Charles Darwin once posited that birds might flap their wings to communicate, not just to fly. However, this has always been pretty tricky to test. Now, 150 years later, researchers have discovered ...

A small contingent of chunky, dove-like birds cautiously patter around a clearing in a park in suburban Sydney. Suddenly, a feral cat pounces out from some nearby brush, narrowly missing a flock ...

Pigeons may be considered rats of the sky, but some scientists have found greater value in these urban birds: the blueprint for a new generation of flying machines. Birds can modify the shape of their ...

(A) The flight experiment scene consists of a 16 m × 5 m × 3 m space, with 30 motion capture cameras set up. The pigeon takes off from a perch at one end and lands at the other. (B) Markers on the ...

Sometimes, a ruffle of feathers can say more about a bird's situation than its chirps, coos and caws. Take the crested pigeon. Its mere act of taking frantic flight is enough to alert its flock of ...

Crested pigeons communicate without even opening their beaks. The birds have a built-in alarm system that’s set off by fluttering feathers when flying away from danger, researchers report November 9 ...