This week in birds - # 663

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


As Earth warms, how will penguins, evolved to live in a world of snow and ice, survive? Can they adjust fast enough to meet the new conditions? These Chinstraps are among the species most affected by the changing conditions. 

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Here's the sad list of species that we lost in 2025.

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According to a new United Nations report, the world has entered an era of global water bankruptcy which has irreversible consequences.

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A plant called the black-bulb yam tricks birds into spreading its seeds by producing fake berries that are actually small clones of itself. 

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A Mayan heritage site is under threat from a logging concession that has been granted to a furniture company. 

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A 67,800-year-old stencil of a hand found on the wall of an Indonesian cave may be the world's oldest rock art.

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In 2025, researchers at the National Museum of Natural History described a previously unknown species of pterosaur that had been unearthed in the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.

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Based on some baffling bone artifacts discovered by an amateur archeologist, scientists believe that humans may have been hunting whales as long as 5,000 years ago.

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A  407-million-year-old log-shaped fossil found in 1843 may represent a previously unknown branch of life.

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Monarch butterfly colonies in California and Mexico ebb and flow as they continue to disperse.

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Twin mountain gorillas have been born in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Twin births are extremely rare for gorillas.

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Five hundred years ago, a cat left its paw prints on a medieval manuscript as the ink was drying. As one who has loved and lived with cats all my life, I salute this ancient member of the tribe for leaving its mark!

 

Comments

  1. MELODY JACOBJanuary 25, 2026 at 4:13 AM

    Such a fascinating roundup. I love how you mix wildlife news with historical discoveries. It keeps each post so engaging. The story about the cat leaving paw prints on a medieval manuscript made me smile.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersJanuary 25, 2026 at 10:58 AM

      Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment, Melody. The cat story made me smile, too.

      Delete
  2. David M. Gascoigne,January 25, 2026 at 5:18 AM

    Good morning, Dorothy. Thank you for the roundup. The water situation is indeed dire, and water is the key to all life on Earth. We are going to pay a very heavy price for our profligacy - and soon - yet in most advanced societies we resist even the most meagre conservation measures. The list of species we have lost is heartbreaking, but it is only going to grow. Yesterday Miriam and I, along with four friends, went out looking Snowy Owls and found two. How much longer will we be able to do that given their increasingly precarious existence? Sad, sad, sad. Best wishes - David

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    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersJanuary 25, 2026 at 11:04 AM

      The situation is indeed dire and it is hard to maintain hope in the face of it. I sometimes think that Earth's best chance would come if humans went extinct. But on a more hopeful note, you found TWO Snowy Owls. Wonderful!

      Delete
  3. jabblogJanuary 25, 2026 at 5:59 AM

    The article about the black-bulb yam was fascinating. It is extraordinary how organisms adapt and evolve, given time. Time is short now, though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersJanuary 25, 2026 at 11:10 AM

      The ability of Earth's inhabitants - both plant and animal - to adapt has been the main feature of life on this planet and I would never discount their prospects for continuing to do so, but, as you note, time does seem short now.

      Delete
  4. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzJanuary 25, 2026 at 10:40 AM

    Yay, Dorothy, I'm glad you are back. I do hope the penguins are able to evolve quickly. I am fascinated every day there is a new discovery in the world of dinosaurs; I'm just like a little kid.

    Stay warm in this cold weather.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersJanuary 25, 2026 at 11:15 AM

      Dinosaurs are cool. I was hooked on their story as a child when I saw a movie about them and my interest in them and curiosity about them has never wavered.

      Delete
  5. thecuecardJanuary 25, 2026 at 3:07 PM

    I love the article about the twin mountain gorillas, amazing! And I'm hoping that penguins and polar bears might be able to adapt in time by some miracle of sorts. thx for these links.

    ReplyDelete

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