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Birds

A great blue heron seen wading in front of an oil refinery. Burning and producing fossil fuels are major sources of air pollution. A new study estimates that over the last four decades environmental regulations aimed at improving air quality have saved the lives of some 1.5 billion birds across the United States.

New Research

Study Estimates Clean Air Act Has Saved 1.5 Billion Birds

Over the last 40 years, bird populations across the U.S. did the best in places with the most stringent air pollution regulations

This year's top ten titles explore the cosmos, fear and cleanliness alongside narratives about owls, fish and eels.

The Ten Best Science Books of 2020

New titles explore the mysterious lives of eels, the science of fear and our connections to the stars

Regular dust bathing keeps the wild turkey's iridescent feathers in top condition.

View Amazing Photos and Video of a Turkey Dust Bathing

A New York photographer captured stunning footage of this captivating behavior in her backyard

A couple hiking in the Alsace region of northeastern France spotted the tiny aluminum message capsule in a grassy field in September. The note, written in German in cursive script by a Prussian military officer, was probably attached to a carrier pigeon but never reached its destination.

Cool Finds

A Carrier Pigeon’s Military Message Was Delivered a Century Too Late

A couple in Alsace, France, stumbled onto a capsule containing a cryptic note dated to either 1910 or 1916

The Smithsonian’s Division of Birds provided about 40% of the tissue samples for the new bird genomes in a landmark study.

Smithsonian Voices

Landmark Study Relies on Bird DNA Collected Over Three Decades at the Smithsonian

A new study in Nature published the genomes—the complete DNA sequences—of 363 species of birds, opening the door for hundreds of new studies

The area is home to about 500 residential eagles that attract visitors year-round, most especially in the fall when migrating birds up the count to historic highs of 3,000.

Behold the Largest Congregation of Bald Eagles in the United States

Every November, hundreds if not thousands of the birds of prey gather in Haines, Alaska, to feast on salmon

A pelagornithid, likely the largest flying bird that ever lived, soared over the open ocean.

Scientists Reveal What May Be the Largest Flying Bird Ever

Researchers from California and China identified the 50-million-year-old bone of a giant bird that lived in Antarctica

Bar-tailed godwits spend their summers in the Arctic, where they breed and build up their energy reserves before flying south for the winter.

Bird Flies 7,500 Miles, a New Record for Longest Nonstop Bird Migration

After summering in the Arctic, a bar-tailed godwit soared across the Pacific Ocean like a “jet fighter” to winter in New Zealand

An aerial view of the northwestern corner of St. Matthew Island. The small grouping of uninhabited islands is over 300 kilometers across the Bering Sea from the mainland, making it the most remote location in Alaska.

The Alaskan Island That Humans Can’t Conquer

Faraway St. Matthew Island has had its share of visitors, but none can remain for long on its shores

A fossilized feather first unearthed in 1861 in Germany. New research suggests the feather came from the bird-like dinosaur Archaeopteryx.

New Research

New Study Reignites Debate Over Which Species Shed the First Fossil Feather Ever Found

Initially discovered in the 1800s, researchers argue that the 150-million-year-old plume came from the fluttering dinosaur Archaeopteryx

The results of a new study suggest crows are aware of their own sensory perceptions, a hallmark of what's called primary or sensory consciousness.

New Research

Do Crows Possess a Form of Consciousness?

New study suggests the corvids may join humans and some primates as one of the rare animals capable of having subjective experiences

Photographer Jak Wonderly’s photo, titled “Caught by Cats,” visualizes the deadly effect cats can wreak on their natural surroundings.

Portrait Displays Hundreds of Animals Killed by House Cats

Jak Wonderly’s ‘Caught by Cats’ aims to increase awareness of domestic cats’ deadly effects on wildlife.

No longer masked by city noise, San Francisco sparrows are singing a new tune

The Pandemic Shutdown in San Francisco Had Sparrows Singing Sexier Tunes

Birds adapted to singing above the urban noise chirped lower, softer melodies

NMSU professor Martha Desmond, biologist in the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology is trying to find out why hundreds of thousands of migratory birds have been found dead across the state.

Thousands of Migrating Birds Drop Dead Across Southwestern U.S.

Researchers aren’t sure what’s causing the mass die-off impacting birds flying south for the winter

An acorn woodpecker wearing one of the radio tags used in the study.

New Research

These Woodpeckers’ Bloody Wars Draw Crowds

Acorn woodpeckers will fight to the death to control the finest habitat and new research finds up to 30 non-combatants will pull up a branch to watch

A great spotted woodpecker eats a hazelnut. Bird beaks may have allowed the animals to eat seeds and nuts after an asteroid hit the earth, wiping out many forms of life.

Why Birds Survived, and Dinosaurs Went Extinct, After an Asteroid Hit Earth

Paleontologists think that beaks may have given birds an advantage over other creatures

Bronze-tailed Comet (Polyonymus caroli) perched on a cactus in Peru.

New Research

Hummingbirds in the Andes Go to Chilly Extremes for a Good Night’s Sleep

The longer a bird spent in a state of torpor, the less body mass it lost overnight

Knowing that the birds do some extracurricular exploration when they reach their breeding grounds means scientists may need to expand the range of future studies.

High-Tech Tracking Reveals ‘Whole New Secret World of Birds’

A study of Kirtland’s warblers found that some continue exploring long distances even after they reach their breeding grounds

Researchers found that painting one blade black was enough to encourage the birds to alter their flight path.

New Research

Painting Wind Turbine Blades Black Help Birds Avoid Deadly Collisions

A recent study found the simple intervention reduced bird mortality by 72 percent

Researchers collecting tears from Broad-snouted caiman.

New Research

Microscopically, Crocodile Tears Look Sort of Like Our Own

Humans are the only species known to cry in response to emotional turmoil, but a new study finds reptile and avian tears aren’t so different

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