. Earth Science News .
FLORA AND FAUNA
Old wild bird a new mom ... at 60

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only
by Staff Writers
Laurel, Md. (UPI) Mar 8, 2011
The oldest known U.S. wild bird, conservatively estimated to be about 60 years old, is a new mom, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported Tuesday.

The Laysan albatross named Wisdom was seen a few weeks ago with a new chick at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, the U.S. Geological Survey Tuesday said in a news release.

The bird has worn -- and worn out -- five bird bands since she was first banded by U.S. Geological Survey scientist Chandler Robbins in 1956 while incubating an egg. Chandler estimated Wisdom to be at least 5 years old at the time because that is the earliest age at which the species breeds. However, USGS said the Laysan albatross typically begin breeding at ages 8 or 9, so Wisdom could be in her early 60s.

"She looks great," said Bruce Peterjohn, head of the North American Bird Banding Program at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Md. "And she is now the oldest wild bird documented in the 90-year history of our USGS-FWS and Canadian bird banding program."

To know that Wisdom can still raise a chick at her age "is beyond words," Peterjohn said.

Almost as amazing as being a parent at 60 is the number of miles Wisdom likely logged -- about 50,000 miles a year as an adult, or at least 2 million to 3 million miles since she was first banded, the USGS said. That's four to six round trips from Earth to the moon, with miles to spare.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


FLORA AND FAUNA
Reviving 100-Year-Old Diatoms
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Mar 08, 2011
Diatoms account for a large proportion of the phytoplankton found in the water, and live both in the open sea and in freshwater lakes. By reviving 100-year-old spores that had laid buried and inactive in bottom sediment, researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have shown that diatoms are also genetically stable and survival artists. Recent research has shown that diatoms exhib ... read more







FLORA AND FAUNA
Christchurch quake will cost Munich Re one billion dollars

Haiti carnival turns dark as it returns after quake

Carnival seeks to rid Haiti of its ills

Bleak future for Christchurch as population flees

FLORA AND FAUNA
Australian firm to open Malaysian rare earths plant

Rare earths to be refined in Malaysia

YouTube growth sparks hiring binge

Nokia Siemens delays Motorola purchase indefinitely

FLORA AND FAUNA
EU, Iceland hold talks in new bid to end 'mackerel war'

Rainwater Harvesting

New UF Study Shows Some Sharks Follow Mental Map To Navigate Seas

Argentine fisheries yields down a third

FLORA AND FAUNA
Pace of polar ice melt 'accelerating rapidly': study

Soot Packs A Punch On Tibetan Plateau's Climate

Some Antarctic Ice Is Forming From Bottom

Shrinking Tundra, Advancing Forests: How The Arctic Will Look By Century's End

FLORA AND FAUNA
UN alarmed at huge decline in bee numbers

Philippines to fight invading species

Mexico approves GM maize pilot project

Study Shows No-Till's Benefits For Pacific Northwest Wheat Growers

FLORA AND FAUNA
Floods swamp cyclone-hit areas of Australia

25 dead, 250 injured in China quake

Major 7.3 offshore quake jolts Japan

24 dead in Mozambique flood season

FLORA AND FAUNA
Over 500 flee restive Casamance flee to Gambia: UN

First protests in Guinea since Conde takes power

China lends Angola $15 bn but creates few jobs

Mozambique police deny Swazi arms shipment report

FLORA AND FAUNA
Brain's short-term memory 'layers' studied

You Are What Your Mother Ate

Southern Africa may be home of modern man

'Overweight' Chinese show lowest death risk: study


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement