Hyacinth Macaw

   With an impressive length of 100 cm, the hyacinth macaw is the largest of all flying species of parrots in the world. They mainly inhabit in semi-open areas and  savanna grasslands of Northern Brazil. Their population have been declined in the past few years. Today only less than 5000 Hyacinth Macaws left in the world. The habitat loss and hunting are main threats to hyacinth macaw.

   Besides the large size, the Hyacinth Macaw is famous for their striking cobalt blue plumage with bright yellow rings around the eyes. Because of the stunning coloration, the Hyacinth Macaw also called as ‘blue macaw’. They also have a beautiful long tail and strong and curved black bill.

   With proper training, Hyacinth Macaws could be an excellent pet. You should also give them a lot of space to make them comfortable. They are very playful and not so good at imitating words like some other members of the Macaw family.

 You should be aware of the powerful bill of Hyacinth Macaws. It can’t be guaranteed that they won’t bite you even with proper caring and training. The Hyacinth Macaws also can be extremely loud when they are in a group.

Ruddy shelduck

Ruddy shelduck
Pair of ruddy shelducks
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Subfamily:	Tadorninae
Genus:	Tadorna
Species:	T. ferruginea
Binomial name
Tadorna ferruginea (Pallas, 1764)
Synonyms
Casarca ferruginea Anas ferruginea Casarca rutila

The ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea), known in India as the Brahminy duck, is a member of the family Anatidae. It is a distinctive waterfowl, 58 to 70 cm (23 to 28 in) in length with a wingspan of 110 to 135 cm (43 to 53 in). It has orange-brown body plumage with a paler head, while the tail and the flight feathers in the wings are black, contrasting with the white wing-coverts. It is a migratory bird, wintering in the Indian subcontinent and breeding in southeastern Europe and central Asia, though there are small resident populations in North Africa. It has a loud honking call.

The ruddy shelduck mostly inhabits inland water-bodies such as lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The male and female form a lasting pair bond and the nest may be well away from water, in a crevice or hole in a cliff, tree or similar site. A clutch of about eight eggs is laid and is incubated solely by the female for about four weeks. The young are cared for by both parents andfledge about eight weeks after hatching.

In central and eastern Asia, populations are steady or rising, but in Europe they are generally in decline. Altogether, the birds have a wide range and large total population, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed their conservation status as being of "least concern".

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1Taxonomy
• 2Description
• 3Distribution and habitat
• 4Behaviour
• 5Status
• 6References
• 7External links

Taxonomy[edit]

The ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) is a member of the shelduck genus Tadorna; in the wildfowl family Anatidae. The bird was first described in 1764 by the German zoologist and botanist Peter Simon Pallas who named it Anas ferruginea, but later it was transferred to the genus Tadorna with the other shelducks.^[2][3][4] Some authorities place it in the genus Casarcaalong with the South African shelduck (T. cana), the Australian shelduck (T. tadornoides) and the Paradise shelduck (T. variegata). Phylogenetic analysis shows that it is most closely related to the South African shelduck. In captivity, the ruddy shelduck has been known to hybridise with several other members of Tadorna, with several members of the dabbling duck genus Anas, and with the Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca). No subspecies are recognised.^[5]

The genus name Tadorna comes from the French "tadorne", the common shelduck,^[6] and may originally derive from a Celtic word meaning "pied waterfowl". The English name "sheld duck" dates from around 1700 and means the same.^[7] The species name ferruginea is Latin for "rusty" and refers to the colour of the plumage.^[8]

Description[edit]

The ruddy shelduck grows to a length of 58 to 70 cm (23 to 28 in) and has a 110–135 cm (43–53 in) wingspan. The male has orange-brown body plumage and a paler, orange-brown head and neck, separated from the body by a narrow black collar. The rump, flight feathers, tail-coverts and tail feathers are black and there are iridescent green speculum feathers on the inner surfaces of the wings. Both upper and lower wing-coverts are white, this feature being particularly noticeable in flight but hardly visible when the bird is at rest. The bill is black and the legs are dark grey. The female is similar but has a rather pale, whitish head and neck and lacks the black collar, and in both sexes, the colouring is variable and fades as the feathers age. The birds moult at the end of the breeding season and the male loses the black collar, but a further partial moult between December and April restores it. Juveniles are similar to the female but are a darker shade of brown.^[9]

The call is a series of loud, nasal honking notes, it being possible to discern the difference between those produced by the male and the female. The calls are made both on the ground and in the air, and the sounds are variable according to the circumstances in which they are uttered.^[9]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

There are very small resident populations of this species in north west Africa and Ethiopia, but the main breeding area of the bird is from southeast Europe across central Asia to Lake Baikal, Mongolia, and western China.^[10] Eastern populations are mostly migratory, wintering in the Indian subcontinent.^[11] This species has colonised the island of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, first breeding there in 1994, and reaching a population of almost fifty pairs by 2008.^[12] The ruddy shelduck is a common winter visitor in India where it arrives by October and departs by April. Its typical breeding habitat is large wetlands and rivers with mud flatsand shingle banks, and it is found in large numbers on lakes and reservoirs. It breeds in high altitude lakes and swamps in Jammu and Kashmir.^[11] Outside the breeding season it prefers lowland streams, sluggish rivers, ponds, flooded grassland, marshes and brackish lagoons.^[13]

Although becoming quite rare in southeast Europe and southern Spain, the ruddy shelduck is still common across much of its Asian range. It may be this population which gives rise to vagrants as far west as Iceland, Great Britain and Ireland. However, since the European population is declining, it is likely that most occurrences in western Europe in recent decades are escapes or feral birds. Although this bird is observed in the wild from time to time in eastern North America, no evidence has been found that this is a genuine case of vagrancy.^[1]

This shelduck mostly frequents open locations on inland bodies of water such as lakes, reservoirs and rivers. It is seldom seen in forested areas but does occur in brackish water and saline lagoons. Though more common in the lowlands, it also inhabits higher altitudes and in central Asia is one of the few waterbirds, along with the bar-headed goose (Anser indicus), to be found on lakes at 5,000 m (16,400 ft).^[7]

Behaviour[edit]

At Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre, Gloucestershire

Ruddy shelduck in flight in Gajoldoba, West Bengal, India.

The ruddy shelduck is a mainly nocturnal bird.^[13] It is omnivorous and feeds on grasses, the young shoots of plants, grain and water plants as well as both aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates. On land it grazes on the foliage, in the water it dabbles in the shallows, and at greater depths, it up-ends, but it does not dive.^[7]

The ruddy shelduck is usually found in pairs or small groups and rarely forms large flocks. However, moulting and wintering gatherings on chosen lakes or slow rivers can be very large. Gatherings of over four thousand birds have been recorded on the Koshi Barrage and in the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in Nepal, and over ten thousand at Lake Gölü in Turkey.^[7]

The birds arrive at their main breeding locations in central Asia in March and April. There is a strong pair bond between the male and female and it is thought they pair for life. In their breeding quarters, the birds are very aggressive towards their own kind and towards other species. The female in particular approaches intruders with head lowered and neck outstretched, uttering anger calls. If the intruder stands its ground, the female returns to the male and runs round him, inciting him to attack. He may or may not do so.^[9] Mating takes place on the water after a brief courtship ritual involving neck stretching, head dipping and tail raising.^[7] The nesting site is often far away from water in a hole in a tree or ruined building, a crevice in a cliff, among sand-dunes or in an animal burrow. The nest is constructed by the female using feathers and down and some grasses.^[9]

A clutch of about eight eggs (range six to twelve) is laid between late April and early June. These have a dull gloss and are creamy-white, averaging 68 by 47 mm (2.68 by 1.85 in). Incubation is done by the female while the male stands in attendance nearby. The eggs hatch after about twenty-eight days and both parents care for the young, which fledge in a further fifty-five days.^[7] After breeding the adults moult, losing the power of flight for about a month while they do so. Before moulting they move to large water bodies where they can more easily avoid predation while they are flightless.^[13] The family may stay together as a group for some time; the autumn migration starts around September and the young may mature in their second year. North African birds breed about five weeks earlier, and their breeding success is greater in wet summers.^[7]

Status[edit]

Buddhists regard the ruddy shelduck as sacred and this gives the birds some protection in central and eastern Asia, where the population is thought to be steady or even rising. The Pembo Black-necked Crane Reserve in Tibet is an important wintering area for ruddy ducks, and here they receive protection. In Europe on the other hand, populations are generally declining as wetlands are drained and the birds are hunted. However, they are less vulnerable than some other waterfowl because of their adaptability to new habitats such as reservoirs.^[7]

The ruddy shelduck has a very wide range and an estimated total population size of 170,000 to 225,000 individuals. The overall population trend is unclear as some local populations are increasing while others are decreasing. The bird does not appear to meet the higher criteria necessary to be considered threatened, and theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature assesses that its conservation status is of "least concern".^[1] It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.^[14]

Striated pardalote

Striated pardalote
Pardalotus striatus ornatus
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Pardalotidae
Genus:	Pardalotus
Species:	P. striatus
Binomial name
Pardalotus striatus (Gmelin, 1789)

The striated pardalote (Pardalotus striatus) is the least colourful and most common of the four pardalote species. Other common names include pickwick, wittachew and chip-chip.^[2] It is a very small, short-tailed bird that is more often heard than seen, foraging noisily for lerps and other small creatures in the treetops.

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1Taxonomy
• 2Description
• 3Distribution and habitat
• 4Behaviour
  • 4.1Feeding
    • 4.1.1Breeding
• 5References
• 6Gallery
• 7External links

Taxonomy[edit]

Nominate race, note the yellow spot on the wing

Four full species were originally named, and are clearly recognisable in the field. They are now classified as merely well-defined subspecies instead.

• The yellow-tipped pardalote (subspecies striatus) is found mainly in Tasmania, but crosses the 200 miles of Bass Straitto the mainland each winter in a migration.
• The striated pardalote, subspecies substriatus, central and western Australia.
• The eastern striated or red-tipped pardalote, subspecies ornatus, from the sub-tropical east coast, including theSydney region.
• Two subspecies of the black-headed pardalote, melanocephalus and uropygialis, from north-eastern New South Walesto north-eastern Queensland, and across the Top End to the Kimberley.

All five forms have a black cap which may be striated but never spotted, a white wing stripe and a small, conspicuous wing spot—bright red in all except striatus, which has a yellow spot.

Description[edit]

Black-headed race of striated pardalote near Brisbane, Australia

The striated pardalote's plumage varies considerably across its range.^[3] The crown is black, with subspecies substriatus,striatus and ornatus having white streaks.^[2] The eyebrow is white, starting with a yellow mark near the beak.^[2] All races have a white stripe on the wing and olive backs.^[4] The nominate race has a yellow spot on the wing, whilst the other subspecies have a red dot.^[2] The male and female are similar, juveniles have duller plumage.^[4] Similar species include the spotted pardalote and the red-browed pardalote.^[2]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

Striated pardalotes occupy a vast range of habitat types from tall mountain rainforest to arid scrubland, and are found in all parts of Australia except some of the Western Australian deserts.

Behaviour[edit]

Feeding[edit]

Striated pardalotes feed on insects and insect larvae. They usually do so in the high foliage of eucalypt trees, but may come closer to the ground where there are lower shrubs.^[3]

Breeding[edit]

Breeding occurs from June to February.^[2] Two to five white, oval-shaped eggs are laid in a nest is made of bark fiber, rootlets and fine grass, and placed in tree hollow, a tunnel excavated in the side of a bank or within crevices in man-made objects.^[2][4] Both sexes incubate and care for the young.^[3]

References[edit]

1. Jump up
    BirdLife International (2012). "Pardalotus striatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved26 November 2013.
2. Pizzey, Graham; Knight, Frank (1997). Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Sydney, Australia: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 347. ISBN 0-207-18013-X.
3. Parks & Wildlife Service Tasmania - Striated Pardalote, Pardalotus striatus
4. Birds in Backyards - Striated Pardalote

5. Gallery[edit]

   • 

     Building a nest - Redcliffe, Perth, Western Australia

Birdwatch: Baltimore Oriole recently spotted in the area

I have received a few requests over the last couple of months to write an article on the Baltimore Oriole. Around this time of year, some of you may see some of these beautiful birds in your area. The ones that are you are viewing now are Orioles returning from further points north on their migration south. Among them are also some of the new fledglings from our area getting ready for their first journey south.

The Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) is one of our most beautiful and fascinating birds. This attractive bird has undergone several name changes over the years. In the distant past, the Baltimore Oriole was nicknamed the “Yellow Robin”. It first obtained its official name of Baltimore Oriole around the time of the early settlers in the state of Maryland. These settlers named the bird after Lord Baltimore who was the financier of the Maryland Settlement and who enjoyed wearing bright colours such as orange and black. A few years ago, the Baltimore Oriole was renamed the Northern Oriole, which is the name now listed in many of the modern bird guides. However, recently, the scientific community has renamed the bird back to Baltimore Oriole.

The Baltimore Oriole enjoys the open country and is often seen in sheltered groves of Elm, Popular or Birch trees. This bird is a solitary bird except during breeding season. In the winter, it may be seen with other species foraging for food. The Baltimore Oriole is primarily an insect eater. It feeds on caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles, some fruit and berries. During cold periods, such as we experience sometimes at the end of May and occasionally June, the above insects are not available and the Orioles must seek alternative food sources. For this reason, they are often seen at Hummingbird feeders trying to feed on the nectar. There are some commercial Oriole feeders and nectar that can attract these birds during these periods. Another successful method is to cut an orange in half and nail it to a tree.

The Oriole is approximately eight inches long and is part of the Blackbird family. The male Oriole is easily identified, as it is rich orange with a black head, back, wings and part of its tail. The female of the species is a much duller orange with smooth shades of brown and a dull olive-coloured back and head.

The Oriole builds one of nature’s most elaborate nests. It consists of a bag woven with fibres, plant down, hairs, and string. The nest is often found hanging at the end of a long, drooping branch. Due to its sturdy construction, the Baltimore Oriole’s nest has been known to last for several years.

This Oriole has only one brood per year. The female incubates the eggs of this bird for 12 to14 days. The young remain in the nest for another 12 to 14 days and are fed by both parents.

These birds are located throughout Eastern North America. In Canada, they extend west to the Rockies and north as far as the Central Prairies. In the fall these bird migrate south to Florida, Eastern Mexico and parts of Central and South America.

On the local scene, the migration continues with the staging and massing of several of our bird species. You may have seen several flocks of Double-crested Cormorants flying or staging on our rivers and lakes. The Blackbirds and Robins continue to stage in both small and large groups throughout the area. The Common Nighthawks are in the late stages of their migration out of the county and southward. You may have also noticed that several of the sparrow species are also becoming more active and are being found in small pockets. These pockets include a variety of sparrows including White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Swamp and the odd clay-coloured and Lincoln Sparrow.

In addition, there are also several small pockets of migrating song birds throughout our area. These groups often consists of a variety of warblers, vireos, the off female Tanager and migrating Baltimore Orioles. In these groups are some of the migrating warblers such as Wilson’s, Cape May and Bay-breasted. However, we are not getting the number of warblers that are being seen in the Ottawa region.

Finally, the Ottawa River water levels are quite high and this is hindering our chances of getting shorebirds. Most of these northern migrants are passing overhead on their way south.

On Aug. 22, Don Krantz of Barry Street observed a Nashville Warbler in fall plumage in his flower bed. Nice sighting Don and great photos of the bird!

Finally, on Aug. 25, Cathy van Starkenburg of Micksburg spotted a Baltimore Oriole in her yard. The Oriole was only passing through and she has not seen him since. In addition, Cathy has recently had a few Great-crested Flycatchers for a couple of weeks but they too have moved on south. Nice sightings Cathy!

Study indicates big loss of North American birds

A report issued by the Partners in Flight organization carries a sledgehammer of a delivery with its claim that the North American continent has lost 1.5 billion birds since the 1970s. That staggering figure is arrived at after the review of population surveys and studies conducted by a multitude of environmental agencies, government entities, and university programs.

“That number — 1.5 billion — is a very shocking number, and it is making people sit up and take notice, but we’ve known for a very long time that there is a serious problem with birds,” said Andrew Couturier, a senior analyst with Bird Studies Canada and one of the report’s co-authors. “It is very disheartening to see that, but maybe not surprising for those of us that work on these issues. A number of reports in both the U.S. and Canada indicate there has been a problem for some time, and that this is a major issue in our environment.”

The report cites many of what could be called the “usual suspects” as the likely causes of the population drops in certain more vulnerable species — development, pollution, habitat fragmentation, degradation and loss, the use of pesticides, collisions with wind turbines and buildings in the air column, and climate change.

“We believe there is a mixed bag of things interacting to cause this, with the background of land clearing. There just isn’t the available habitat that there used to be,” Couturier said last week from his office in Port Rowan, Ontario.

The report contends that the North American population of evening grosbeaks has fallen 92 percent since 1970, while the snowy owl has seen its numbers drop by 64 percent in the same time period. There are 86 species in an especially precarious position because of decreased populations, the report says, and nearly two dozen of those species have had their populations cut in half over the last four decades.

“The situation certainly seems to be grim for many of these species,” Couturier said, adding that the study projects that some of the more endangered bird species could experience another 50 percent drop in their populations over the next 40 years.

Couturier said the impact of these population losses can be seen in the Midwest in the declining numbers of chimney swifts, nighthawks, and other aerial insectivores.

“These have been some very iconic and familiar species in Ohio, but they are disappearing in a hurry,” he said. “The chimney swift has lost about 65 percent of its population since 1970. We would have seen the common nighthawk very frequently 40 years ago, but it has declined quickly. It is pretty much the same story with this whole group — some normally very abundant species are going downhill quite rapidly.”

The report reflects an ambitious effort to characterize bird populations across the breadth of the continent, and assess them over a nearly a half century period. It’s most basic conclusion is that many of our bird species are in dire straits, and the 1.5 billion figure illustrates a scientific best guess at what we have lost.

“The information on urgency is quite alarming,” Judith Kennedy of Environment Canada told the Canadian Press. She was another co-author of the Partners In Flight report. “We’re really getting down to the dregs of some of these populations.”

The report also cites a serious threat to many grassland birds, and species that rely on sagebrush or desert environments. The Gunnison sage grouse, ivory-billed woodpecker, and the long-troubled California condor also fall into the report’s list of species that are most vulnerable to extinction.

Earlier this year, biologists from Audubon published a study that concluded one-third of the birds that winter in North America have experienced population decreases over the last 50 years. The North American Bird Conservation Initiative went so far as to say that a third of our North American bird species risk extinction unless major conservation measures are enacted.

Mark Shieldcastle, the research director with the Black Swamp Bird Observatory based at Magee Marsh, said the recent report issued by the Partners in Flight organization leaves him with mixed feelings.

“In a sense the report and that 1.5 billion figure is shocking, but in another sense, the basic conclusion is not,” he said. “We are on a downhill slide with a lot of our species, but I have some questions about where they got their baseline data for this study. I’m not sure of the numbers that are involved since there were no population surveys on many of these species back in the 1970s, so I don’t have that much confidence in it without a lot more study.”

Couturier said the conclusions were reached after “all kinds of complicated and sophisticated” number crunching and reviews of previous population surveys.

“We figured the population trends and estimated the number of birds that would have existed in 1970, and then calculated the loss and also projected into the future,” he said. “We looked at information that we can gather from U.S. and Canada-wide surveys.”

Shieldcastle, who had a long and distinguished career as an avian biologist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said he does not question the downward trend with many species, while also citing that other birds have had their numbers grow stronger in recent decades.

“The trajectory, the direction we are going with birds in general, is realistic, but are some of these species going down as much as this report says — I just don’t know,” he said. “There is a lot of conjecture and opinion going into those numbers.”

Shieldcastle said biologists are much better equipped today to collect data on the trends in bird populations, but not with all species, especially the long-distance migrants and the species that use the northern boreal forests for seasonal nesting.

“Overall, we are much better at this, but with some birds we are still in the dark ages,” he said.

Shieldcastle expects to see a significant improvement in the collection of data on bird species over the next decade with the use of tiny data loggers and satellite transmitters that will allow biologists to get a more complete picture of the species that migrate long distances.

“We’re right on the edge with a lot of this, so the report comes at a good time,” he said. “These birds have evolved and adjusted to changes over long periods of time, but there’s no question they face a lot of threats right now, so there is reason to have real concern.”

Couturier said international cooperation on bird studies is the best it has ever been, and an essential element in reversing the decline of many species.

“There is certainly plenty to be concerned about, but there is also reason to be hopeful, if we put our minds to it,” he said.

PICTURE THIS: Seabirds of the world 

Seabirds Of The World by David Tipling (Reed New Holland £16.99)

Unleash your inner twitcher while leafing through this incredible selection of rarely seen moments in the astonishing world of sea birds. 

Freelance wildlife photographer David Tipling has scoured the globe for more than a decade to capture these beautiful birds in their natural habitats. 

From puffins to pelicans, from migration to courtship, this book gives us a privileged glimpse into the secret lives of birds. 

In bird feathers, scientists find hints about color of extinct animals

Scientists were able to map the chemical environments of two different types of melanin, a pigment responsible for black/dark brown or reddish/yellow color in feathers. This illustration shows an American kestrel feather (left), and the X-ray fluorescence maps of zinc (shown with a red filter), calcium (blue) and benzo-sulfur (yellow) in the same feather. The researchers will use the information provided by these maps to identify melanin in fossil specimens.

Credit: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

In order to discover the true colors of ancient animals, scientists are using X-rays to closely examine the chemical details of modern bird feathers.

The researchers were able to map elements that make up pigments responsible for red and black colors in feathers. They hope to use this information to find traces of the same pigments in fossil specimens of extinct animals, such as dinosaurs.

This latest discovery means that scientists may be able to go beyond monochrome in their depictions of fossilized creatures, and make steps towards portraying their colors more accurately.

The team published their results in the journal Scientific Reports.

The experiments were conducted at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Diamond Light Source in the United Kingdom. SSRL is a DOE Office of Science user facility.

The international team of scientists, led by the University of Manchester, analyzed the elements associated with a pigment called melanin in feathers shed by birds housed in animal sanctuaries. Melanin is responsible for skin color variation in humans, and it is the dominant pigment in most mammals and birds. The pigment gives animals either a black/dark brown or reddish/yellow color. The black type is called eumelanin, while the reddish type is called pheomelanin.

"Melanin is a very important component in biology, but its exact chemistry is still not precisely known, especially as to how metals such as calcium, copper and zinc interact with it," says Nick Edwards, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Manchester and the lead author of the study.

Edwards says the researchers found subtle but measurable differences between the different types of melanin with regards to certain elements.

For example, the X-rays allowed them to see contrasts in the different chemical environments of sulfur and zinc. Zinc, when bound to sulphur in a specific way, could be used as a reliable indicator of the red type of melanin within the feathers of brightly colored birds of prey. And zinc in the absence of sulphur could indicate the black form of melanin.

The team also saw patterns in calcium and copper that match the markings of the tested feathers.

"With X-rays, one of the advantages is that we're able to map these visual patterns in the chemical elements associated with colors in a non-destructive way," says Dimosthenis Sokaras, staff scientist at SLAC and a co-author on the paper. "We can study something in its original state."

An earlier study from the same group revealed light and dark patterns in a fossilized Confuciusornis sanctus, an ancient bird with the first true beak that lived at the same time as the dinosaurs.

"A fundamental truth in geology is that the present is the key to the past," says Roy Wogelius, professor of geochemistry at the University of Manchester and senior author of the study. "This work on modern animals now provides another chemical 'key' for helping us to accurately reconstruct the appearance of long extinct animals."