The research team at New Mexico Tech has constructed and tested pheasant, mallard duck and pigeon drones and robots. The lead researcher wants them for wildlife monitoring but uses could vary.

Zombie birds are no longer part of post-apocalyptic fiction; they may soon be among us. But in their newfound life, the birds aren’t looking for brains. They’re being used to further wildlife research.

Researchers at the New Mexico Tech Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro have spent the past two years developing drones and robots from the bodies of dead birds. Still in testing, the animatronic birds may be used to study avian formations, coloration and communication, in addition to other natural ecosystems.

These bird-like drones could solve some issues that wildlife researchers have experienced with traditional drones, said Mostafa Hassanalian, lead researcher and mechanical engineering professor at New Mexico Tech.

“Sometimes, you get a bird strike. The birds attack your drone. Your drone gets damaged and at the same time, the birds get hurt or they might be killed,” Hassanalian said. “Drones carry lots of noise. For example, if you are monitoring a herd of elephants in Africa for wildlife monitoring, they carry lots of noise and the animals would be scared and scatter.”

By creating “nature-inspired robotic systems,” Hassanalian hopes researchers can find more success in studying wildlife.

Here’s what you need to know, including whether the bird drones could be used outside of the animal kingdom.

Different birds for different purposes

Hassanalian and his students have worked with the bodies of three different types of birds throughout their research.

The first is a pheasant. Using a real taxidermy pheasant head and pheasant wings, the research team tested the creation of a drone with flapping wings. The purpose was to create a drone that could more naturally blend in with other pheasants for wildlife monitoring.

The team studied the wings of pheasants, flapping patterns, thrust and lift forces, among other characteristics to create a realistic drone.

The research team has also worked with dead mallard ducks to create two different types of robots − a swimming robot and a flying drone. The latter was designed and tested similarly to the pheasant, while the former required some new research and testing.

Rather than focusing on recreating flapping wings, the focus of the swimming duck robot was recreating feet that accurately replicated a duck’s that can glide through the water and dive down. Similar to airborne birds, the swimming duck robot could be used to monitor aquatic wildlife.

The latest of the research team’s work centers around stationary pigeons.

“They have a camera in the neck and this can basically do real-time video or broadcasting,” Hassanalian told USA TODAY. “Say you go in a national park and you want to study the wildlife and you want to have a stationary platform − there are some drones probably being used for that … You can put one of (these) there (in a tree) with the camera. It’s not distracting to the other birds that are around and then you can basically record the wildlife.”

Ultimately, Hassanalian said he would like to create a bird robot that can fly, swim and perch.

How do other birds react to the drones, robots?

While the research team has conducted meticulous research in order to accurately recreate different birds, in actuality, they don’t yet know how other birds would react to them. So far, the research team has only tested the drones and robots in controlled environments on New Mexico Tech’s campus, Hassanalian said.

“We know there’s a challenge that they might be attacked by other birds, but I mean, that’s a part of nature,” Hassanalian said with a laugh.

Hassanalian said his research team is looking at obtaining permission to fly the drones among real birds in non-simulated environments.

Where do the dead birds come from?

All of the birds that Hassanalian and his team use are naturally dead.

“They have all been ‘taxidermied’ by certified taxidermists. We purchase them and try to play with them,” he said. “We’re not asking a taxidermist to kill a bird and then do the taxidermy and give it to us.”

Surveillance potential

Hassanalian and his research team are only interested in studying the use of their bird-like drones to aid wildlife observation right now, but he recognizes that the technology could be used for surveillance, too.

“For future direction … types of taxidermy bird drones can be integrated for protecting the border,” Hassanalian said. “That’s another potential application. We have not been looking at that, but I’m just talking about the potential application.”

Throughout work on this project, Hassanalian has been made aware of concerns related to security and how the bird-like drones could be used for spying.

Several bird-centric conspiracy theories, like Birds Aren’t Real, have grown in popularity over the years, but Hassanalian said his research isn’t associated with any of them. Gaining traction around the COVID-19 pandemic, Birds Aren’t Real claimed that all real-life birds were replaced with “surveillance drones” in the 20th century. Despite its large following, Birds Aren’t Real was not a real conspiracy, but rather an online joke.

“I wasn’t aware of that conspiracy theory until I did this project,” Hassanalian said. “The possibility of any technology being repurposed in unintended ways is a valid concern. While our research aims to support scientific and environmental initiatives, we recognize that any technology could be misused if it falls into the wrong hands. This is why it is always crucial to have appropriate regulations, ethical guidelines and public dialogue around the development and use of drones.”

When it comes to the bird drones being used for spying, Hassanalian said it is not something he or his research team supports.

What’s next?

In addition to his work with bird drones, Hassanalian is researching the creation and implementation of dandelion-inspired drones to assist in seed dispersal.

“Bees, they are in edangered … they have a very important role in seed dispersals,” he said. “The dandelion drone we are developing, they also can be used for dispersing the seeds and bird drones can actually carry the dandelion drones in much more nature-friendly ways for seed dispersals.”

Though this implementation is still a ways out from being a reality, this research could have an impact on bee endangerment and pollination in the natural world.

Hassanalian said he also has an interest in creating and testing reptile and amphibian drones, such as lizards, frogs and snakes.

This story was updated to correct a spelling error.

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@gannett.com.

New Mexico saw a record number of people in this election using same day registration. That made for some logistical challenges. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver told New Mexico in Focus. Producer Jeff Proctor why she supports offering this option and why it’s increasingly popular.

MAGGIE TOULOUSE OLIVER: Actually, we’re still trying to process those numbers. We know that towards the end of the day on election day, over 8,000 on election day alone. It was so many that it literally crashed our system. We were able to get the system back up, but by that point, county clerks and their teams were already so overwhelmed that they were unable to keep up, which is totally understandable. So we started registering folks on paper, which is definitely part of the process. It’s provided for in law and rule. But our county clerks are still going through those and processing them and adding them. So if I had to guess, I think we’re going to have over 10,000 election same-day registrations alone.

NMPBS: Do we have a sense of affiliation split on the same day registrations?

TOULOSE OLIVER: Well, during early voting, Republicans were definitely taking advantage more than Democrats, and we saw that actually the first time we ever implemented same-day registration the first election in 2022 and a lot of that came from, you know, the Southeastern part of the state, where we have folks that are coming and living here. They’re working in the oil fields, right? And they’re working in potash and all these areas. And so we do have people who, you know, they’re not home in Texas or Oklahoma or Kansas, they’re here. They’re working, so this is where they’re voting. And, you know, I’ll be interested to see the geographics once we have a chance to analyze of where everybody came from this time.

NMPBS: Me too, just as a concept, Maggie, why do you think same-day registration is important for the larger mosaic of our elections?

TOULOUSE OLIVER: Well, you know, I’m just am, and always have been, a huge believer in having the biggest participation possible. Because when people of all backgrounds, you know, ages, colors, economic backgrounds, come together and have their voice made registered at the polls, we elect leaders that look and feel more like us as a people, right? It’s more representative, you know, 28 days before an election, which is the “registration deadline,” is really arbitrary, and people, especially younger people, are people who haven’t participated before. They don’t necessarily know that, right? And so we just really need to provide that opportunity for folks to make sure they can still participate, even if their daily lives and what they know about the voting process didn’t align with meeting a particular arbitrary deadline.

NMPBS: What is your motivation to continue doing this work, particularly in this political climate.

TOULOUSE OLIVER: Yeah, thank you, Jeff. It’s really hard. It has been hard always. I mean, this is incredibly stressful, incredibly time-consuming work. I found my calling when I became county clerk of Bernalillo County. I can’t think of anything more meaningful that I could be doing than making sure that the wheels of democracy continue to turn. I’m a huge believer. Yes, I’m a member of the Democratic Party, but I always like to say I’m a small d democrat too, because I’m just a big believer in our democracy. I will tell you when I had to make a decision about whether or not to run again for reelection in 2022 after everything that happened in 2020 and particularly, you know, threats to my life, my family, you know, having to relocate for weeks on end, uou know, working with the FBI, things like that, I really did have to dig deep to decide if that is what I wanted to continue to do. And I just decided that this isn’t the time. Our democracy is, you know, is at risk right now. It remains to be seen what the fallout of this particular election is, although I suspect it’s going to be extremely different from 2020, but it just felt like this was not the time to abandon this work. I’ve got two more years left in my term. I intend to see those all the way through and then figure out what’s next for me.

You can see the full interview online.

New Mexico State football is preparing for its toughest challenge this season.

The Aggies plays at another set of Aggies ― No. 14 Texas A&M ― at 5:45 p.m. Saturday. NM State earned a 31-10 win last season over Auburn in its latest SEC trip, but College Football Playoff-contending A&M presents a significantly tougher challenge.

Few coaches show fear though, and Aggies coach Tony Sanchez certainly isn’t one of them.

“They’re fighting to get into the playoffs. It’s a big deal for them,” Sanchez said on Monday. “We know it’s a challenge, but at the same time, we’re not afraid of the challenge. Our guys are ready to go. We’re ready to go scrap and we’ll see what happens on Saturday.”

Sanchez was complementary of A&M’s first-year coach Mike Elko, calling him a great hire and praising his decision to change from Conner Weigman to Marcel Reed at quarterback. He’s also doing everything he can to beat Elko’s team, from letting his players see Kyle Field on Friday for adjusting to the 102,733-capacity stadium, to emphasizing takeaways.

NM State (2-7, 1-5 Conference USA) believe the latter is something they can’t beat A&M (7-2, 5-1 SEC) without. NM State earned two takeaways in a 41-28 defeat to Western Kentucky last Saturday after going all of October without one, and hopes its defense plays “as one” in College Station.

“We just need to communicate better,” said senior safety Da’Marcus Crosby. We gotta be on the same page and trust one another. I feel like we are really starting to understand each other better and start to understand the scheme… we just got to start running our feet on tackles, on contact, punching at the ball, and being physical at the point of attack.”

Bet MGM has NM State as a 39.5-point underdog as of Monday afternoon, which would make a victory the third-largest point-spread upset in college football history. However, the Aggies are doing their best to make things business as usual.

“You don’t change your process based on your opponent,” Sanchez said. “It’s kind of your core, who you are. We had our regular practice last night, did our film session and got fired up… tomorrow’s practice will be no different than it was eight weeks ago.”

More: New Mexico State football is own worst enemy with 5 turnovers, fall to Western Kentucky

What’s the quarterback situation for NM State?

Junior Santino Marucci made his fourth start of the season against WKU, but split reps with senior Brandon Nunez in a two-quarterback system. Marucci threw for all of NM State’s 129 passing yards against the Hilltoppers, while Nunez was primarily used for running plays in a three-back formation and earned 34 rushing yards on eight carries.

Sanchez says he’ll continue splitting reps against Texas A&M, and likely for the rest of the season.

“They each bring something different to the table,” Sanchez said. “It’s a pain in the butt when you’re another team and you’re trying to prepare for both guys and two different types of offenses. It probably gives us the best chance to win. We’ll see how practice goes this week, but you’ll probably see both of those guys.”

Marucci is expected to earn his fifth start, which would become the most among Aggie quarterbacks in 2024. NM State is one of two FBS teams to have four quarterbacks throw five or more passes this season.

More: From Germany to New Mexico State: One athlete’s journey to find pro soccer career path

McGowan seeing continued growth

One of the Aggies’ best players this season has been Seth McGowan.

The running back has formed a dynamic duo with fellow junior Mike Washington, as NM State had two 100-yard rushers in a game for the first time since 2016. McGowan is currently the Aggies’ leading rusher at 636 yards in addition to four total touchdowns.

McGowan’s had to overcome off-field mistakes. Once at Oklahoma, he was dismissed after committing a drug-related crime with two other teammates and cycled through multiple junior colleges before earning a chance in Las Cruces. The Mesquite, Texas, native feels brand-new though, and believes he’s matured with the Aggies.

Even on a 2-7 team, he’s grateful to be playing FBS football again.

“Just reintroducing myself back to this game … and rolling with these guys, that’s what’s made it enjoyable,” McGowan said. “There’s so many things that I sacrificed to be here … I’m not a man that sees obstacles. I’m a man who sees opportunity.”