birds

Feathered ‘fiend’ has long played on our fears

By Nella Letizia, WSU Libraries PULLMAN, Wash. – It’s Halloween, when this Washington State University Libraries patron’s mind turns to things that go bump – or, in this case, flap – in the night from a literary and not-so-literary point of view. This year, the subject is birds, the stuff of nightmares for many since […]

Popular conservation writer receives WSU alumni award

LINCOLN, Neb. – Paul Johnsgard, an ornithologist, artist and emeritus professor at the University of Nebraska, was honored July 12 with the Washington State University Alumni Association Alumni Achievement Award in recognition of writing and teaching that has expanded public understanding of natural history, conservation and pressing environmental issues.

Weighing benefits, risks of wild birds on organic farms

By Sylvia Kantor, College of Agricultural, Human & Natural Resource Sciences PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University will help organic growers protect human health by assessing the risks and benefits of wild birds on organic farms. Researchers received nearly $2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Organic Research and Extension Initiative to conduct the […]

Menopause research yields surprising insights

The next time you find a blue eggshell lying empty beneath a tree, consider the work of Donna Holmes, whose research shows that birds are exceptionally long-lived for their size. Under good conditions, female birds may experience up to a third of their life in post-reproductive years. In other words, says Holmes, birds, like humans, […]