Winged-Themed News Highlighting Buzzing Bees and Majestic Birds - 59th Issue

An article published by National Geographic explores how starlings are capable of creating what ornithologist Edmund Selous once described as “a madness in the sky.” For centuries, ornithologists like Selous have attempted to better understand the tight, neatly orchestrated murmuration that starlings create at sunset. Having spent years collecting data, researchers from Rome and the Netherlands have mutually concluded that “each starling interacts with only seven neighbors, which might be as much as their brains can handle. The exact neighbors change from second to second, but the starlings don’t track these shifting alliances. They merely fly in the same direction as whichever seven birds are nearest, while staying close but not too close.” 

As they continue to study starlings, researchers are noticing a decline in their populations, which is all the more reason to find ways to help these artists of the sky thrive so we can enjoy the magnificence of their collective swooping and swirling.

Bioluminescence means that a living organism is capable of producing its own light. Many sea animals are bioluminescent, especially ones that reside in the deepest depths of the ocean. It comes as a quite surprise, then, that researchers at the American Museum of Natural History helped confirm that birds-of-paradise—forest birds that reside in Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea—have bright green-yellow fluorescence. 

A study published by Royal Society Open Science indicates that the researchers found that 37 of the 45 known birds-of-paradise species was found to be bioluminescent. In a recent post, American Museum of Natural History stated that “the project began about a decade ago, when Curator John Sparks, an ichthyologist, conducted a rapid survey of the Museum’s vast Ornithology collection for biofluorescence in birds, which revealed bright green-yellow fluorescence in birds-of-paradise. 

Sparks’ initial work was continued recently by Martin and Emily Carr, a Ph.D. student in the Richard Gilder Graduate School. Using a specialized photography setup with ultraviolet and blue lights and emission filters, the team returned to the collection and found that biofluorescence is especially prominent in male birds-of-paradise, showing up on their plumage and skin in parts of their body that are highlighted during courtship displays: the inner mouth and bill, feet, and feathers on the head, neck, and belly.” This begs the question: might there be other species of birds that are bioluminescent?

The Bee Cause Project is a non-profit organization headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, that brings together sponsors, beekeepers, educators, and community members in an effort to educate children about the importance of bees and other pollinators. 

The Bee Cause Project awards Bee Grants to schools across the United States, Canada, and beyond. By bringing educational pollinator programs to schools, libraries, community centers, and similar venues, this organization makes it easy for people who care about bees to get involved in promoting their survival.

Did you know that elephants go out of their way to avoid bees? Equipped with this knowledge, farmers have developed an effective method aimed at keeping elephants away from their precious crops. The installation of beehive fences prevents elephants from roaming across farmland and damaging the crops farmers are cultivating. The BBC article detailing these beehive fences mentions that “human-elephant conflict is a growing issue in several areas. 

In Kenya, where the population and demand for resources is growing, human-inhabited areas are increasingly overlapping with elephant's ranges. Combined with the recovery of some elephant populations, this is leading to greater chance of conflict between humans and these giants.” In addition to keeping elephants at bay, the bees produce honey, which can serve as another source of income for Kenyan families. Given their success and the added benefits that these beehive fences offer, BBC reports that they are being installed “across the world.” Deterring elephants with bees demonstrates that nature-themed problems often have nature-themed solutions.