Wildlife

Half of All North American Shorebirds Use This Rest Stop

Bottoms is the nation's largest inland marsh, an area of over 60 square miles. It's also the favored resting spot of many species of migrating birds

Spectacular Footage of a Butterfly Leaving Its Cocoon

The transition from caterpillar to butterfly is a process that consists of four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult

Canada

The Town That Polar Bears Built

Get to know the four-legged residents of Churchill, Canada

The shipworm, scourge of sailors everywhere, is actually a kind of ghostly saltwater clam.

How a Ship-Sinking Clam Conquered the Ocean

The wood-boring shipworm has bedeviled humans for centuries. What's its secret?

What Really Killed Off the Woolly Mammoth?

What caused woolly mammoths to die-off so quickly? New evidence suggests an unfavorable climate may have drove them to extinction

With its peace accords up in the air, the Colombia's diverse ecosystems face an uncertain future. Shown here: the valley of Cocora near Salento, Colombia.

How Colombia's Failed Peace Treaty Could Wreak Havoc on Its Diversity-Rich Ecosystems

A potential influx of legal and illegal mining leaves the country's megadiverse landscapes—and the communities who depend on them—in jeopardy

Erich Fitzgerald and Tim Ziegler with a 3D model of Alfred's skull.

New Research

The Earliest Baleen Whales Literally Sucked

No offense to toothy whale ancestors

Caribbean spiny lobster on a sea fan off the coast of Honduras

Proposed New Marine Reserve System Offers Rosy Outlook for Both the Lobster and the Lobster Fisherman

With the help of a supercomputer, Smithsonian scientists figure out how to help the lobster fishery off the coast of Honduras

Watch This Mother Tick Lay 1,500 Eggs

The birthing process for a female tick is very involved. Once she's matured, she can take up to 20 days to lay her eggs

Polar Bear Mom Protects Her Cubs From a Hungry Male

As they embark on their long summer migration, a polar bear mother and her cubs need frequent breaks, putting the cubs at risk

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Where Did Harriet Tubman Escape to and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Getting to the Bottom of How Apes Think

Great apes show an ability to discern what others are thinking that we once only attributed to humans

Before the recent reintroductions of P-horses, the last confirmed sighting in the wild was in 1969.

The Remarkable Comeback of Przewalski's Horse

Once nearly extinct, the population of these wild horses has rebounded on the dusty steppes of Mongolia

Stunning Slo-Mo Footage of Hummingbirds Hovering in Air

The hovering technique of a hummingbird is one of the most mesmerizing sights to witness

Legacy is scheduled to be on display at the Ontario Science Centre beginning in 2017 before embarking on an international tour.

Art Meets Science

This Whale Sculpture Was Modeled After a Beached Orca

Canadian artist Ken Hall built <em>Legacy</em> based on 3D scans of the skeleton of Hope, an orca that died on the coast of Washington in 2002

Why Do Insects Hate the Smell of Peppermint?

The stick bug primarily depends on its camouflage to avoid predators. But when enemies get too close, this insect deploys peppermint as a last resort

Reptiles Can't Fly. But This One Glides Like a Pro

Draco, a type of lizard that lives in trees in Southeast Asia, has evolved flaps of skin on its flanks

A tickled rat.

New Research

What Tickling Giggly Rats Can Tell Us About the Brain

Their laughter manifests in a surprising region of the cerebral cortex

The Surprising Reason Birds First Grew Feathers

When birds first grew feathers 150 million years ago, their function was not necessarily to help with flight

Watch a Bombardier Beetle Mace a Praying Mantis

Praying mantises are adept at ambushing their prey with their specialized legs and swift reflexes

Page 52 of 131