Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Headaches?

A great spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) on a tree. Unlike the human brain, the woodpecker’s brain is tightly confined by muscles in the skull and a compressible bone. This keeps the woodpecker brain from jiggling around when the bird is stabbing away at a tree trunk.

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Red List update: parrots of the Americas in peril

One of the planet’s most beleaguered avian groups, the neotropical parrots, took another hit in the 2020 Red List, with a further four species moved to a higher threat category. However, success stories from our American Partners show that hope remains. By James Lowen As one

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Red List 2020: seven things you might have missed

The carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” may soon need to become one verse shorter as a European partridge is listed as Near Threatened. Meanwhile, paradise is restored for one flycatcher, proving that conservation can achieve great things. Explore these and more in our

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Red List 2020: European Bison recovers amid 31 extinctions

In this year’s update to the IUCN Red List of threatened species, the recovery of the European Bison shows the true power of conservation. But with 31 extinctions announced and all of the world’s freshwater dolphin species now globally threatened, it’s never been more urgent

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