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Birds

The NaturePatternMatch software identifies visual features on eggs.

New Research

Software Used for Facial Recognition Teases Out Secret Messages Hidden on Bird Eggs

Some bird eggs have visual signatures that help them distinguish they own clutch from impostor cuckoo eggs

Cool Finds

In Maya Lin’s New Exhibition, a Singing Ring Contains the Sounds of Endangered Worlds

The Sound Ring represents places as diverse as California forests and the Indian Ocean

Kiwis: Also a type of bird.

Trending Today

The Very Large, Very Extinct Elephant Bird Is the Closest Cousin to the Wee, Flightless Kiwi

Proof that you should never judge a bird by its feathers

A red-winged blackbird, the males of which (pictured) feature bright red spots. Females, on the other hand, are a mottled brown.

New Research

Drab Female Birds Were Once As Flashy As Their Male Mates

Biologists always assumed that sexual selection primarily drove differences in looks between male and female birds, but a new study challenges that notion

New Research

One More Way Cities Might Mess With Birds—By Throwing Radio Waves at Them

Radio waves disrupt birds’ migratory patterns, but birds may have a natural work-around

Dinosaurs came in all shapes and sizes, but only the small, feathered variety survived.

New Research

Ancient Birds Avoided Mass Extinction By Shrinking

The shrinkage process was well underway before an asteroid brought doom to the dinosaurs 66 million years ago

This is the face of deception.

New Research

This Bird Tricks Other Animals Into Handing Over Their Meals

The African drongo mimics warning calls of other animals to scare them away from food, but mixes true warnings with lies to keep those animals guessing

Artist Todd McGrain's sculptures of five extinct North American birds are now on display in Smithsonian gardens.

Art Meets Science

Bronze Sculptures of Five Extinct Birds Land in Smithsonian Gardens

Artist Todd McGrain memorializes species long-vanished, due to human impact on their habitats, in his “Lost Bird Project”

New Research

Why Dark-Colored Pigeons Are More Common in Cities

Melanin seems to help the birds get rid of potentially toxic compounds from the environment

The suspect cockatoo is on the left, perched just above the Virgin's head.

Cool Finds

Why Is There a Cockatoo in This Italian Renaissance Painting?

The bird’s presence in the painting lends insight into trade between Europe and Australia in the 15th century

500,000 Cranes Are Headed for Nebraska in One of Earth’s Greatest Migrations

At the end of March, 80 percent of the world’s cranes will converge upon one 80-mile stretch of land

Beautiful and Eerie Photographs of Starlings in Flight

Photographer Richard Barnes captures the mesmerizing geometric patterns created by flocks of European starlings

A kiwi emerges.

Cool Finds

Watch a Kiwi Chick Hatching

A kiwi’s egg weighs about 15 percent of the female’s body weight

New Research

Attach a Tail to a Chicken and Watch a Mini Dinosaur Strutting Around

Sticking a fake dinosaur tail onto a living chicken helps researchers approximate how those animals once walked and moved

Typical entombment poses of some of the Jehol Biota’s animals (a Psittacosaurus (a) and primitive crow-like birds (b and c))—the same poses displayed by other victims of erupting volcanoes throughout history.

New Research

The “Pompeii of Animals” Shows Dinosaurs, Mammals and Early Birds in Their Death Throes

A lethal volcanic explosion is identified as the culprit behind a mysterious mass death of creatures that took place around 125 million years ago

An osprey, commonly called a sea hawk.

Super Bowl

14 Fun Facts About Sea Hawks

Number one: There’s no such thing as a “seahawk”

Pigeon paté most likely resembles the common chicken-based version

Cool Finds

Amsterdam Is Feasting on Pigeon Paté

Street birds, not farm-raised squab, are rumored to be the meat of this tasty spread

The Deadly and Devious Golden Eagle

Rare photos of a golden eagle attack illustrate the predator’s legendary hunting techniques

Northern bald ibises in a classic flying "V" formation.

Scientists Solve Mystery of Birds’ Flying V

Migrating birds flap in and out of rhythm depending on where they are in formation

A new species of tapir, a herbivorous mammal, was discovered in the Amazon earlier this month.

A Recap of Our Five Favorite New Species of 2013

An owl, a cat, a dolphin, and of course the olinguito, are among this year’s biggest new species finds

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