Swallows evolve shorter wings to avoid cars, study suggests

[longknife]

Cliff swallows that build their nests under bridges and overpasses in Nebraska have evolved shorter wings to avoid getting hit by cars, new research suggests.
By John Roach, Contributing Writer, NBC News

Cars and trucks thundering down the road in southwestern Nebraska stand a much lower chance today of smacking a cliff swallow than they did in the 1980s, according to a new study that suggests the birds have evolved shorter wings to pivot away from oncoming traffic.

Read more @ Swallows evolve shorter wings to avoid cars, study suggests - Science

Ain't Nature awesome?

 

[flacaltenn]

That's the most exciting Darwinian news I've heard since my college roomate's thesis on possums growing lighter colored coats to be differentiated from the asphalt..

1.4 Mill yrs of evolution --- those swallows ought to have huge teeth and brains..

 

[whitehall]

Thank God for evolution because possums and swallows are among the dumbest creatures on the planet. I had a job where I worked late and returning home on a rural road I often had to stop and yell at a stupid possum who was determined to become road kill. I constantly get lost barn swallows in my basement and they don't have sense enough to find their way to an open door. I love them though. I once had a swallow nest in my tool shed (they are made out of mud and plant litter) that broke and spilled half a dozen chicks on the floor. I gathered up the remnants of the nest and the chicks in a small cardboard box and nailed it back where it was and the swallow mother continued to raise the chicks to maturity. We have lots of open water around but few mosquitoes because of an army of swallows. Bats are good too but not so many of them around anymore.

 

[flacaltenn]

Someone was doing a special on extraordinary measures to rescue some endangered species. One of them was a small cat that had a social issue.. At 2 months old -- the offspring start to kill each other.

You'd think that these "heroes" would recognize when they should just give in to evolution and let it take it's course. That cat's issue was not habitat -- it was endangered for mental problems..

Agree about possums. THey are definately "slow"... But its hard to get close to swallows and see any brilliance. The birds that show up in my yard, do everything but ring the doorbell to let me know when the feeders need attention...

 

[Ava]

Cliff swallows that build their nests under bridges and overpasses in Nebraska have evolved shorter wings to avoid getting hit by cars, new research suggests.
By John Roach, Contributing Writer, NBC News

Cars and trucks thundering down the road in southwestern Nebraska stand a much lower chance today of smacking a cliff swallow than they did in the 1980s, according to a new study that suggests the birds have evolved shorter wings to pivot away from oncoming traffic.

Read more @ Swallows evolve shorter wings to avoid cars, study suggests - Science

Ain't Nature awesome?

And avoid solar windmills?

 

[whitehall]

Someone was doing a special on extraordinary measures to rescue some endangered species. One of them was a small cat that had a social issue.. At 2 months old -- the offspring start to kill each other.

You'd think that these "heroes" would recognize when they should just give in to evolution and let it take it's course. That cat's issue was not habitat -- it was endangered for mental problems..

Agree about possums. THey are definately "slow"... But its hard to get close to swallows and see any brilliance. The birds that show up in my yard, do everything but ring the doorbell to let me know when the feeders need attention...

Funny, I get doves, grackles, lots of blue jays and various little nut hatch birds, woodpeckers and cardnals to feed on suet and bird feed but never swallows. Mockingbirds are also too independent to take free food even on the nastiest days.