This week in birds - #648

A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment: 


This is the Hawaiʻi ʻĀkepa, an endangered Hawaiian species that is this week's American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week. It is only found now on the island of Hawaiʻi although in the past it was present on other islands in the group. Habitat destruction and degradation are contributing to the bird's decreasing numbers.

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Monarch butterflies will soon be beginning their migration south through the western states.  

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A new study has found that clues to Earth's climate past can be found in dinosaur teeth.

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Following the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii, survivors of the catastrophe continued to live amid the rubble of the city for hundreds of years.

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Humans are having an effect on animal evolution.

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Rabbits in northern Colorado are sprouting horn-like growths on their faces.

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Misinformation is affecting Oregon's response to the wildfire season.

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Bees and wasps can be a problem on hummingbird feeders. Here are some ways to discourage them.

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For the third year in a row, a wave of water has gushed out of an Alaskan glacial lake, threatening the city of Juneau, but flood barriers installed by the city have protected it. 

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It wasn't all dinosaurs on Earth 145 million years ago; there were mammals as well, including this mouse-sized one whose fossil was discovered near Dorset, England.

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Air conditioning is just about universal in my part of the world and summers would be almost unbearable here without it. It is less prevalent in Europe but that may be changing. 

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Tropical birds like Australia's Gouldian Finches, pictured here, are struggling to adjust to the extreme heat that has come with climate change. 

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A study has found that sex reversal in birds is more common than had previously been thought.

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The plastic industry knew as early as 1974 that recycling could not be a total solution for the problem of pollution.

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A multicolored mural created by an Indigenous group more than 3,000 years ago has been discovered in Peru.

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The fossil of a 25-million-year-old ancient whale that had razor-sharp teeth and eyes the size of tennis balls has been discovered in Australia.

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It turns out Cockatoos are capable of some pretty intricate dance moves.

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