A recent study of energy consumption and emissions in the United States between 1970 and 1999 found New Yorkers were the most efficient energy users, followed by Hawaiians and Californians. At the bottom of the list were Louisianans, North Dakotans and Alaskans, respectively. Back to the beginning. A recent study suggests that zebra finches, at least, dream of singing. The colorful songbirds, native to Australian grasslands, breed easily in captivity, making them popular both as pets and as lab subjects.
Males sing to attract mates, and learn their songs by imitating other zebra finches.
The zebra finch appears to store the neuronal firing pattern of song production during the day and reads it out at night, rehearsing the song and, perhaps, improvising variations. Beyond providing a possible glimpse of the bird s dreamland, the study may help us to understand the value of sleep in human learning. Back to the beginning. The IUCN Red List does not correspond directly with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service s threatened and endangered species list. Back to the beginning.