This week in birds - #677

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

The American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week is the wonderful Yellow-breasted Chat. It's a special favorite of mine because it is one of the first birds that I learned to identify as a child. I identified it mostly by its song which is remarkable and memorable. It is often more heard than seen because it is a skulker that tends to stay deep within thickets and scrublands. Its range extends over most of this country, into Canada, and down through Mexico into Central America. Happily, its population is stable and its status is presently not a concern.

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One of my heroes, David Attenborough, celebrated his 100th birthday this week, as you've probably heard. Here are ten things in Nature that have been named for him.  

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The Neanderthals have always been of special interest to me. We know quite a lot about them but what did they actually sound like?   

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Birdathon is Canada's longest-running bird conservation fundraiser. This year marks its fiftieth anniversary.

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Chonkers, an aptly named massive Stellar sea lion has been causing a stir on San Francisco's Pier 39.

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Did prehistoric people work with copper? A remote cave in Spain contains some indications that that might have been the case.

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"Feed a cold, starve a fever," may actually be good advice, it turns out. Although what do you do if you have a fever with your cold?

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Here are seven interesting facts about the Age of Dinosaurs.

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And here are some tips about how to garden for birds.

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Have we understood the fall of Rome all wrong? A new genetic study says maybe we have.

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Urban birds, like this European Green Woodpecker, seem to be more fearful of women than of men. Why? Well, scientists haven't figured that out yet. 

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Cockatoos are some of the smartest birds around and they have learned to fare quite well in urban environments.