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Birds

Showy traits, like the large antlers of these bull moose, can be detrimental to an animal's health.

New Research

Go Big or Go Generic: How Sexual Selection Is Like Advertising

When it comes to attracting mates, it pays to either go all out—or not try at all

Stunning Slo-Mo Footage of Hummingbirds Hovering in Air

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

The puffin is one of the many species of birds that contribute to the massive amount of poop covering the arctic every year.

New Research

How Bird Poop Could Help Keep the Arctic Cool

Researchers have discovered that ammonia produced from tons of seabird guano helps form low lying clouds that can partially block sunlight

As a professional falconer, Rosen has trained all of her birds, which now number close to a dozen. Her brood includes Ziggy, a hybrid prairie-gyrfalcon.

Why Winemakers are Turning to Falconry to Tackle Pests

Napa Valley vintners are finding this tried-and-true deterrent more effective than modern technology

Blue petrel, one of the seabird species that mistakes the smell of algae on plastic as food

New Research

Why Seabirds Eat So Much Plastic

A new study suggests that algae growing on plastic in the oceans makes it smell like dinner

A purplish-mantled tanager, a species the study suggests should be listed at vulnerable

New Research

Is the Endangered Species List Missing Hundreds of Species of Birds?

A new study suggests the IUCN’s methods are underestimating the risks to many species, but the organization say the research is flawed

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

The Incredible Reptiles That Flew 200 Million Years Ago

A 200-million-year-old fossil reveals the amazing body structure of a reptilian creature known as the dimorphodon

Griffon Vultures Depend on the Sun to Fly. Why?

The Griffon vulture is one of the largest vulture species. Because of its giant stature, it uses an immense amount of energy to take off

A common swift in flight.

New Research

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

New Research

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?

Cool Finds

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

Cool Finds

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.

Age of Humans

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.

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