provide benefits for birds.

Birds have employed sunshine to deal with things like lice and parasitical eradication, warmth after a long, cool night, drying off after a rainfall, and other probable reasons yet to be determined. There are approximately 50 documented families of birds that actively sunbathe according to a 2018 study published in The Royal Society. They undertake a specific pose that effectively lets the sun kill parasites that latch onto hard-to-reach places in the feather. The UV rays have a deadly effect on lice and other parasites, killing many of them. The study reveals that parasites actively avoid UV irradiation by living where the sun doesn’t shine (underside of leaves, deep in the feathers, etc.)

Basking In The Sun

There have been other studies on sunbathing by birds to determine how often they do it as part of their routines and to further discover the actual reasons why they undertake the practice. Another study attempted to take this activity further by testing how effective UV rays are in destroying parasites. It was found that at least half of the parasites were killed off by short-term exposure to UV rays.

One active sunbathing bird is the crow, which takes on interesting positions to sunbathe. Crows prone themselves in direct sunlight, with spread wings and tilted heads for maximum exposure. They undertake this position and stillness for several minutes before going on to their other activities. There are other specific possible reasons for this activity. One is that the feather affected by parasites can contribute to dull and degraded plumage on male birds, which can be problematic when attempting to woo a mate.

It is also thought that sunlight warms gland-secreted oils that help to keep feathers in good shape. When warmed, the oils are more easily distributed around the bird’s body. Another thought is that Vitamin D is manufactured from sunlight interacting with the oils, and then the infused oil is absorbed to help keep birds healthier and more beautiful.

There have been more than a few studies on sunbathing by birds to figure out this part of the mysteries that birds often present.

In a groundbreaking study during Covid-19 lockdowns, researchers from Tel Aviv University and Hebel Normal University used acoustic recorders to monitor the behavior of urban birds in the absence of human activity. The study focused on the hooded crow, rose-winged parakeet, and Prinea in Tel Aviv, revealing that human-dependent birds like crows and parakeets decreased their activity in empty parks; the shy prinia, on the other hand, increased its presence.

The findings highlight the impact of human presence on urban wildlife and the importance of urban parks in providing habitats for various species. The study, which analyzed nearly 400,000 recordings over 3,200 hours, provides valuable insights into how birds adapt to changes in human activity, with human-dependent species following people to residential areas and the Prinia thriving in the absence of humans in parks.

Lockdowns Create Unique Study Environments

During the Covid-19 lockdown, many projects were begun that were often put on the back burner. There was time to use, and the lockdown prevented much of its use in the normal ways, usually outdoor activities. While many things were achieved during the Covid lockdown, they were largely done inside. Scientific communities became interested in how animals used to being in the company of humans were impacted as humans moved indoors. This was especially true in urban settings. This time (start to finish of Covid lockdown) afforded researchers a rare opportunity to see how some animals reacted when the human element “disappeared.”

A combined study with Tel Aviv University (Israel), Hebel Normal University (China), and five researchers set out to monitor several species, including the hooded crow, the rose-winged parakeet, and the prinea. All these birds are quite adapted to human activity. In fact, the parakeet has grown to become dependent on humans for food. The prinia, an urban bird that eats insects, is typically shy of human activity.

Researchers used recorders placed around Tel Aviv to create acoustic recordings allowing for non-human interaction. A total of 17 recorders were randomly placed in parks, residential areas, and along roads where humans were more active. What was discovered were realities that found dependent birds with decreased activity in empty parks, and the shy Prinia with increased activity in those same empty parks. The resulting discoveries were important for researchers to recognize the value of urban parks and how wildlife acts when humans are not around.

A Surprising Change In Birds’ Habits

Previously, such studies were undertaken with watchful eyes. The concern had become that with humans nearby, even their close presence would trigger activity by those creatures that like humans. The hidden recorders with zero human interference (the first of its kind) provided a realistic reality — absence. One interesting feature was that the birds became involved in the opposite of their usual habits, and other creatures who usually came out at night were more apt to explore the parks during the day. Interestingly, it was determined that the human-exploiting birds moved to where human activity was more likely, and the Prinia thrived without humans moving about.

Almost 400,000 recordings were evaluated (approximately 3,200 hours’ worth) over the period of the mandated lockdowns. In the residential areas where human activity increased, human-dependent birds were now found more often, that is, where the food was more likely to be. In the empty parks, the prinia were found to be 12% more active than they had been in the past — still shy but less so. The crow became 50% less seen, and the parakeet was 90% less available.

Such studies are interesting as they show how creatures like the birds in this study will react to the absence of humans. While all the birds had adapted to human activity, it was the crow and the non-native parakeet that had become “friends” to humans, following them to where the humans were most likely to be.

You can read the study itself for a more in-depth look at how it took shape and its fascinating takeaways.

This bit of sad news concerning NYC’s Central Park resident, Flaco, cannot be avoided for several reasons. Chief among those is the high popularity status that Flaco enjoyed for the better part of a year. For those unaware of Flaco and his unique story, Lafeber published two articles. The first was when Flaco discovered freedom outside the enclosure at his home in Central Park Zoo. The second was a recent article celebrating his first year as a free owl in the beautiful Central Park region.

Unfortunately, not long after his one-year anniversary of freedom, news arrived that Flaco had hit a window and was severely incapacitated. He was rushed to veterinarian services, where the injury proved to be too severe. He died not long after being transported.

Flaco’s Unexpected Celebrity

The Eurasian eagle-owl was a daily view for many birding enthusiasts who walk Central Park just to appreciate the wildlife inside the rectangular steel and cement behemoth that is New York City. After Flaco’s escape and his wily avoidance of traps to recover him, Flaco became the toast of New York City as a celebrity owl. He had merchandise of all kinds with his likeness, a dedicated website, Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) accounts.

He was also photographed frequently, usually every day. Those photos would often post to the popular Manhattan Bird Alert X account (here). In short, with every movement and destination Flaco attended to, he was noticeable and high profile. He was infinitely loved as the uncontested mascot of Central Park.

A City Mourns

After his death, the world went into a kind of shock. News agencies reported on his death as if the world lost an essential cog within a kind of mechanical operation. Many memorials popped up inside Central Park, and bird sites flooded with memories of his visitations and appearance. The memorials are filled with notes and poems, artwork, flowers, stuffed owls and teddy bears, and other personal objects meant to loudly echo the growing loss felt by many.

A petition is being circulated to ask for a statue to be placed in Flaco’s honor. Additionally, a previously initiated bill crafted to require renovations to existing buildings to help birds from flying blindly into windows is being renamed Flaco’s Act. If ever the time existed to bring attention to this long-concerning issue, Flaco, alone, has multiplied the urgency for it.

An 8^th Street mural featuring Flaco had been in the works by Calicho Arevalo and was completed on Saturday after the news of Flaco’s death was announced. To date, he has painted eight murals of Flaco throughout the city. He finds a deep connection to Flaco, who defied those who felt the owl could not survive Central Park all alone.

Flaco was determined to be as healthy as he could have ever been. His current weight equaled his last known weight while at the zoo. That’s our Flaco, who belonged to everyone, and to no one. NYC’s Mayor, Eric Adams, took to X to state, “We were saddened to hear about the passing of our neighbor Flaco, who captivated New Yorkers and reminded us of the beautiful wilderness that exists in our bustling urban landscape. Although he’s gone, his spirit will fly over NYC forever.”

Flaco represents what all of us yearn for and proved that, yes, you can excel. We mourn his demise and feel bad about the way his departure happened. We hope for better infrastructure to help protect our feathered friends.

Fly Free, Flaco.

Last year, a dramatic escape occurred at New York City’s famed Central Park from what is a stop of renown, the Central Park Zoo. On February 2 of 2023, vandals had cut into the enclosure that housed a Eurasian Eagle Owl, who saw an opportunity to find freedom by escaping the enclosure. He roamed the “wilds” of Central Park as the zoo tried every trick in the book to recapture the large apex predator. They feared that the owl would be unable to adapt having lived within an enclosure since 2010.

But as fate would have it, the owl avoided every set means of capture and found Central Park and its metal surroundings to be quite the allure of staying free. Eventually, the zoo realized that the owl was surviving quite nicely and called off every effort to reacquire him. Their intent became to simply watch out for him in a different setting. If he showed any signs of distress, then they would begin anew in their efforts to recapture him. It never became necessary.

Park Life Suits Him

The owl, warmly known as Flaco, became a subject of interest to anyone who knew of his existence within the park. (We published an article detailing the breakout and Flaco’s subsequent orientation within the beautiful Central Park – read here.) Flaco is a daring owl that has thrived on his own, overcoming all concerns by experts. Flaco is clearly Central Park’s singular celebrity as his is regularly photographed by many who look for him…and many who are surprised by his arrival. Over the course of the last year, Flaco has flourished by spending his time of adventure in areas that seem unlikely for him. NYC is a place of strength and requires the same to live within its borders. Flaco has shown its residents that he has plenty of that mettle to call the city his home.

The well-known X (once known as Twitter) account – Manhattan Bird Alert (here) has paid more than close attention to the actions of Flaco over 2023 with photos and announcements of his comings and goings. News agencies still occasionally recount various locations that Flaco likes to frequent. He has visited a surprising number of courtyards and balconies in the Upper West Side of Manhattan and has stayed for a time in some of those places. He even likes flying along Fifth Avenue as the NYPD have reported. But he always makes it back to Central Park, safe and sound.

An industry has grown because of Flaco that includes paintings, murals, tee shirts, mugs, and other works of appreciable art. There is a static web address dedicated to him that has yet to produced content, and a dedicated X account that monitors his daily movements (here).

Flaco has put to rest all fears and concerns that he might ever be subject to the harshness of the wild. He has easily dispelled all those concerns by staying quite visible and loudly vocal (with his hoots) throughout 2023. Photos and videos are still taken of him daily and posted on X, FB, and other social media sites.

Flaco has learned to survive on his own after more than a decade of being cared for by zoo officials. His survival story over the year has underscored his intelligence and determination. The world has its collective eyes on you, Flaco!

The tragedy of bird migration deaths has become a top-desk issue over the last few years. During migration birds of many species fall victim to lights and therefore crash into tall buildings. Fortunately, some cities along the greatest migratory pathways have opted to extinguish lights so that the birds do not become drawn to them unnecessarily.

But even so, birds crash into tall buildings in window collisions that happen outside migration season. The frightful fact compiled by the Chicago Bird Collisions Monitors puts the deaths as high as an eventful billion birds — annually. That is a horrible number of deaths that — on the surface — seems unfortunate due to the need for buildings. This Chicago group goes out daily during the early morning hours to locate injured birds and get them the recuperative help they need. But they are also involved in studies to help change this unnerving number of deaths.

Built With Birds In Mind

As a result of such devastation to our birds, the responsible ethics of the architectural design industry have begun to recognize the need to create more bird-friendly buildings with innovative designs. Chicago has become a standard bearer with such interest. In 2009, The 82-story Aqua Building, architecturally designed by Jeanne Gang, was erected with the purpose of preventing birds from flying into its windows.

It introduced ink-printed glass that contains ground-up glass in a design known as fritted glass. This glass provides an opaque appearance that discourages birds from flying toward it. Additionally, the building was constructed without straight elements. For example, the balconies are outfitted with wavy features that give a natural appearance to them. The forethought put into the Aqua Building’s design gives birds the natural ability to avoid collision.

The built-in fritted glass discourages reflections that confuse birds. What we have with the Aqua Building is a unique construction with its unusual wavy appearance that is also hard at work within its design to avoid bird deaths.

Building Aesthetics That Save Birds

The Aqua Building is not the only attempt being made to create bird-friendly buildings. Others are being designed with birds in mind, specifically to help birds avoid the necessary structures. In many cases, there is lower-level collision avoidance being thought out by planting foliage in front of glass. This foliage encourages birds to land on the limbs rather than be distracted and fly directly into the window. Another trick is to mark windows so that the glass is visible to birds as something to avoid. Art designs discourage birds and are useful for alerting the creatures before they make a fatal mistake.

Other windows have dot appliques applied as a deterrent. Many buildings that use this technique have found that bird deaths have significantly decreased. Other cities have employed the use of artwork and etching on glass to help birds recognize the potential danger in front of them. We have an alert group of forward thinkers concerned about bird impacts that only seems to be growing more thoughtful and fruitful with their designs.

Moving forward, it is hoped that as more buildings are constructed, the designs will be modified to help steer birds away from their windows rather than become death traps. There are now many cities that are thinking about birds. For this, we are immeasurably grateful.

We’re fondly aware of our well-known and much-loved blue jay. They’re commonly found in the Eastern regions of North America. Its array of stained-glass-like blues and whites on its body along with the familiar blue crest makes it a bird of extra note in the wild. Its cousin, the Stellar’s jay found in the western regions of the U.S. is as distinctive and pleasant to look at as its cousin. Both birds are plentiful and not with concern for depletion. Of course, there are several birds included within the jay family, but they aren’t as vibrantly colored and remembered as readily. But there is one that we are typically unaware of simply because they live further south within Mexico and Central America. This is the green jay.

Green Jays On The Move

The green jay has only previously been spotted as far north as the deep south of Texas bordering Mexico. As the green jay is a non-migratory species, it is realized that it is perfectly satisfied with its resident locations where it thrives. These beautiful birds are highly recognizable for their yellow-white feathers, and the patch of dark blue on their heads. Their upper regions are a deep green color, with their belly regions colored lighter green. But something curious is occurring. They seem to be moving north a bit.

eBird, an online database that monitors and catalogs birds and tracks sightings of those birds has recently updated with the news that the green jay has been sighted in San Antonio and other more northern towns. It appears that they’re liking the developing softer winters that are now common inside southern Texas. It likely reminds them of the home they have typically lived in so…why not a new spot, a new home. Right? Humans do it all the time.

Even more fascinating is the recent sighting of a possible hybrid of a blue jay and a green Jjay. Sighted within the confines of San Antonio, the odd bird was at a feeder and captured by a graduate student from Austin for closer genetic study. It has been photographed and posted with interest. And so, it seems that the blue jay is checking out the southern regions of the U.S. more than they previously have. And with that, it is inevitable that the two birds would come into contact eventually.

Climate Driving Relocations?

As climate change occurs, many instances of relocation occur naturally as tantalizing discoveries for the birds. They begin to find suitable habitats in which to start fresh. With our exponentially growing interests in birdwatching, and the development and fast growth of technologies enabled to mark these occurrences, we’re finding rapid change within every facet of the natural world. Like humans, birds are learning to adapt within a broader stage that suits their needs. If it begins to get too hot in one place, and the climate has provided a suitable location elsewhere nearby, the birds will take advantage of it to survive.

Those green jays are beautiful and a new addition to my lexicon.

We often hear the tales of noncaring and willful teardown of important habitat locations for birds to construct things meant for the critical needs of expansive human needs. With those, we run strong, sometimes overpowering risks that – sadly – challenge the long-term survivability of species of birds and others. It would be an extraordinary reality if those who invade habitats took into consideration the needs of helpless creatures. While that remains a large and often improbable task, a Danish company is responding to a requirement to help give possibilities to a threatened species of seabird known as the kittiwake.

Ørsted is a renewable energy company located in Denmark. Its main goal is to help our world transition to and become fully dependent on “green” energy. They construct and operate wind and solar farms, energy storage facilities, renewable hydrogen facilities, and bioenergy plants. Birds are susceptible to large structures like wind turbines, resulting in a high mortality rate for some bird species. A Biological Conservation 2013 study has estimated that a total of around 235,000 birds die annually due to the mass of large monopole wind turbines around the world. By now, that number is likely to be even higher as more structures are erected to advance wind energy collection.

Ocean Nests

The kittiwake bird is a species of the Gull family. These small white-bodied, gray-backed, and gray-winged birds are separated by two species known as black-legged in the U.K. areas they live in. (There is a red-legged species found in North America). They form densely packed colonies in their nesting arenas and are exclusive cliff-nesters. They are found in northern climes connected by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean. The gulls are dependent on marine life for their diet.

A massive offshore wind farm is being constructed by Ørsted off the east coast of England. To complete the project, the company was compelled to construct three large artificial kittiwake nest structures on the ocean not far from the shores to help ease the decline of the species, something that has been noted since 2000. With all this in mind, the development of the close-to-shore nests will aid further in keeping them safer from predators.

The nests were designed specifically to cater to the needs of the kittiwake bird. They were created with help from ecologists and engineers. A single pile was driven in with an octagonal structure affixed on top. Each structure can house 500 nests in a complex arrangement supported by ledges. To help science monitor the birds within the structures, space has been saved for researchers, who can then maintain completely obscure observations. There are chairs, tables, and a whiteboard within the spaces for the researchers to use along with panels that allow the researchers to look at the population of birds, but the birds cannot see them. In addition, cameras were installed for the constant monitoring of the birds as they acclimate to make these structures their new nesting areas.

The naming convention for a few of the world’s many species of birds has sometimes been in reverence to the individuals who “discovered” them by research, other forms of supplied data, or simply by the assignation of honor. Many naturalists have acknowledged the existence of birds and have presented studied information on a bird.

In the U.S., several birds have appended names with a person of note own’s name. For example, there is the Anna’s Hummingbird, a common non-migrating Western Coast hummingbird that can be found from Canada down to Mexico. It acquired its common name from the French courtier, Anne DeBelle, who was gifted the name from the French naturalist, René Lesson. Lesson was responsible for the bird’s original description. Another is the McCown’s Longspur, recently changed to Thick-billed Longspur in 2020.

Motivated By Inclusivity

The American Ornithological Society (AOS) has recently come to a momentous decision to change the names of all birds that have an honored name attached (like those above) to simpler descriptive names. The changes come about because of concern over the history of some of the honored names. James P. McCown, for example, was a Confederate general who was honored by the naming of the longspur mentioned above. However, General McCown was also a slave owner, and the name of the bird is a consistent reminder that history was not always at its best.

The decision to rename birds that have been named after controversial historical figures has been reached to help alleviate reminders of racism and misogyny. Early in November of 2023, the AOS group released a bulletin to the media that all birds inside the U.S. and Canada with an assigned honorific name will have a replacement name beginning in 2024. This will initially impact around 70-80 birds in the first year. In addition to the newly assigned names, a new convention in naming will be instituted by AOS going forward. This new convention will eliminate the ability to assign honorary names to birds to avoid history-related complications in the future.

I provide an extract from the communique here from AOS President, Colleen Handel, PhD., a research wildlife biologist employed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the state of Alaska. Handel states: “There is power in a name, and some English bird names have associations with the past that continue to be exclusionary and harmful today. We need a much more inclusive and engaging scientific process that focuses attention on the unique features and beauty of the birds themselves. Everyone who loves and cares about birds should be able to enjoy and study them freely—and birds need our help now more than ever.” (You can read that AOS-issued release here.)

The simple purpose of the expected name changes is to remove old, implied biases that have a harmful impact on everyone. The naming convention being impacted began in the 1800s to give prominence to individuals regardless of their standing or commercial involvements. Whatever the prominence was back in those days, they no longer exist today. The world redefines itself as a grouping of diverse peoples and is steadily moving in that direction. These name changes help to reach that goal in a vital area.

Birds also have scientific names attached to them in addition to the common names applied. These scientific names will remain in place as they do not reference anything outside of genus affiliations.

Everyone loves a good reunion story, especially after a significant amount of time has passed. There’s a sense of renewal, a sense of relief, and an overflow of unavoidable emotions that are part of love, happiness, and a brand-new lease on connection and greater responsibility.

There is an earlier story of a parrot lost in Los Angeles who was reunited with his original owner after a period of four years. The parrot’s name is Nigel and, on his return, spoke only Spanish instead of the British-accented English he had learned before. Fortunately, Nigel was micro-chipped, giving the return a happy ending. The owner discovered that the parrot was sold to a family in Torrance, CA, and opted to do quite an unselfish thing by “gifting” Nigel to the last owners that Nigel (now known as Morgan) had. The story, although bittersweet, was a beautiful one. There are others, no doubt. But this new story centers around a parrot named Jako.

Jako Says His Name

Jako is an African Grey parrot from France who was stolen from its original owner. The bird has been missing for a long period of three years, a point where the owner had likely given up hope for the return of the bird. There were the usual reports to authorities concerning the theft, the expected search period, and obviously the mournful period of grief over the loss of Jako. But then a wonderful thing happened by way of remembrance and habit. The remembrance was from a police official in Marseilles; the habit from the bird who would excitedly say its name. The police officer who owned Jako had previously told his co-police officers about this trait back in 2020, when the bird was stolen.

The Old Port of Marseilles is an end-of- street location, an ancient place of commerce that has a resource of vendors selling many things. In this case, one vendor was attempting to sell an African grey parrot, the sale of which is considered an illegal effort in France. Police closed in on the vendor, and as they took possession of the bird, it shouted its name, “Jako,” repeatedly. The officer remembered that his fellow officer had lost a bird in the past spurred on by the tale that the bird would say his name. And that name was Jako. (Jako is a noun that means simply – African grey.) This knowledge set into motion the return of the parrot who had been missing for those long, long three years.

After a brief time of contact efforts, Jako was reunited with his original owner. It’s reported that as soon as Jako saw his pal, he excitedly shouted his own name…as expected. And thus ends this tale of loss and return, one with an ending worth squawking about. As anyone will know, losing a cared-for pet, especially one that has brought extraordinary happiness and untold fulfillment to a family, is an incomparable sadness. Often, the grief is never lost but long remains as a hole. This story brings hope.

We’re glad to see Jako and his owner brought back together!

Birds and their mating rituals! Some dance, others preen, and still others perform intricate movements to attract the eyes of a favored beauty. For wild palm cockatoos, it is a creative display of personalized drumsticks that gets the attention of their female counterparts. A recent study published by the prestigious U.K. science journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B set out to discover which birds in the wild fashion tools to enhance their lives. Most cases of tool creation as a means of enhancement typically occur in captivity. In this study, it was discovered that male palm cockatoos in the wild – and only wild palm cockatoos – create tools to make their courtship display more attractive to females rather than for foraging and other methods of survival help. This gives us all kinds of interesting and imaginative thoughts as we dive into the drumming styles of these parrots.

The palm cockatoo, also known as the Goliath cockatoo, is a large beautiful parrot with smokey gray and black feathering. It has a large, distinctive crest and an equally large bill. Found in the northern region of Australia, these parrots are plentiful, with a Least Concern rating by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) agency. Add to their beautiful appearance a clever and intriguing play-out of allure for the female, the palm cockatoo is one amazing bird.

Dancing To His Own Beat

The study was undertaken by Dr. Robert Heinsoln from the Australian National University (Canberra, Australia). Heinsoln found that male palm cockatoos will gather and work with sticks and seed pods. But the male doesn’t create them prior to his show for female palm cockatoos. In fact, the male first does his best to produce an attention-grabbing selection of songs and whistles, all the while showcasing his worth by puffing out his chest and doing acrobatic turns on his branch stage—kind of like a parrot Mick Jagger.  As he continues his unique dance, he will then pull a stick or seed pod off of the branch, and create his own drumstick to further attract the female audience. After the show, the male leaves it to the female to select.

Heinsohl hypothesizes that this “ drumming show” serves to reveal to the potential female mate that the male is a strong member of the species, worthy of her selection. The drumming style is unique to the individual male cockatoo, which demonstrates a display of intelligence (like the drumming skills of legendary drummers like Keith Moon, Buddy Rich, or John Bonham). Also interesting is the fact that the individual male parrot typically creates sticks completely unique to the moment. Some of male cockatoos were found to appreciate the sound of a larger and wider stick, while others preferred to work with thinner sticks.

This study is important, as researchers are continually honing newly acquired information that reveals the complex nature of birds in the wild. What makes this study more effective was that it was observed not in a controlled environment but was fully observed silently in natural habitats to achieve an undisturbed state of discovery.