Animals

Animals

I, Magpie

Some magpies recognize themselves in mirrors, indicating that a basic form of self-recognition evolved in one family of birds.

Animals

Built for Speed

Animals would prove fierce competitors at the Olympics — if only they would stay in their lanes.

Animals

We all sing like fish

From opera singers to toadfish, vertebrates may use basically similar circuitry for controlling vocal muscles.

Animals

Brains for a change

Outsized brains may have sped up evolution of body size in birds.

Life

Young tasmanian devil moms

Tasmanian devils have started mating much earlier in response to an epidemic, called facial tumor disease, that is wiping out much of their population.

Animals

Not-OK Coral

First big species audit finds coral extinction risks severely under-reported

Paleontology

A wandering eye

New look at fossils of primitive flatfish reveals how these fish evolved eyes on one side of their head

Life

Embryos can learn visually

For cuttlefish embryos, what they see is what they'll crave as food later

Animals

Mighty mites

Mites that were thought to be parasites to their host wasps turn out to be bodyguards, attacking intruders.

Animals

Live fast, die young

With a lifespan of just five months, the chameleon Furcifer labordi leads a briefer life than any other land-dwelling vertebrate.

Animals

Whaling, to be announced

The 60th meeting of the International Whaling Commission defers voting on deadlocked issues

Ecosystems

Ecosystem engineers

Nonnative earthworms are deliberately burying ragweed seeds, enhancing the weed’s growth, researchers report.