Birds
Communication Towers Are Death Traps for Threatened Bird Species
Nearly 7 million North American birds - including 13 threatened species - lose their lives through tower collisions each year
January 14, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Beautiful Artwork Cut Out of Feathers
A clever artist uses a scalpel and tweezers to cut beautiful bird silhouettes out of feathers
January 10, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
Bringing Extinct Birds Back to Life, One Cartoon at a Time
In his new book, Extinct Boids, artist Ralph Steadman introduces readers to a flock of birds that no longer live in the wild
January 02, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
The Ten Best Ocean Stories of 2012
From deep-sea squid habits to vanishing coral reefs, here are the ocean stories we couldn’t stop talking about this year.
December 18, 2012 |
By Hannah Waters
Feathers Fuel Dinosaur Flight Debate
Was the early bird Archaeopteryx more of a glider than a flier?
November 28, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
What Kind of Dinosaur is Coming to Dinner?
Everyone knows that birds are dinosaurs, but what kind of dinosaur is your holiday turkey?
November 22, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
14 Fun Facts About Turkeys
Number 8: A turkey's gender can be determined from its droppings
November 15, 2012 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Hummingbirds Are Popping Up in the Strangest Places
Two master bird banders are at the forefront of finding out why the rufous hummingbird’s migration has changed
November 08, 2012 |
By Eric Wagner
Alan Dudley’s Wondrous Array of Animal Skulls
A new book delivers fascinating photographs of over 300 skulls from the British taxidermist's personal collection—the largest in the world
October 31, 2012 |
By Megan Gambino
Scientific Illustrations: Your Go-To Guides for Halloween Costumes
The details are what separate a good outfit from an amazing one. The images in the Biodiversity Heritage Library can help you make the leap
October 26, 2012 |
By Megan Gambino
Feathery Ostrich Mimics Enfluffle the Dinosaur Family Tree
A trio of feathered dinosaurs tests a longstanding hypothesis and hint that there may be more feathered dinosaur fossils than anyone ever expected
October 25, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
The Bat-Winged Dinosaur That Never Was
Just when naturalists began to suspect that birds might be dinosaurs, one researcher put forward a truly strange idea of what early bird ancestors would have looked like
October 11, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
High Levels of Plastic and Debris Found in Waters off of Antarctica
In the world's most remote ocean waters, researchers discovered unexpectedly high levels of plastic pollution
October 03, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
What is North America’s Most Mysterious Bird?
Nesting behind waterfalls and in caves, the rarely seen black swift is only beginning to shed its secrets
October 2012 |
By Michelle Nijhuis
Science Images that Border on Art
This year's Wellcome Image Award winners pull at your "art" strings. The curious seek out the science behind them
September 26, 2012 |
By Megan Gambino
The World’s 5 Most Mysterious Bird Species
Stunning plumage, strange eating habits and extreme rareness characterize these enigmatic birds
September 18, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
The Past Keeps Getting Cooler
As cartoonist Randall Munroe points out, feathers make dinosaurs cooler than ever
September 06, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Who Doesn’t Love Fuzzy Dinosaurs?
Feathered dinosaurs are awesome. Why do so many people hate them?
August 28, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
An Oil Dispersant Made From Ingredients in Peanut Butter, Ice Cream and Chocolate?
New research is yielding oil dispersants that are non-toxic and prevent oil from sticking to birds and wildlife
August 20, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
African Grey Parrots Have the Reasoning Skills of 3-year-olds
A new experiment showed that the birds are capable of abstract logical reasoning, a trait previously shown only by primates
August 08, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
