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Study Shows How Solar Eclipse Made Some Birds Sing Like a New Day Dawned

A bird sits on a branch in front of a partial solar eclipse near Bridgwater, in southwestern England, March 20, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
A bird sits on a branch in front of a partial solar eclipse near Bridgwater, in southwestern England, March 20, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
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Study Shows How Solar Eclipse Made Some Birds Sing Like a New Day Dawned

A bird sits on a branch in front of a partial solar eclipse near Bridgwater, in southwestern England, March 20, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
A bird sits on a branch in front of a partial solar eclipse near Bridgwater, in southwestern England, March 20, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse traversed a wide swathe of North America stretching 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from Mexico's Pacific Coast through Texas and across 14 other US states into Canada. The period of totality, when the moon covered the face of the sun, lasted about four minutes depending on the location.

While throngs of people gazed skyward to see the celestial show, scientists were studying the effects of the eclipse on birds, whose daily and seasonal rhythms are strongly guided by sunlight. They documented changes in vocal behavior in most - not all - species studied, with birds that naturally make a burst of songs and calls around daybreak the most affected, Reuters reported.

When the sunlight began to return after totality, some species produced their customary "dawn chorus," as if greeting a new day. Some species fell silent, while others did not change their behavior compared to a normal day.

"Light is one of the most powerful forces shaping bird behavior, and even a four-minute 'night' was enough for many species to act as if it were morning again. That tells us just how sensitive some birds are to changes in light," said Liz Aguilar, a doctoral student in evolution, ecology and behavior at Indiana University and lead author of the study published this week in the journal Science.

"Based on previous research, most of which was collected in the lab, we know that changes in light are the most important cues used by living organisms to time their daily rhythms. As day transitions to night and vice versa, hormone levels and gene expression in the body change, and that causes differences in behavior," said study co-author Dustin Reichard, a biology professor at Ohio Wesleyan University.

While there had been anecdotal evidence concerning the behavior of birds during an eclipse and some research involving certain species, this study offered the most comprehensive look yet at the subject, with the findings coming from two datasets.

Fourteen recording units placed around Bloomington, Indiana, captured more than 100,000 bird vocalizations that were analyzed using machine-learning tools to discern the individual species making the songs and calls. In addition, nearly 1,700 people across North America submitted more than 11,000 observations of bird behavior around the eclipse through an app created by the researchers called SolarBird that let anyone in the general public with a smartphone contribute data.

A total of 52 species were documented around Bloomington, 29 of which exhibited significant changes in their vocal behavior as the eclipse occurred compared to a normal April afternoon.

"Different bird species greet the dawn in very different ways. Some have loud, elaborate dawn choruses, while others are much quieter. We found that species known for the most intense dawn choruses were also the ones most likely to react to the eclipse," Aguilar said.

Various species behaved in various ways. For instance, American robins, known for singing very early in the morning while it is still dark, had one of the largest increases in vocalizations during and just after totality - six times higher than a non-eclipse afternoon.

Barred owls vocalized four times as much as a non-eclipse afternoon just after totality ended, when light levels resembled the dawn or dusk periods when their activity normally increases.

Carolina wrens, also known for being particularly vocal including around dawn, were not affected at all by the eclipse.

"It actually makes sense that not all species reacted the same way. Birds differ in how sensitive they are to changes in light. It would have been more surprising if every species responded identically. Each species has its own activity patterns, energetic needs and sensory abilities, so they interpret environmental changes differently," Aguilar said.

"We looked for patterns among closely related species and also compared migratory versus resident birds, but we didn't find any consistent differences," Aguilar said. "That tells us there's still more to learn about what makes certain species more or less sensitive to sudden changes in light, which will be an important direction for future research."

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Cuddly Olympics Mascot Facing Life or Death Struggle in the Wild

The ermine and stoat mascots of the 2026 Olympic Games are everywhere, but their real-life counterparts risk dwindling in the wild. Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP
The ermine and stoat mascots of the 2026 Olympic Games are everywhere, but their real-life counterparts risk dwindling in the wild. Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP
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Cuddly Olympics Mascot Facing Life or Death Struggle in the Wild

The ermine and stoat mascots of the 2026 Olympic Games are everywhere, but their real-life counterparts risk dwindling in the wild. Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP
The ermine and stoat mascots of the 2026 Olympic Games are everywhere, but their real-life counterparts risk dwindling in the wild. Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP

Tina and Milo, the ermine and stoat mascots of the upcoming 2026 Olympic Games in Italy, are already everywhere -– smiling on stuffed animals, posters, mugs and T-shirts.

But it's another story for their real-life counterparts –- living out of sight and under pressure in the Alps as their snow cover slowly melts away due to climate change.

Ermines and stoats are the same animal -- mustela erminea -- but with the ermine sporting its white winter coat and the stoat its brown one for summer. And while they might be the face of the Olympics, they're disappearing in Italy's Alps, according to the country's only dedicated ermine researcher.

Since 2022, University of Turin doctoral student Marco Granata has been single-handedly monitoring the sinewy, hard-to-spot mammals who inhabit the same mountain peaks where the games will take place, high in the snowy Italian Alps where their winter coats camouflage them from predators.

"The ermine is like a wild ghost. It's a small, elusive animal," Granata told AFP.

"What makes it so interesting to me is the fact that it risks disappearing from entire mountains."

Easy targets

The small mammal's ability to molt -- its brown coat turning to white in November -- is what Granata calls a "super power" that's allowed it to survive for thousands of years.

But now it's a liability.

"The ermine faces a mismatch when it finds itself completely white in a world that should be white but is no longer so," Granata said.

Snow cover in the Italian Alps has decreased by half in the last 100 years, according to a study published in December 2024 in the International Journal of Climatology.

With their snow camouflage gone, the white ermines now stand out starkly against their mountain backdrop, becoming easy targets for predators such as hawks, owls or foxes.

Another problem awaits when the energetic carnivores climb to higher altitudes in search of snow -- a lack of prey.

While the ermines are compelled to ascend, the snow voles and mice they depend upon for food have no need to do so, as they don't change color.

Ski slopes also encroach on ermine habitat because of "competition for the areas where it snows the most," Granata said.

His research predicts ermine habitat in the Italian Alps will decrease by 40 percent by 2100, with ermines forced to climb by an average of 200 meters and the voles staying put.

There is little fuss made in Italy over ermines, which were once heavily hunted for their white pelts to adorn royal ceremonial robes. Scientists have paid them scant attention in recent decades, given the difficulty of gathering data on the fast-moving creatures.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world's largest environmental network, last classified the ermine in 2015 as of "least concern" on a list of potentially threatened species.

But that influential list is out of date, argues Granata, who hopes his research will lead to their protection.

"The fact that a doctoral student is the expert on a species shows how little attention has actually been paid to this species," he said.

'Invisible world'

Every fall, Granata hikes Italy's Maritime Alps placing special camera traps -- plastic boxes with a motion-triggered camera inside -- that help him analyse the animal's seasonal patterns.

"You have to think like an ermine," he said, placing the box in areas where the curious mammal might go to find food.

When the snow melts, Granata collects the data from inside the boxes and watches a season's worth of videos and photos.

"It's like unwrapping a gift because you don't know what's inside... you actually see this invisible world," he said.

In one August video, an energetic stoat twists, sniffs and darts around in constant motion as he explores the box.

In October, after learning of the Games' choice of mascot, Granata launched an appeal to the Milano Cortina organizers, asking their sustainability team to help fund university research.

This week they sent a letter declining, which Granata considers a "huge missed opportunity".

The ermine, he said, isn't "just a cute little animal that roams our mountains, but a wild animal at risk of extinction".

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Turaif Hosts Falcon Festival with Over 700 Participants

The event features over 700 participants, including professional, elite, and international falcon owners, as well as local amateurs - SPA
The event features over 700 participants, including professional, elite, and international falcon owners, as well as local amateurs - SPA
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Turaif Hosts Falcon Festival with Over 700 Participants

The event features over 700 participants, including professional, elite, and international falcon owners, as well as local amateurs - SPA
The event features over 700 participants, including professional, elite, and international falcon owners, as well as local amateurs - SPA

The tenth edition of Northern Borders Falcon Festival commenced today in Turaif Governorate, in collaboration with the Saudi Falcons Club.

The event features over 700 participants, including professional, elite, and international falcon owners, as well as local amateurs.

The competition consists of 18 rounds, with total financial prizes exceeding SAR1 million, according to SPA.

The five-day festival includes various activities, including entertainment, cultural, and educational programs. It also features sections for families involved in the cottage industry, poetry evenings, and musical performances, with participation from several government agencies.

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Ghana Moves to Rewrite Mining Laws for Bigger Share of Gold Revenues

As the price of gold soars, Accra plans to revise its mining code to increase state revenue from the sector. Chris Stein / AFP/File
As the price of gold soars, Accra plans to revise its mining code to increase state revenue from the sector. Chris Stein / AFP/File
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Ghana Moves to Rewrite Mining Laws for Bigger Share of Gold Revenues

As the price of gold soars, Accra plans to revise its mining code to increase state revenue from the sector. Chris Stein / AFP/File
As the price of gold soars, Accra plans to revise its mining code to increase state revenue from the sector. Chris Stein / AFP/File

Ghana is preparing to overhaul its mining laws to increase its share of the revenues generated by the surge in the precious metal's price, sparking concern among foreign mining companies in Africa's top gold producer.

By revising its mining code, which currently offers foreign mining firms favorable tax and royalty terms, leaving the state with a limited stake, Ghana is following in the footsteps of other African countries, reported AFP.

They are looking to tighten control over natural resources as global demand for gold and critical minerals such as cobalt soars.

Among those that have recently introduced new mining laws are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Tanzania.

Gold prices have skyrocketed recently, jumping more than 65 percent in 2025, climbing to fresh records above $5,100 on Monday.

"What we have since 2014 is a policy that has not been reviewed," Isaac Andrews Tandoh, acting chief executive officer of the Minerals Commission, told AFP.

"We had to do something to bridge this gap."

In Ghana, the world's sixth-largest gold producer, gold production is largely dominated by foreign companies such as the US's Newmont, South Africa's Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti and Australia's Perseus Mining.

Under proposed reforms expected to be presented to parliament by March, mining royalties would jump from the current three to five percent range to between nine and 12 percent, depending on global gold prices, Tandoh said.

Ghana's mining agreements typically freeze fiscal terms for between five and 15 years in exchange for investments that can exceed $500 million to build or expand mines.

But regulators say some companies renege on their commitments.

"We have seen companies with development agreements that refuse to develop the mine and instead use revenues from Ghana to acquire assets elsewhere," Tandoh said.

The reforms would scrap development agreements entirely and review stability clauses that shield investors from future policy changes, a move authorities say reflects Ghana's growing experience in managing the sector.

'Double-edged knife'

As African governments increasingly seek a bigger share of mining revenues amid a surge in commodity prices, officials acknowledge the challenge of balancing investor confidence with national benefit.

Mining policy strategist Ing. Wisdom Gomashie said Ghana currently captures only about 10 percent of total mineral value through royalties, dividends and taxes.

"The thinking of government is right," Gomashie said. "But the approach should not be draconian."

He warned that stability agreements, while open to reform, are crucial for protecting long-term investments and securing external financing, particularly in countries perceived as politically risky.

"Scrapping them outright, while simultaneously increasing royalties, could become a double-edged knife," Gomashie said.

Industry groups have also voiced concern.

Ghana Chamber of Mines CEO Kenneth Ashigbey said miners were not opposed to the state seeking higher returns but warned that the current proposals risk undermining competitiveness.

"What we are advocating for is a sweet spot, one where government secures sustainable revenues while the industry can expand, reinvest and take advantage of high gold prices," Ashigbey told AFP.

Large-scale mining firms in Ghana already face a high tax burden, including a five percent royalty on gross revenue and a 35 percent corporate income tax, the chamber said.

Alongside fiscal reforms, Ghana has tightened gold trading rules, particularly in the small-scale sector, to curb smuggling and improve transparency.

Ghana's Gold Board spokesman, Prince Minkah said new licensing and tracking systems have helped formalize the trade and boost foreign exchange earnings.

"We now have the data to track when, where and how traders operate," Minkah told AFP.

Ghana recorded about $10.5 billion in gold export earnings last year.

The country's proposed mining reforms come as the country faces rising fiscal pressure.

It ended 2025 as Africa's fourth-largest IMF debtor, with $4.1 billion outstanding, and recently received a further $365 million under a bailout program.

Public debt stood at 684.6 billion cedis ($55.1 billion) in September, intensifying the push for domestic revenue and economic stabilization.