My Science School

With its fiery-red body, quick black wings, and long, curved, salmon-colored bill, the 'i'iwi — or scarlet Hawaiian honeycreeper — is one of the most recognizable birds of Hawaii. 

The spread of avian malaria and avian pox has limited its range to high-elevation areas where it's too cool for mosquitoes to deliver the diseases, and as climate change pushes colder temperatures farther and farther upslope, the bird will have fewer and fewer high-mountain refuges — and will eventually run out of room altogether. The 'i'iwi is also threatened by agricultural and urban development, as well as nonnative species that also contribute to habitat destruction and facilitate the spread of mosquitoes.

To save the 'i'iwi from extinction, in 2010 the Center petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list it as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, as well as to designate critical habitat. In 2011 we reached a historic agreement with the Service compelling it to make a listing proposal for the bird by 2012 — as well as move forward on protection decisions for 756 other rare species. The Service finalized Endanered Species protection in 2017.

Unfortunately — and illegally — the agency still hasn't set aside critical habitat for this species. In 2020 we filed a lawsuit to make sure this beautiful bird has the habitat protections it needs to survive.

Credit : Center for Biological Diversity

Picture Credit : Google

Grey crowned crane is one of the 15 crane species found in eastern and southern Africa. It has a grey body, white wings with brown and golden feathers, white cheeks, and bright red gular sacs underneath its chin. A spray of stiff golden feathers forms a crown around its heads.

Its diet includes eating plants, seeds, grain, insects, frogs, worms and snakes. It is known for its courtship display which involves dancing, bowing, and jumping. It does not have set migration pattern. Birds nearer the tropics are typically sedentary.

It occurs in dry savannah in Africa south of the Sahara, although it nests in somewhat wetter habitats. They can also be found in marshes, cultivated lands and grassy flatlands near rivers and lakes in Uganda and Kenya and as far south as South Africa. This animal does not have set migration patterns, and birds nearer the tropics are typically sedentary. Birds in more arid areas, particularly Namibia, make localised seasonal movements during drier periods.

The grey crowned crane has a breeding display involving dancing, bowing, and jumping. It has a booming call which involves inflation of the red gular sac. It also makes a honking sound quite different from the trumpeting of other crane species. Both sexes dance, and immature birds join the adults. Dancing is an integral part of courtship, but also may be done at any time of the year.

Flocks of 30-150 birds are not uncommon.

Picture Credit : Google

Though it does a wide variety of work globally, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is almost synonymous with its Red List, which shows "how close endangered species are to extinction". Now the IUCN has come up with a global standard called the Green Status of Species. What is this about?

While seeing certain species categorised under "Least Concern" could be comforting, witnessing several species being listed under the threatened categories on the Red List could cause concern. Scientists felt that while the Red List was a wonderful assessment tool, it did not always "tell the full story". And this resulted in the Green Status of Species. The Green Status measures "how close a species is to being fully ecologically functional across its range and how much it has recovered thanks to conservation action. It will classify species into nine recovery categories to show if a species has been largely depleted from its range or if it is nearing recovery".

According to a paper published recently in the journal Conservation Biology, more than 200 scientists from 171 institutions globally worked for a decade to come up with the standard. They have assessed the Green Status for 181 species. Among them is the California candor, whose story indicates what exactly the Green Status aspires for. The bird species was classified as critically endangered in 1994. Nearly three decades and several conservation efforts later, it's still classified thus. But there's more to this story. It's because of captive breeding and reintroduction efforts that the bird remains alive today without these, it could have gone extinct. Not just that their numbers have been growing, indicating that they're responding well to conservation.

The Green Status measures the impact of past conservation efforts, species reliance on conservation action, and how much a species could gain in the next 10 years due to conservation action. It also offers a long-term view of species recovery potential over the next 100 years. As a Red List researcher put it the list indicates that despite the fairly high extinction risk "we still have this hope”.

Picture Credit : Google

California condor is a North America’s largest flying bird. It travels widely to feed on carcasses of deer, pigs, and other animals. It can survive up to two weeks without eating.

Its body is black, with striking white patches under the wings. It has a red-to-orange head and beak. It nests in caves on cliffs of tall mountains.

California condors live in rocky shrubland, coniferous forests, and oak savannas. They are often found near cliffs or large trees, which they use as nesting sites.

The California condor is one of the world’s longest-living birds, with a lifespan of up to 60 years.

The body is feathered in black with large white patches on the underside of the wings; a black feather ruff rings the neck. The sexes are alike in coloring and plumage.

The most valuable role of carrion feeders is the safe disposal of dead, decomposing and diseased animals, protecting human and animal co-habitants from ill effect.

California condors have a very hardy and effective immune system, so they don’t get sick from any of the bacteria they may come in contact with when feeding on decaying animals.

California condors are tidy birds; they like to groom themselves – plumage is carefully preened and kept well arranged; the bare head and neck are cleaned after feeding – by rubbing them on grass, rocks, or branches.

Picture Credit : Google

Eurasian magpies are one of the most intelligent birds in the world. They may be having tiny brains, but they are smarter than we thought. They have even passed the mirror test which proves their ability to recognize themselves in a reflection. Self-recognition is a feat only mammals - humans, elephants, apes, dolphins - are capable of. Now won't you think "bird-brained" is not an insult but a compliment?

The common magpie is one of the most intelligent birds—and one of the most intelligent animals to exist. Their brain-to-body-mass ratio is outmatched only by that of humans and equals that of aquatic mammals and great apes. Magpies have shown the ability to make and use tools, imitate human speech, grieve, play games, and work in teams. When one of their own kind dies, a grouping will form around the body for a “funeral” of squawks and cries. To portion food to their young, magpies will use self-made utensils to cut meals into proper sizes.

Magpies are also capable of passing a cognitive experiment called the “mirror test,” which proves an organism’s ability to recognize itself in a reflection. To perform this test, a colored dot is placed on animals, or humans, in a place that they will be able to see only by looking into a mirror. Subjects pass if they can look at their reflection and recognize that the mark is on themselves and not another, often by attempting to reach and remove it. Passing the mirror test is a feat of intelligence that only four other animal species can accomplish.

Credit : Britannica

Picture Credit : Google