This week in birds - #689

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

This is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week. It is the 'A'o (Newell's Shearwater), a bird of aquatic habitats and forests in Hawaii. It is nonmigratory. This bird's population is decreasing and it is now considered critically endangered. It faces threats from many sources - cats, rats, mongooses, as well as degradation of its environment by invasive plants and animals such as pigs and goats. The 'A'o is a nighttime flyer and it is sometimes disoriented by artificial lights and can collide with powerlines and other structures. Conservation organizations are working to get a predator-proof fence built around Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge as one means of protecting the remaining population. 

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This year's El Nino is still growing and that is not a good thing.

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So the current administration is considering giving up part of Yosemite National Park to a private developer. One suspects this is only the beginning.

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When fruit is scarce, the bearded capuchins of northeastern Brazil hunt animals. Researchers believe this may provide a clue to the origins of humans' own meat-eating habits. 

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Snails are able to tweak the texture of their slime in order to suit their need of the moment.

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Forests did not fare well in an ancient global warming event and that does not seem to bode well regarding today's climate change.

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Climate change raises the risk of more disasters like the recent Nepal floods.

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Saving old trees is good for us as well as the trees.

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Anti-data-center sentiment is growing across the country. It turns out most people don't want them in their communities. 

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The administration is shortening the period for review for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. That is not a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. 

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"Save the microbes!" is a new rallying cry from microbiologists.