Birds
Paleontologists Unveil the 11th Archaeopteryx
Just in time for the 150th anniversary year of Archaeopteryx, paleontologists announce an 11th specimen of the dinosaur-like bird
October 19, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
The Invasive Species We Can Blame On Shakespeare
There are 200 million European starlings in North America, and they are a menace
October 04, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
A Buddhist Monk Saves One of the World's Rarest Birds
High in the Himalayas, the Tibetan bunting is getting help from a very special friend
October 2011 |
By Phil McKenna
14 Fun Facts About Chickens
#5: With 25 billion chickens in the world, there are more of them than any other bird species
August 31, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
An Ode to Archaeopteryx
The many fuzzy and feathery dinosaurs that have been discovered reveal one of the most magnificent evolutionary transformations in the history of life
August 26, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
The Great Penguin Rescue
After an oil spill, should people put in the time and effort to clean up wildlife, or would it be better to just let the animals die?
August 23, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Hawks in Your Backyard
Biologists scale city trees to bag a surprisingly urban species, the Cooper's Hawk
August 23, 2011 |
By Eric Wagner
Same-Sex Finch Couples Form Strong Bonds
The ties between same-sex couples can be just as strong as those in heterosexual birds
August 18, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Macho Birds Age Faster
Male houbara bustards pay a steep price for wooing the ladies
August 12, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Wild Things: Tarantulas, Jellyfish and More...
Hummingbirds, attacking bears, ancient hominids and other news updates in wildlife research
August 2011 |
By T.A. Frail, Megan Gambino, Laura Helmuth, Erin Wayman and Sarah Zielinski
What Preys on Humans?
Most of us never come in contact with a deadly predator, but there are still enough encounters to remind us that humans are not always the top of the food web
July 22, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Where the Pacific’s Predators Go
Scientists have found that predator species trade off between prey availability and water temperature in their travels
July 21, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
How the Great White Egret Spurred Bird Conservation
I was certain that the bird's plumage had to have been faked, but all the photographer did was darken the background. Those feathers were real
July 15, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Jack Horner Explains How to Build a Dinosaur
By fiddling with the genetic toggles of birds, scientists might be able to reverse-engineer a dinosaurian creature
June 13, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
The Goose That Flies Over the Himalayas
The bar-headed goose spends its winters at sea level in India and its summers in central Asia
June 01, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
North America’s Most Endangered Animals
Snails, marmots, condors and coral reef are among the many species on the continent that are close to extinction
May 19, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino, Erin Wayman and Sarah Zielinski
What Price Do We Put on an Endangered Bird?
Last year during the Gulf oil spill, as I watched reports about dead birds and talked with scientists about what might happen to the local ecosystems, I wondered how we might punish the perpetrators of such an ecological crime. BP will eventually pay some fine, based partially on the number of wild...
April 26, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Birds Inherited Strong Sense of Smell From Dinosaurs
Feathers, air sacs, nesting behavior—the earliest birds owed a lot to their dinosaurian ancestors. The first birds also inherited a strong sense of smell.Modern birds have not been thought of as excellent scent-detectors, save for some super-smellers such as turkey vultures, which detect the scent ...
April 14, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Attack of the Giant Pythons
The Smithsonian's noted bird sleuth, Carla Dove, eyes smelly globs to identify victims in Florida
April 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
The DMZ's Thriving Resident: The Crane
Rare cranes have flourished in the world's unlikeliest sanctuary, the heavily mined demilitarized zone between North and South Korea
April 2011 |
By Eric Wagner
