Land Birds

A male houbara bustard putting on an infinitely sexy "booming" display to impress the ladies.

Old Male Bustards Have Less Desirable Sperm

Male birds don’t just lose their female-wooing prowess as they age, but also their ability to sire healthy chicks

Scientists Finally Figure Out the “Big Bang” of Bird Evolution

The genomes of 45 birds contributed to the most in-depth bird evolutionary tree ever created

A rufous hummingbird.

One Hummingbird's Unusual Flight: From Minnesota to Texas, on a Plane

Rufous hummingbirds have no business being in St. Paul amid freezing temperatures

A male great bustard struttin' his stuff.

Male Great Bustards Eat Poison to Look Sexier for the Ladies

The toxic compound can kill mammals - including humans - but helps the birds rid themselves of pests

Prozac Doesn't Make Birds Happy

Birds on Prozac lose their appetite and libido

The NaturePatternMatch software identifies visual features on eggs.

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

Kiwis: Also a type of bird.

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

This is the face of deception.

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

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How Do Birds Find Their Way Home?

Birds must be geniuses because they use quantum mechanics to navigate

No one knows exactly where Vaux's (pronounced "vauks") swifts spend the winter, or the details of their migration route. But we do know the birds need chimneys.

The Disappearing Habitats of the Vaux’s Swifts

Chimneys may be obsolete in modern buildings, but they’re crucial habitat for the bird species on the West Coast

To prevent young birds from imprinting on humans, flock manager Jane Chandler dons a white gown and a mask. She uses a puppet to teach them survival skills.

A Call to Save the Whooping Crane

Smithsonian researchers join an international effort to bring the five-foot-tall bird back from the brink of extinction

Resembling a protective amulet, the Tibetan bunting charms Tashi Zangpo and the other monks he has trained.

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

Bob Rosenfield holds a pair of Cooper’s hawks in a city park in Victoria, Canada. The female, in the foreground, is a third again as large as her mate.

The Hawks in Your Backyard

Biologists scale city trees to bag a surprisingly urban species, the Cooper's Hawk

Female Chilean rose tarantula (Grammostola rosea), also known as the Chilean flame tarantula.

Wild Things: Tarantulas, Jellyfish and More...

Hummingbirds, attacking bears, ancient hominids and other news updates in wildlife research

Kemp's ridleys are the world's smallest sea turtles and are also the most endangered.

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

North and South Korea are collaborating to save one of the world's most endangered bird species, red-crowned cranes.

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

James T. Tanner's photographs of the ivory-billed woodpecker with guide J.J. Kuhn were believed to be the only pictures of a living nestling.

A Close Encounter With the Rarest Bird

Newfound negatives provide fresh views of the young ivory-billed woodpecker

Burrowing owls are the only North American bird of prey that nests exclusively underground.

The Little Owls That Live Underground

Burrowing owls can thrive amid agricultural development and urbanization—so why are they imperiled?

Peregrine falcons are the fastest animal on earth. They have been clocked at over 200 miles per hour as they descend upon their target.

The World’s Fastest Animal Takes New York

The peregrine falcon, whose salvation began 40 years ago, commands the skies above the Empire State Building

In the Ecuador wilderness (guides Nelson, at the helm, and Paa), Charles Bergman sought the roots of the illegal animal trade (a blue-headed parrot chick).

Wildlife Trafficking

A reporter follows the lucrative, illicit and heartrending trade in stolen wild animals deep into Ecuador's rain forest

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