Nesting cavities are often a limited resource that multiple species use. There is an ongoing discussion on whether invasive cavity nesting birds restrict the availability of this key limited resource. While the answer to this question has important conservation implications, little experimental work has been done to examine it. Here, we aimed to experimentally test whether alien cavity nesting ...

Although small populations are at high risk of extinction, there are regular reports in the scientific literature of purported small, isolated, persistent populations. One source of evidence of the viability of small populations comes from the alleged successful introduction of species to areas outside their original range from introductions of few individuals. We reviewed the examples from int...

We investigated the efficacy of feed supplemented with caprylic acid (CA), a natural, 8-carbon fatty acid for reducing Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis colonization in commercial broiler chickens. In separate 3- and 6-wk trials, 1-d-old straight-run broiler chicks (n = 70 birds/trial) were assigned to a control group (challenged with Salmonella Enteritidis, no CA) and 2 replicates of 0.7...

Birds demonstrate extraordinary cognitive and emotional capabilities. The majority of these performances are most likely supported by their developed cerebrum. Birds, as well as mammals, have a much larger cerebrum compared to reptiles, given a similar body size. Since the common ancestral reptiles of birds and mammals had a relatively small brain according to paleobiological evidence, birds an...

Black-capped chickadees have a rich vocal repertoire including learned calls and the learned fee-bee song. However, the neural regions underlying these vocalizations, such as HVC, area X, and RA (robust nucleus of arcopallium), remain understudied. Here, we document seasonal changes in fee-bee song production and show a marked peak in singing rate during March through May. Despite this, we foun...

Trace fossils provide the only records of Early Cretaceous birds from many parts of the world. The identification of traces from large avian track-makers is made difficult given their overall similarity in size and tridactyly in comparison with traces of small non-avian theropods. Reanalysis of Wupus agilis from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) Jiaguan Formation, one of a small but growing ...

the purpose of this study was to estimate relative potential hazards to birds and bats from wind developments in texas. we compiled lists of rare, threatened, or endangered species, along with their respective ranges in texas. using a geographic information system (gis), we calculated a potential hazard index (phi) for 31 bird and ten bat species based upon the percentage of known or observed ...