Unique dove species is the dodo of the Caribbean and in similar danger of dying out
On first inspection, the Cuban blue-headed quail dove doesn’t look like much: drab brown feathers, a slender beak, a pronounced…
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Caribbean parrots thought to be endemic are actually relicts of millennial-scale extinction
In a new study published in PNAS, researchers have extracted the first ancient DNA from Caribbean parrots, which they compared…
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Extinct Caribbean bird’s closest relatives hail from Africa, South Pacific
In a genetic surprise, ancient DNA shows the closest family members of an extinct bird known as the Haitian cave-rail…
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Top killers of Florida birds: Trauma on land, starvation at sea
An analysis of birds that died at Florida wildlife rehabilitation clinics found songbirds and other land-dwelling species were most often…
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Giant, fruit-gulping pigeon eaten into extinction on Pacific islands
A large fruit-eating bird from Tonga joins the dodo in the lineup of giant island pigeons hunted to extinction. Fossils…
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Hungry for hutia? Our taste for Bahamas’ ‘most peaceable rodent’ shaped its diversity
The Bahamian hutia, a large Caribbean rodent with a blissed-out disposition, presents a curious case study in how human food…
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How we stuff a turkey at the Florida Museum
The Florida Museum of Natural History added its own stuffed turkey to the estimated 45 million birds about to be…
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Extinct Caribbean bird yields DNA after 2,500 years in watery grave
Scientists have recovered the first genetic data from an extinct bird in the Caribbean, thanks to the remarkably preserved bones…
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Museum volunteers discover new species of extinct heron at North Florida fossil site
When the bones of an ancient heron were unearthed at a North Florida fossil site, the find wasn’t made by…
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Why are there no sea snakes in the Atlantic?
Sea snakes are an evolutionary success story. With about 70 species, they’re the most diverse reptile group in the ocean,…
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