Researchers have spotted a group of 53 cells within pigeons' brains that respond to the direction and strength of the Earth's magnetic field.

The question of how birds navigate using - among other signals - magnetic fields is the subject of much debate.

These new "GPS neurons" seem to show how magnetic information is represented in birds' brains. However, the study reported by Science leaves open the question of how they actually sense the magnetic field.

David Dickman of the Baylor College of Medicine in the US set up an experiment in which pigeons were held in place, while the magnetic field around them was varied in its strength and direction.

Prof Dickman and his colleague Le-Qing Wu believed that the 53 neurons were candidates for sensors, so they measured the electrical signals from each one as the field was changed.

In life, this could help the bird determine not only its heading just as a compass does, but would also reveal its approximate position. Each cell also showed a sensitivity to field strength, with the maximum sensitivity corresponding to the strength of the Earth's natural field. And just like a compass, the neurons had opposite responses to different field "polarity" - the magnetic north and south of a field, which surprised the researchers most of all.

"People had reported in the past, in a 1972 paper in Science, establishing that birds do not seem to respond to the polarity of the magnetic field, yet here we have neurons that are in fact doing that," Prof Dickman told BBC News.

"That's one of the beautiful aspects of what we've identified, because it shows how single brain cells can record multiple properties or complex qualities in a simple way."

Magnetic field lines indicate not only which way is north, but also give a general idea of latitude.

Every neuron had its own characteristic response to the magnetic field, with each giving a sort of 3-D compass reading along the familiar north-south directions as well as pointing directly upward or downward.

Several hypotheses hold that birds' magnetic navigation arises in cells that contain tiny chunks of metal in their noses or beaks, or possibly in an inner ear organ.

However, the most widely held among them was thrown into question recently when researchers found that purported compass cells in pigeon beaks were in fact a type of white blood cell.

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One of the five British Cuckoos fitted with satellite tags by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) almost a year ago has disappeared.

The BTO say they received their last transmission from the bird, which the researchers named Clement, on 25 February this year. His last known location was Cameroon.

The team say that Clement had begun his journey back to the UK after making it safely to his winter home in sub-Saharan Africa.

The BTO said: "Other tagged cuckoos have gone missing only to reappear at a later date, [but] analysis of the data by BTO scientists show that he is almost certainly dead."

Between 1995 and 2010 the population of cuckoos spending summer in the UK fell by almost half. The team embarked on their satellite tracking project in an attempt to find out more about the birds' migration routes and to shed light on the possible causes of this decline.

The BTO said that Clement made "ornothilogical history"; he was the first British Cuckoo found to take a western migration route - crossing from Europe to Africa via Spain rather than Italy.

From North Africa he made his way to Senegal, before joining the other four tagged Cuckoos in the Congo rainforest. Until then, the wintering sites of British Cuckoos had been something of a mystery.

Andy Clements, director of the BTO, and Clement's namesake, said Clement's demise was "sad news", but that thanks to the tagged birds, the organisation had "gathered extraordinary data about Cuckoo migration".

"Let's hope his colleagues all make it back to the UK safely," he added.

According to a 2010 survey by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), of the 10 UK birds that have declined the most since 1995, eight are summer migrants, including the cuckoo, turtle dove, yellow wagtail and nightingale.

Grahame Madge, an RSPB spokesman, told BBC Nature: "There is an urgency with cuckoos because they are dwindling so fast.

"All individual birds die at some time, but the important thing here is that scientists are working towards the survival of a rapidly-declining species."

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The government has selected England's first 12 Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs), where wildlife and ecosystems will be protected and enhanced.

Heath in the Midlands, salt marshes along the Thames and peat beds in Cheshire are among the areas that will share £7.5m of government funding.

Seventy-six groups including community organisations, conservation charities and landowners bid for selection. The NIAs stem from a 2010 review urging a joined-up approach to conservation.

Making Space for Nature recommended that existing protected areas needed to be expanded, that new areas should be established, and that sites needed to be linked together.

The 12 sites were selected by a panel led by Sir John Lawton, who was also lead scientist on Making Space for Nature.

"For more than 40 years I have had the privilege of working on nature-conservation issues in the UK, both as a professional scientist, and in the voluntary sector," he said. "Never in all that time have I seen the sort of creativity, partnership working and sheer enthusiasm that the NIA competition has released in consortia that want to deliver more effective conservation for England's wonderful wildlife in their area.

"Choosing 12 winners from 76 bids was an awfully difficult task, but I believe we have 12 outstanding NIAs, each unique in what it is setting out to achieve, for the benefits of people and wildlife."

Some of the projects are directly aimed at enhancing specific wildlife, such as a mainly farmer-led project in the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire that aims to boost farmland birds through restoring habitat.

Another in the South Downs hopes to bring back the Duke of Burgundy butterfly, while in Devon, the River Torridge will be managed so it can support critically endangered freshwater pearl mussels.

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One of the world's tiniest lizards has been discovered by keen-eyed researchers in Madagascar.

The miniature chameleon, Brookesia micra, reaches a maximum length of just 29mm. German scientists also found a further three new species in the north of the island. The lizards were limited to very small ranges and scientists are concerned they could be at risk from habitat disturbance.

The discovery is reported in the journal PLoS ONE. The research team, led by Dr Frank Glaw from the Zoologische Staatssammlung in Munich, have a specialist knowledge of Madagascar's dwarf chameleons having described other species in the past.

They conducted fieldwork at night during the wet season in order to find the easily overlooked animals.

"They mostly live in the leaf litter in the day... But at night they climb up and then you can spot them," said Dr Glaw, explaining that the animals moved up into branches to sleep. The scientists carefully scanned the most likely habitats with torches and headlamps to find roosting sites

They found the smallest species on a remote limestone islet and believe it may represent an extreme case of island dwarfism.

This phenomenon occurs when a species becomes smaller over evolutionary time in order to adapt to a restricted habitat such as an island.

According to Dr Glaw there could have been a "two-island effect" in the case of B. micra. "It is possible that the big island of Madagascar has produced the general group of dwarf chameleons and the very small island has produced the tiny species," he told BBC Nature.

Because the chameleons looked similar in appearance, researchers conducted a genetic analysis to confirm that they were indeed four distinct species.

The genetic differences between the species were described as "remarkable" by team member Miguel Vences from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany.

"This indicates that they separated from each other millions of years ago - even earlier than many other chameleon species," he said.

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An all white blackbird has been living in a Nottinghamshire park for the last 4 years. The bird is leucistic, which is a genetic mutation that prevents pigments from being deposited normally in its feathers.

It has been residing for the last four years in the woodland of Rufford Abbey Country Park. Each year, observers say, it has steadily shed its black feathers for white feathers.

Leucism is often confused with the rarer condition albinism, a genetic condition that prevents the production of melanin in the body; in leucism, these colouring chemicals are present in the body, but are not deposited in feathers.

Leucistic birds are often very vulnerable to predators, because of their bright white plumage. So the park's managers are urging birdwatchers to keep an eye out for this unusual blackbird.

Site manager John Clegg said: "This bird has been steadily turning whiter over the years and last summer it was completely white.

"It has become quite a character at the park in recent years. It tends to appear in the warmer months and we have not seen it for a few months but hope it will return here soon."

Most leucistic birds have some spots or patches of colouration in their feathers from other pigments, so this is a particularly unusual specimen.

Some colours in birds' plumage come from other pigments such as carotenoids, so birds can be albinistic and still have some colour. Leucistic birds may be completely white and still have melanin in their bodies; as for this blackbird, such animals will have dark eyes and white feathers. Albino birds and animals also have pink eyes, as the only colour in the eyes comes from the blood vessels behind the eyes.

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Rare black-throated robins have been recorded in the Qinling mountains, north central China, by scientists. The 14 new sightings double the total number for the species since its first discovery 125 years ago.

A team of Chinese and Swedish researchers located two breeding areas after hearing the males' distinctive calls. The national nature reserves where the birds were found are also home to rare giant pandas and snub-nosed monkeys.

Also known as the blackthroat and black-throated blue robin, the species (Luscinia obscura) was first discovered in 1886.

The birds resemble a European robin in size and shape but the males sport a jet-black throat and chest rather than the familiar red. To date, very little is known about the species and there have never been any definitive sightings of females.

"The species is extremely secretive and difficult to see in the dense bamboo where it lives," explained Prof Per Alstrom, of the Swedish Species Information Centre, a part of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala.

Prof Alstrom and colleagues were able to identify the birds' breeding grounds after hearing their distinctive song. "It's likely that there are approximately as many females in the wild as there are males, but males are more easy to find [because] they sing," he said.

The team recorded seven males each in Foping and Changqing National Nature Reserves.

"In view of the [number of birds] birds we found, this species is apparently not as rare as was previously thought, although it seems to be very local," Prof Alstrom told BBC Nature.

"We spent three and a half weeks exploring different parts of the Qinling mountains, but we found this bird only in two places."

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Two giant pandas have been flown from China to Scotland. How do you go about transporting rare creatures such a distance?

Edinburgh Zoo's newest residents, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, settled into their new home this weekend - the first giant pandas to live in the UK for 17 years.

The arrival follows years of diplomacy and consultation with conservationists. But first came the not inconsiderable task of moving the creatures 5,000 miles (8,050km) from the Ya'an reserve in Chengdu, China.

Dave Lange, managing director of aircraft charters for FedEx Express, which transported the pandas, said the nine-hour flight required 21 months of co-ordination with three teams of specialists in three countries.

As with any operation to move rare animals, he said logistics was everything. "It takes a great deal of planning," he said.

Previously, his team has transported polar bears, white tigers, elephants, a rhinoceros, lions, gorillas and a 13ft (4m) tiger shark.

According to Mr Lange, plotting the mission began as far back as in March 2010. The plan involved three crews - one in China, one in Edinburgh and one in the US.

The 777 aircraft which carried the pandas was prepared and loaded with containers full of bamboo and drinking water in the US city of Memphis. It then flew to Chengdu via Anchorage, Alaska.

The enclosures in which the bears were carried were flown out from Memphis to China in advance of the trip and the animals were gradually introduced to them in the lead-up to their departure.

"You want to get the animals used to the enclosures prior to travel," said Mr Lange. "These were specially constructed to specifications set by the zoo and panda sanctuary.

"They're steel and Plexiglas, with shutters that can be held off or on if the panda wants to see or wants privacy. They are very spacious for the animals."

Once inside their enclosure, the pandas were driven by lorry to Chengdu airport where they were inspected by wildlife authorities. Detailed export documentation had to be prepared long in advance.

The enclosures were lifted onto the 777 using a standard cargo-loader. On-board, in addition to the flight crew, there was a load master - who had responsibility for ensuring the animals were safe and secure - two attendants and a veterinarian to monitor the animals during the flight.

Mr Lange said the pilot was asked to do his best to avoid turbulence. Television presenter Chris Packham said the take-off, flight and landing should not have been particularly onerous for the pandas.

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No wild black rhinos remain in West Africa, according to the latest global assessment of threatened species.

The Red List, drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has declared the subspecies extinct.

A subspecies of white rhino in central Africa is also listed as possibly extinct, the organisation says.

The annual update of the Red List now records more threatened species than ever before.

The IUCN reports that despite conservation efforts, 25% of the world's mammals are at risk of extinction. As part of its latest work it has reassessed several rhinoceros groups.

As well as declaring the western black rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes) extinct, it records the northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), a subspecies in central Africa, as being on the brink of extinction.

The last Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) outside Java is also believed to have disappeared.

Overall numbers of black and white rhinos have been rising, but some subspecies have been particularly vulnerable to poaching by criminal gangs who want to trade the animals' valuable horns.

Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, told BBC News: "They had the misfortune of occurring in places where we simply weren't able to get the necessary security in place.

"You've got to imagine an animal walking around with a gold horn; that's what you're looking at, that's the value and that's why you need incredibly high security."

Another focus for this year's list is Madagascar and its reptiles. The report found that 40% of terrestrial reptiles are threatened. But it also says that new areas have been designated for conservation.

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We thought this article would make a good Halloween post!

Traces of bone-eating "zombie worms" have been found in a three-million-year-old fossil from Italy, say researchers.

Osedax worms feed on whale skeletons on the seabed using root-like tissues to bore into and dissolve the bones.

Scientists from the Natural History Museum in London identified telltale borings in the fossil using a scanner.

The discovery suggests the worms were much more widespread throughout prehistoric oceans than thought.

The findings of lead scientist Nicholas Higgs and colleagues are published in the journal Historical Biology. The only other evidence of Osedax worms in the fossil record was found off the coast of Washington state, US, last year.

Mr Higgs was investigating Osedax worms for his PhD studies and made contact with staff at the University of Florence's Museum of Natural History in Italy.

Staff had previously discovered a whale fossil surrounded by other fossilised organisms that suggested an ecosystem had developed around the carcass.

These 'whale falls' provide ideal conditions for bone-eating worms so Mr Higgs travelled to Italy to investigate the fossils.

"We didn't find any [traces] on that whale skeleton in particular... but I spent a week there searching through all their collections and I eventually found this bone in a dusty box," Mr Higgs told BBC Nature.

"This bone had been collected in 1875 so it had been in the collection for ages just gathering dust. It wasn't a very good whale specimen so it never really got put out on display," he said, explaining that pristine examples are more often sought for identification.

But the damage to the bone was familiar to Mr Higgs and back in London his suspicions were confirmed using the Natural History Museum's micro-CT scanner to investigate the fossil in detail.

"Fossils of worms are really rare. We don't know a lot about their fossil record because they're soft animals," he said.

"But, because these particular worms leave characteristic borings, we can trace them."

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