Birds

A common swift in flight.

Swifts Spend Nearly a Year on the Wing

The tiny birds spend about ten months of the year in the air almost without a break

Rendering of Vegavis iaai in flight

Antarctic Fossil Suggests Ancient Birds Honked Not Sang

Recent analysis of two fossils provides the first evidence of ancient noisemakers

The National Zoo's resident cassowary in 2010.

Behind the Scenes at the National Zoo With the World’s Most Dangerous Bird

The zoo's cassowary “still has that mysterious aura about her—that prehistoric, dinosaur-walking-through-the-rainforest-quality."

A Hungry Snake Finds a Whole Colony of Sociable Weavers

Nesting in close proximity to each other has a lot of advantages for sociable weavers

How far would you go to spot a bird?

Extreme Birdwatching Is a Thing, and This Could Be Its Greatest Year Ever

Thank El Niño for a Big Year that's bashing previous records

Do outdoor cats need to die?

The Moral Cost of Cats

A bird-loving scientist calls for an end to outdoor cats "once and for all"

Some hybrid thrushes varied their routes, suggesting that different genes may influence fall and spring migration.

Migratory Birds May Come Programmed With a Genetic Google Maps

These hybrid avians inherit some mixed directional messages

After just moments in the air, flight 1549 collided with a flock of geese.

Smithsonian Expert Fills in the Missing Science Behind the Movie “Sully”

Forensic ornithologist Carla Dove shares her story of analyzing the bird remains or “snarge” scraped from the engines of flight 1549

Dennis Wiist inspects an eagle's foot at the National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, Colorado.

Inside a Remarkable Repository that Supplies Eagle Parts to Native Americans and Science

The repository, which has long provided feathers to tribes for traditional uses, also helps bird conservation researchers

Rare Dodo Composite Skeleton Goes On Sale

A British auction house is selling one of only a dozen known dodo skeletons, put together by a collector from the bones of several birds

A male zebra finch.

Birds Sing to Their Eggs, and This Song Might Help Their Babies Survive Climate Change

Embryonic learning—things birds pick up from their parents while still in the egg—may play a bigger role than imagined.

Ostrich Feather Hat, 1910-1912

100 Years Later, the First International Treaty to Protect Birds Has Grown Wings

The U.S. and Canada celebrate the centennial of an agreement recognizing that birds see no borders

When It Comes to West Nile Virus, Atlanta's Cardinals May Be Our Feathered Saviors

New research suggests the bright red birds are viral “super-suppressors”

California condors rebounded after almost going extinct—but that doesn't mean the precious, weird birds are in the clear.

Humans Still Threaten Endangered Condors

Thanks to industrial byproducts and pesticides, birds face more contamination than their cousins inland

Rats' days are numbered in New Zealand.

For Kiwis' Sake New Zealand Declares War on Rats

The country unveils an ambitious plan to protect its national bird

Yao honey-hunter Orlando Yassene holds a wild greater honeyguide male in the Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique.

Forget Bees: This Bird Has the Sweetest Deal With Honey-Seeking Humans

The effectiveness of the honeyguide call sheds light on why this golden relationship has stuck around so long

Ducks: We rule the world.

Defying Stereotypes, Ducklings Are as Clever as They Are Cute

Newborn ducks understand abstract concepts such as sameness and difference with no training whatsoever

Signing of the Highway Beautification Bill

Lady Bird Johnson Wielded Power With a Delicate Touch

The First Lady was a trailblazer who flew under the radar as a quiet champion of Civil Rights and protecting the environment

Photographer Neil Ever Osborne photographed king penguins in the Falkland Islands at the height of breeding season.

Shooting Penguins in the Falkland Islands to Save Them

Photographer Neil Ever Osborne hopes that his work helps save the species

99-million-year-old flight feathers.

99-Million-Year-Old Bird Wings Found Encased in Amber

The rare fossils from the age of the dinosaurs look a lot like modern-day bird wings

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