Bird beaks feeling the heat of climate change, say scientists

You Explore Create Upload 166 You Camera RollBeta Photostream Albums Favorites Groups Stats Explore Recent Photos The Commons 20under20 Galleries The Weekly Flickr Flickr Blog City Parrots Mulga Parrot (Psephotus varius) Gluepot Reserve, South Australia, Australia. Male. Image by While the human population grapples with ways to counter the effects of climate change, Deakin University research has discovered that birds might have been working on their own solution for the past 145 years – grow bigger beaks.

The scientists, led by Dr Matthew Symonds, have discovered a pattern between increased climatic temperatures and an increase in the size of the beaks of parrot species in southern and eastern Australia.

"Birds use their beaks to keep themselves cool. Just as an elephant's ears help to act as a fan to keep the animal cooler, birds can pump blood to their highly vascularized bills, enabling them to lose excess heat when they get hot," Dr Symonds said.

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Parrot colours linked to disease that kills other species

Platycercus elegans melanoptera (Kangaroo Island Crimson Rosella). Image by Arthur ChapmanThe iconic colours in one of one of Australia’s most loved backyard parrots may be the surprise result of a tiny virus that kills other species, new Deakin University research has found.

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All the better to see you with: pigment variations in parrots

Birds around the world rely on colourful plumage to identify and assess their kinsmen. Birds see colour using four colour visual pigments in their cone cells in addition to a rod pigment that is used in dim light vision. Each of these visual pigments is made up of one of five opsin proteins (LWS, SW1, SWS2, RH2 and RH1) and a chromophore, where each pigment absorbs a different range of light wavelengths. In some non-avian species the spectral sensitivities of these visual pigments have co-evolved with body colour and differ between individuals of the same species. Curiously, however, to date all studies suggest that the visual pigments vary little within the avian class, and even less within a particular species. To investigate further, Ben Knott, a researcher at Deakin University, and Wayne Davies, from the University of Western Australia, both in Australia, and their colleagues turned to the unusual parrot Platycercus elegans whose plumage can range from red to yellow (p. 4454).

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Suburban trees save native birds

The study revealed that suburbs with more than 30 per cent native streets trees had 11 per cent more bird species than those with streets lined with exotic trees. The researchers urge city planners and householders to help protect native birds by choosing to plant Australian trees. Image by Deb AdamsAs native birds continue to lose their homes due to the spread of the Australia’s cities, scientists are urging city planners and householders to help save them by planting more Australian trees.

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Parrots better than beaches for tourism?

We might take them for granted, but galahs could be potential tourist attractions. Photo: David Cook

Australia should forget beaches and bikini-clad models as tourist drawcards, and promote the country as a land of parrots to rival the Amazon, a leading tourism expert says.

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