animal behavior
Why Some Animals Can Tell More From Less
Researchers find that densely packed neurons play an outsize role in quantitative skill—calling into question old assumptions about evolution.
Scientists Capture Airborne Animal DNA for the First Time
Researchers filtered the air around two zoos and identified genetic material from dozens of species, a technique that could help track and conserve wildlife.
These Lemurs Have Got Rhythm. Scientists Have Got Questions
Studying how and why rhythm evolved in these primates could help unravel the mysteries of human musicality.
Is There a Genetic Link to Being an Extremely Good Boy?
Guide dogs need the right personality, health, and training. Scientists are studying the genetics behind the traits that make a dog suited to working.
Your Brain Is an Energy-Efficient 'Prediction Machine'
Results from neural networks support the idea that brains use predictions to create perceptions—and that they work that way to conserve power.
The North Carolina Town Besieged by Armadillos
Thanks to climate change, the armored animals are making their way up north. And there’s no sign of them stopping their relentless march.
Early Evidence of How Wildfire Smoke Alters Bird Migration
A team tracking the flights of four Tule geese from Alaska to California documented how the birds changed course in response to dense smoke.
How a Duck Learned to Say ‘You Bloody Fool’
Voice analysis of a 34-year-old recording proves that Ripper the musk duck “independently evolved” to mimic his human caretakers.
Dolphins Eavesdrop on Each Other to Avoid Awkward Run-Ins
The new finding underscores the complexity of marine mammals’ social life and cognition. It may also help save the snoopy cetaceans.
How the Cuttlefish’s Robust Memory System Defies Old Age
This cephalopod is the only known animal that doesn’t exhibit age-related deterioration when recalling specific events.
Animals Can Count. How Far Does Their Number Sense Go?
Crows recently demonstrated an understanding of the concept of zero. It’s only the latest evidence of animals’ talents for numerical abstraction.
What Rat Empathy May Reveal About Human Compassion
Rats may feel concern when cage mates are trapped. But, like people, they don’t always care enough to help.
Dogs, Unlike Wolves, Are Born to Communicate With People
Wolf puppies can’t understand human gestures as well as their dog cousins. The difference could help explain what makes dogs so special.
How Mockingbirds Compose Songs Just Like Beethoven
The birds aren’t producing sounds at random. Some of their strategies are surprisingly similar to ones used by humans.
The Quest to Tally Alaska’s Wild ‘Warm-Blooded’ Bumblebees
Extreme environments offer them an unexpected paradise. Now researchers and conservationists want to get a head count.
A New Way to Understand the Brain's Intricate Rhythm
Researchers have found evidence in humans that individual neurons time their firing to a deeper beat. But there’s a mystery: What does it mean?
The Sneaky, Lying Flower That Pretends to Be a Rotting Beetle
Aristolochia microstoma finds love by smelling like death. Coffin flies can’t resist.
Sleep Evolved Before Brains. Hydras Are Living Proof
Some of nature’s simplest animals suggest that sleep evolved long before centralized nervous systems.
We Hiked Along With Cicada Biologists So You Don’t Have To
Researchers only get a chance to study Brood X every 17 years. WIRED came for the ride—and got up close to thousands of hatching cicadas.
Bats Raised in Helium-Rich Air Reveal a Key to Echolocation
To test bats’ sense of the speed of sound, researchers put them in an atmosphere that alters it. No word on whether the helium made the bats sound funny.
Sharks Use the Earth’s Magnetic Field Like a Compass
Biologists have long believed that these animals rely on magnetic sensing to migrate across oceans. Someone finally figured out how to prove it.
How One Naughty Bird Cheats With Fancy Feather Structures
For male tanager birds, carotenoid feather pigments just aren't flashy enough. They have another way to make their colors really pop.
What Octopus Dreams Tell Us About the Evolution of Sleep
Understanding how other animals dream could help us figure out why it’s so important to the human brain, and why it may have been preserved throughout history.
How Far Should Humans Go to Help Species Adapt?
A project to teach threatened marsupials to avoid feral cats is among a host of "assisted evolution" efforts to help animals in the face of climate change.