Migration

These Birds Take Turns So No One Gets Too Tired Flying in Formation

“Reciprocal altruism” in a migrating flock of birds means that the more exhausting lead position is deliberately and equally shared

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

Geese lift off a lake in front of a sun pillar at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge near Mound City, Missouri.

The Best Places in America to See Fall Bird Migrations

All across the country, birds are making the trek south for the winter—here are some of the best places to witness their journey

An Australian banded stilt in Victoria.

These Extreme Desert Nomads Set Records for Migrating Birds

Australian banded stilts use mysterious cues to know when to head toward ephemeral lakes in the country’s otherwise dry interior

Monarch butterflies catching the sun on an oyamel tree in a Mexican overwintering site.

Five Surprises That Emerged From Monarch Butterfly Genomes

Sequencing 101 butterfly genomes has revealed a few of the monarch's secrets, including some keys to its epic annual migration

Children accompanying the funeral procession of teenage migrant Gilberto Francisco Ramos Juarez make their way to the cemetery, north of Guatemala City.

Nearly 6,000 Migrants Have Died Along the Mexico-U.S. Border Since 2000

More than 40,000 migrants have died around the world

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The Salmon Cannon Is One Way of Helping Fish Get Over a Dam

Making salmon and other fish momentarily airborne is an efficient way of allowing them to clear obstacles, some innovators think

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Watch How the Cultural Hubs of Civilization Have Shifted Over Centuries

A study follows the births and deaths of notable people

Zebras Make the Longest Migratory Journey of Any of Africa’s Land Animals

Zebras travel twice as far as North America's migratory champion, the mule deer

Diver Susan Bird works at the bottom of Hoyo Negro, a large dome-shaped underwater cave on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. She carefully brushes the human skull found at the site while her team members take detailed photographs.

DNA From 12,000-Year-Old Skeleton Helps Answer the Question: Who Were the First Americans?

In 2007, cave divers discovered remains that form the oldest, most complete and genetically intact human skeleton in the New World

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

Russia and Alaska's current coastlines (the dashed black lines), compared to ancient Beringia (shown in green), the land bridge that brought humans to North America.

Ancient Migration Patterns to North America Are Hidden in Languages Spoken Today

Languages spoken in North America and Siberia are distantly related. What does that tell us about the first Americans?

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

Off the coast of Cape Town, Robben Island is home to African penguins, whose future is by no means assured.

Make Way for the African Penguins

Few places let you get as close to the raffish birds—many of which are endangered—as South Africa’s Robben Island

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

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

The Makgadikgadi Pans National Park is part of a rare African open wild land. The environment is so harsh that zebras have to cover a lot of ground to survive.

Nothing Can Stop the Zebra

A 150-mile fence in the Kalahari Desert appeared to threaten Africa's zebras, but now researchers can breathe a sigh of relief

On Eastern Egg Rock, off Maine's coast, researchers label favored hangouts to help track the birds and monitor their behavior.

A Puffin Comeback

Atlantic puffins had nearly vanished from the Maine coast until a young biologist defied conventional wisdom to lure them home

"The numbers are incredible," says photographer Suzi Eszterhas of the multitudes of migrating wildebeests that cross from Tanzania to Kenya and back each year.

For Wildebeests, Danger Ahead

Africa's wildebeest migration pits a million thundering animals against a gantlet of perils, even—some experts fear—climate change

Researchers search for Asian longhorned beetles among Worcester's hardwoods.

Invasion of the Longhorn Beetles

In Worcester, Massachusetts, authorities are battling an invasive insect that is poised to devastate the forests of New England

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