Buzz
Birds aren't just known for flying and chirping. Their social lives are filled with complex love triangles, and they even have communal creches where they take turns watching each other's young. Their tales also reveal how a remote island became infatuated with a duck, and what happens when the deadliest bird in the world is kept as a pet.
These incredible creatures continue to amaze us with their daring survival feats. At the same time, scientists argue passionately about birds trapped in nets and the controversial hunting of a bird that had eluded researchers for years.
10. Particle Accelerators
Years of research have demonstrated that urban lighting leads to more birds colliding with windows. Migratory species are particularly vulnerable. Several types of thrush, warbler, and sparrow now crash into buildings so frequently that scientists have dubbed them “super colliders.”
In 2019, a study analyzed 70,000 “crash” samples from Cleveland and Chicago, both situated along migratory bird routes. The majority of the specimens were songbirds that relied on nocturnal flight calls, which help birds navigate in flocks.
While the study couldn't definitively explain the widespread fatalities, it did uncover an important clue from prior research: Birds made three times fewer calls in rural areas compared to cities. It seemed that city lights were disorienting them, causing them to call out more often in an attempt to reconnect with their group. This creates a dangerous cycle, drawing even more birds toward the lights.
9. The Battle Over Bird Netting
Over the past 50 years, the United Kingdom has seen the loss of more than 40 million birds. Conservation organizations are aware of the importance of nesting sites, which is why it’s illegal to disturb an active nest.
During the spring of 2019, which coincided with the bird breeding season, a clash broke out between bird enthusiasts and property developers. To avoid violating the “active nest” law, developers began covering trees and hedgerows set for removal with nets. This practice not only obstructed nesting areas but also led to reports of birds getting trapped in the nets and dying.
Although thousands signed petitions to ban the use of nets on hedgerows, the practice remains legal. Developers have planted millions of new trees, including nine million in 2018. Even conservationists who understand the pressures on builders argue that developers could at least make an effort to check their nets regularly for trapped birds. Sadly, this doesn’t seem to be happening.
8. Attacks by Cassowaries
The cassowary is considered the world’s most dangerous bird. At first glance, it may seem harmless—just a large, flightless bird with a colorful neck. However, this native of Australia and New Guinea is so perilous that even seasoned zookeepers avoid being alone with it. There have been instances where cassowaries kicked tourists off cliffs or trapped them in trees.
In 2019, a Florida man was killed by his pet cassowary. The fatal injuries he sustained were likely caused by the bird's middle toe, which is equipped with a sharp, dagger-like nail. Each foot has three toes, but the middle one is especially deadly. A single kick can result in devastating damage.
The decision to keep a cassowary as a pet left bird specialists astonished. In fact, Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Commission classifies cassowaries as “Class II Wildlife,” a category reserved for species that pose a threat to human safety and require special permits.
7. The Solitary Duck
In 2018, a newspaper editor visited Niue Island, located 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) from New Zealand, with a population of just 1,600. To his surprise, he discovered a duck—an animal not native to the island. The bird, named “Trevor,” briefly gained fame as Niue’s only duck and was affectionately called “the world’s loneliest duck.”
The mallard arrived after a storm, which likely separated him from his flock. Regardless of how he got there, Trevor chose to stay. He became a beloved local figure, even serving as a landmark. Travelers were given directions like, “Turn right after the duck.”
Trevor’s home was a roadside puddle, frequently replenished by the local fire department. Islanders took turns feeding him, so he was far from lonely. He made friends with chickens and other birds. Sadly, in January 2019, Trevor was attacked and killed by a dog.
6. The Dispute Over Kingfishers
The mustached kingfisher is considered a holy grail of the avian world. The entire history of this rare bird revolves around three dead female specimens. In 2015, Christopher Filardi from the American Museum of Natural History discovered a male kingfisher in the Solomon Islands. This stunning bird boasted a vibrant blue back and an orange mask.
After capturing photographs of this groundbreaking discovery, Filardi killed the kingfisher. His actions sparked outrage. Other biologists criticized Filardi’s claim that he had assessed the local population numbers before killing the bird. Many scientists argue that conservation research should not come at the cost of such bloody measures, particularly with a species whose behaviors are not well documented.
This debate is not a recent development.
For over a century, experts have been deeply divided on whether killing specimens is truly necessary for scientific progress. The controversy surrounding the kingfisher’s death attracted more attention than most cases of “scientific killings” because it marked the first sighting of a male. However, the great auk, for instance, was driven to extinction when scientists sought the rare penguin-like bird and paid hunters to collect them.
5. Mama Merganser
In 2018, Minnesota presented an avian enigma. A photographer captured an image of a duck at Lake Bemidji, and astonishingly, the duck had 76 ducklings. This mother was named Mama Merganser, belonging to the species Mergus merganser.
Previously, extreme cases had seen a female duck raising up to 30 ducklings. However, a mother duck can only incubate about 20 eggs. Mama Merganser would have struggled terribly if she had tried to sit on all 76 eggs.
Mother ducks frequently collect more eggs than they naturally lay. They move between nests, depositing eggs at different locations. Therefore, a female often incubates her own eggs alongside a few from other mothers. It’s likely that Mama managed a so-called creche, a scenario where younger females leave their ducklings with a more experienced mother.
Nevertheless, the size of this Minnesota creche is remarkable. It remains unclear which of the ducklings were Mama Merganser’s biological offspring, how many females contributed eggs to her nest, or how many ducklings were left with her as newborns.
4. The Eagle Love Triangle
In recent years, scientists have witnessed a rare event—only the fourth documented instance of three adult eagles nesting together. This began around 2016, when a male-female pair raised chicks in the Upper Mississippi River Refuge.
The male, Valor I, was an absent father and partner. Hope, the female, had to handle all the responsibilities—incubating, hunting, and raising the chicks—duties typically shared by eagle parents. This might be why she didn’t object when a second male, Valor II, began courting her. After Valor II moved in, Valor I took on a more active role, and all three adults shared the parenting duties.
In 2017, Hope disappeared after two other males attacked the nest. Valor I and II continued raising the chicks on their own. When the chicks grew up and left, the two males stayed together and even courted a new female named Starr. She became their mate in the fall, and the trio successfully hatched three eaglets. They've remained together ever since.
3. The Half-Sider Cardinal
In 2019, Shirley Caldwell from Pennsylvania captured an extraordinary photograph of a cardinal. While male cardinals are typically red, and females have tan bodies, this bird defied expectations. It was divided down the middle: the right side was red, and the left side was tan, making it half male, half female.
Such animals are known as bilateral gynandromorphs, or “half-siders.” These remarkable creatures also appear in species like butterflies and crustaceans. This cardinal’s split likely occurred due to a chromosomal error during early development.
It’s believed that half-siders are formed when an egg cell ends up with two nuclei instead of one. Each nucleus develops into a different gender, resulting in a perfectly divided chick.
The cardinal likely cannot sing, a trait reserved for males. However, it might still raise offspring as a female. Since the left side of the bird is female, it’s possible for fertile eggs to be produced, as only the left ovary in birds functions. Interestingly, the photographer observed a male cardinal courting the half-sider as if it were a fully female bird.
2. Instant Evolution
Daphne Major is an island in the Galapagos. When researchers visited, they discovered a large cactus finch. While this species is common across the Galapagos, it wasn’t originally from Daphne Major.
The male cactus finch, the first of its kind to appear on Daphne, was larger and had a distinct song compared to the local species. His mating with two medium ground finches produced hybrid offspring.
Unlike many hybrids, the chicks faced no fertility issues. However, their distinct mating song set them apart from the local finches, who didn’t recognize it. As a result, the hybrids could only mate with one another. Inbreeding became an issue when only two of them survived the 2002–03 drought. These sibling birds produced 26 offspring, of which nine survived.
By 2012, eight breeding pairs were established, and by 2017, they were officially recognized as a new species. The contribution of the original male finch proved invaluable. It allowed scientists to observe the rapid evolution of an entire species in just two generations—a remarkably fast process by evolutionary standards.
1. The Whirlpool Video
In March 2019, a disturbing video emerged online, alarming bird enthusiasts. The clip depicted a bird drifting toward a massive whirlpool and being sucked into it. The vortex’s nature strongly suggested that the bird met a grim fate. The 61-meter-deep (200 ft) funnel was actually a drain, descending 18 stories to a creek beneath the reservoir that feeds Lake Berryessa in California.
Whenever the lake overflows, water is drained through this tunnel, which occurred on the day the video was filmed. The footage was captured by Rick Fowler, the water resources manager for the lake, who was filming the vortex when the bird unexpectedly appeared in the shot.
The terrifying speed that yanked the bird down the drain, combined with the strength of the water, led many online viewers to assume the duck was doomed. However, Fowler clarified that the bird survived—not because it was a duck, but because it was a cormorant, a waterfowl with waterproof feathers and the remarkable ability to dive deeply into the ocean.
Fowler explained that the cormorant emerged from the drain slightly stunned, but it quickly recovered and flew to a safe spot near the creek.
