Wildlife ecologists have seen white-tailed deer expanding their range in North America over many decades. And since the early-2000s these deer have moved north into the boreal forests of western Canada. These forests are full of spruce and pine trees, sandy soil and freezing winters with lots of snow. They can be a harsh winter wonderland. And ecologists haven't known whether a warmer climate in these forests or human land development might be driving the deer north. A recent study tries to disentangle these factors – and finds that a warming climate seems to play the most significant role in the movement of deer. Read more in the journal Global Change Biology. Curious about more wildlife news? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
Why Are We So Fascinated With Owls? howstuffworks.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from howstuffworks.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Flame-Colored Tanager
The flame-colored tanager is a more uncommon American visitor than other types of tanagers. In fact, these birds were never found north of the Mexican border until 1985, when a single male appeared in Arizona’s Chiricahua Mountains. American bird-watchers have reported several of the birds since, and the birds have been reported nesting in Arizona. But the flame-colored tanager is still considered a rare species in the mountains of southern Arizona and western Texas.
Males are reddish-orange with dark stripes on their backs and distinctive white wing markings. Female flame-colored tanagers are olive green and yellow. They look similar to female western tanagers, but watch for those white wing spots.