News Bites - National Geographic Kids: Search Results

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Songbird "Sings" With Feathers

Posted By NG Kids

Is that sound a violin? Nope! You are hearing the vibrating feathers of the male club-winged manakin. This tiny songbird lives in the cloud forests of the Andes in South America. It vibrates one type of wing feather against another at twice the speed of a hummingbird's wings to "sing" to potential mates. The sound this vibration makes sounds like a violin.

Learn more about the club-winged manakin on National Geographic News.

Check out the dance the riflebird performs to attract a mate on National Geographic Kids.

Make a bird feeder to feed hungry birds in your area this winter.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Birdnapper Given Away by Poop on Shoes

Posted By NG Kids

Photo: Smuggled birds harnessed to Sony Dong's legs

Sony Dong was arrested in March for trying to smuggle songbirds into the United States. He got caught when a Los Angeles International Airport inspector noticed feathers peeking out from the bottom of his pants and bird poop on his shiny black shoes. More than a dozen birds were strapped to his legs with buttoned cloth wrappings.

Exotic songbirds from Asia can earn high prices in the United States. The rescued birds might end up in a zoo.

Photograph by AP/Department of Justice

Read more about the bird smuggling case on National Geographic News.

Watch a video of macaws soaring above the rain forest.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Can Birds Really Dance?

Posted By NG Kids

Do you like to dance? Snowball the cockatoo does! Aniruddh Patel at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego and colleagues studied Snowball, who seems to love "dancing" to Queen and the Backstreet Boys. He was really keeping time to the beat, too--the scientists would change the music's tempo, or "BPM" (beats per minute), and Snowball would adjust how fast he was dancing!

Watch a video of Snowball in action.

Get the scoop on Snowball's dancing on National Geographic News.

Watch more wacky parrot behavior on National Geographic Kids.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Speedy Songbirds

Posted By NG Kids

Photo: A purple martin and a geolocation device

Songbirds fly faster than scientists thought they did--two to three times faster, in fact! A researcher from York University in Toronto outfitted wood thrushes and purple martins with miniature geolocators and tracked them as they migrated. The geolocators work by detecting light, which allows scientists to estimate the latitude and longitude where the data was recorded.

Scientists found that the birds fly two to six times faster during their spring return journey than in fall. One purple martin flew from Brazil to back to its breeding colony in the United States in only 13 days!

Find out more about the songbird study on National Geographic News.

Learn about tiny bee backpacks in this News Bite.

Large photograph courtesy Timothy J. Morton
Inset photograph courtesy Bridget J. Stutchbury

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