Crow

For all the vastness of our Outback and bush, most Australians live in urban areas. In cities, we live within an orderly landscape, molded and manufactured by us to suit our needs. But other species also live in this modified environment.

Bloody hell! That cockatoo just opened my bin, and it's eating my leftover pizza. We can't have that, I'll put a rock on the lid to stop it opening the bin. Problem solved…?

Spring is nearing and birds will soon start nesting in trees in backyards across Australia. The trees in our garden are now 40 years old—not old by tree standards, but old enough to be among the tallest in our suburb, offering refuge for local native birds.

Is brain fog a condition limited to humans? "Infectious disease and cognition in wild populations," a recently published paper in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, answers that question. In a review of the studies, it explores whether learning, memory, and problem-solving are impaired by infection, not just in humans, but in species across the animal kingdom.

Concealed behind trees near Lake Michigan, two scientists remotely manipulated a robotic owl on the forest floor. As the intruder flapped its wings and hooted, a merlin guarding its nest in a nearby pine darted overhead, sounding high-pitched, rapid-fire distress calls.