Animals

Science

High-Flying, Hibernating And Other Peculiar Bird Behavior

7:26am March 05, 2016

Spring is for the birds. And some are pretty odd. There's a bird that walks under water and another that impales its prey. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro speaks with Ray Brown from "Talkin' Birds."

Monarch Butterflies Are On The Rebound

7:26am March 05, 2016

After years of decline, the numbers of Monarch butterflies are up. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro speaks with Jorge Rickards of the World Wildlife Fund in Mexico about their promising rebound.

The Tithe Barn at Avebury, owned by the U.K.'s National Trust, is home to a museum dedicated to the Avebury Henge. It's also now, unhappily, home to a very damaged thatched roof.

World News

Destructive Jackdaws Leave U.K. Preservationists Grasping At Straws

1:35pm March 04, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

A recently thatched roof on a historic barn is being stripped bare by small birds from the crow family; they're tugging out the straws and "idly discarding them," as the U.K.'s National Trust puts it.

Biologists hoping to bring endangered whooping cranes back from the brink started an experimental flock in 1967 at the U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Md.

To Make A Wild Comeback, Cranes Need More Than Flying Lessons

6:26pm March 02, 2016

by Christopher Joyce

The 15-year project wasn't a flight of fancy. Biologists used a plane to successfully teach many young, captive-bred whooping cranes to migrate cross-country. But the birds aren't reproducing well.

Our 'Golden Mole' Winner Used To Paint Wasps For A Living

2:00am March 02, 2016

by Adam Cole

NPR's Skunk Bear blog received 300 nominations for our Golden Mole Award for Accidental Brilliance. We have a winner: Elizabeth Tibbetts found her luck, and scientific insight, in tiny insect faces.

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A bumblebee gathers pollen from a cherry blossom in a garden outside Moscow.

Is Nutritious Food In Peril, Along With Pollinators?

5:09pm March 01, 2016

by Dan Charles

A U.N.-sponsored report warns that disappearing pollinators, such as bees, could cut production of healthful foods like fruits and nuts. But the degree of damage is mostly a matter of speculation.

Monarch butterflies mass on a tree branch in the Cerro Chincua mountain at the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Cerro Chincua, central Mexico.

Report: More Pollinator Species In Jeopardy, Threatening World Food Supply

3:55pm February 26, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

About 40 percent of invertebrate pollinator species such as bees and butterflies are facing extinction, according to the global assessment.

Scientists say they still have a lot to learn about Zika before they'll have a vaccine ready for people.

Why Scientists Hope To Inject Some People With Zika Virus

6:55pm February 25, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

There's no vaccine yet, but Zika researchers are racing to find a good candidate. After testing it in animals, checking for effectiveness in humans might include injecting Zika into healthy people.

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A goat locked in a car in a Massachusetts parking lot got its moment of YouTube fame courtesy of a passerby's video.

Breaking News: Goat Locked In A Car In A Parking Lot Drinks A Soda

8:14pm February 24, 2016

by Marc Silver

A goat expert says the goat in the car was probably — and we quote — "freaked out." Maybe turning on the hazard lights was a bleat for help!

Whoops! 12 Tales Of Accidental Brilliance In Science

6:00pm February 24, 2016

by Adam Cole

You nominated 300 cool stories of scientific surprise for Skunk Bear's Golden Mole Award. Our shortlist has it all: circuits painted with light, imperceptible genitalia, and a terrifying frog.