Sensing distant tornadoes, birds flew the coop. What tipped them off?

When birds unexpectedly flee their nesting grounds, it may be a demonstration of Mother Nature’s early-warning system that a massive storm is approaching. While tracking a population of golden-winged warblers, a research team led by UC Berkeley ecologist Henry Streby discovered that birds in the mountains of eastern Tennessee fled their breeding grounds one to two days ahead of the arrival of powerful supercell storms. The storm system swept through the central...

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