Natural Sciences

An illustration of the fossil skeleton of the new bird species Imparavis attenboroughi and a reconstruction of what the animal would have looked like in flight.

'Strange' New Prehistoric Bird Discovered in China and Named for David Attenborough

The proto-bird lived some 120 million years ago and did not have teeth—a trait more similar to birds of today than to birds of its time—sharpening scientists' understanding of avian evolution

Delias sambawana, a butterfly that hails from Indonesia, at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Where Did Butterflies Come From? This Scientist Is On the Case

Akito Kawahara has spent his life devoted to lepidoptera. Now he’s correcting the record on where they first evolved

An etching of Darwin's study, commissioned a week after he died.

See What Charles Darwin Kept in His 'Insanely Eclectic' Personal Library, Revealed for the First Time

On the English naturalist's 215th birthday, more than 9,000 titles from his expansive collection are now accessible online

Researchers excavated Bellaghy Bog after a civilian reported seeing bones sticking out of the peat in October.

Police Find Ancient Teenager’s Body, Preserved in Irish Bog for 2,500 Years

Nicknamed the "Bellaghy Boy," he was likely between 13 and 17 when he died around 500 B.C.E.

A fragment of early human bone uncovered in the excavation in Ranis, Germany

Humans and Neanderthals Lived Side by Side in Northern Europe 45,000 Years Ago, Study Finds

Archaeologists identified bone fragments of prehistoric modern humans in Germany, suggesting several millennia of coexistence with Neanderthals before the species disappeared

A California grizzly bear specimen at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The brown bear subspecies went extinct around 1924.

California Grizzlies Weren't as Big—or Bloodthirsty—as People Once Thought

The now-extinct bears were mostly vegetarians and measured about the same size as today's North American grizzlies

An aerial image of the banyan tree taken on August 10, 2023

Will Maui's Beloved 150-Year-Old Banyan Tree Survive the Scorching Wildfires?

Amidst the devastation of Lahaina, a coastal town in Maui, the tree is burned but still standing

A female American kestrel, the smallest falcon in North America, catches a bug in her beak. Among other traits, female kestrels can be identified by black bars on the tail; males have red tail feathers with black tips.

See Stunning Images of Female Birds, Often Overlooked by Wildlife Photographers

The sex frequently neglected by birders and scientists takes the spotlight in the Audubon Photography Awards’ Female Bird Prize

A researcher holds two White's seahorses before releasing them into Sydney Harbor.

Scientists Release Record-Breaking Number of Baby Seahorses Into Sydney Harbor

The team installed eight new “seahorse hotels,” which will provide much-needed homes for the endangered animals

An animated rendering of one of Leonardo's designs for a flying machine

Explore Animated Models, Digitized Sketches and More in Leonardo da Vinci's Largest-Ever Online Retrospective

The new Google Arts & Culture hub features high-resolution scans, 3D renderings and artificial intelligence experiments

Saurona triangula, one of the newly described butterfly species named for the evil Lord Sauron in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy

Butterfly Group With Fiery 'Eyes' Is Named After 'Lord of the Rings' Villain Sauron

Beyond their eye-like wing pattern, the two new species don't seem to show any signs of evil that would link them to Mordor

The new Richard Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History opens in New York City on May 4.

New York's Natural History Museum Unveils a Canyon-Like New Wing

With butterflies, bugs and an atrium that looks like it's carved into rock, the Gilder Center will open its doors to the public on May 4

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Our Sustainable Future

The latest on how climate change affects life on Earth today and on what solutions scientists, including those at the Smithsonian, are innovating

The National Audubon Society was founded in 1905 and named after naturalist John James Audubon, who died in 1851.

National Audubon Society Votes to Keep the Name of an Enslaver

The move has been criticized by some local chapters that have severed ties with naturalist and slaveholder John James Audubon

A just-hatched chick stands next to its egg.

Why Newborn Chicks Love Objects That Defy Gravity

A clever new study shows the cute critters will often scuttle toward a video of a rising ball

Giant lacewings date back to the Jurassic Era and hadn't been seen in eastern North America for more than 50 years, until this discovery.

Rare Jurassic-Era Insect Discovered at Arkansas Walmart

The species had not been recorded in eastern North America for more than 50 years—and never documented in the state

Sharpshooters use an appendage called an anal stylus to catapult droplets of pee.

These Tiny Bugs Urinate by Flinging Droplets of Pee

Sharpshooters are the first example of “superpropulsion” in a living organism, according to new research

At the Natural History Museum, "Cellphone: Unseen Connections" opens June 23; at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, "Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols" goes on view May 13; and "Ay-Ō's Happy Rainbow Hell" is part of the National Museum of Asian Art's centennial exhibitions, opening March 25.

Twenty-Three Smithsonian Shows to See in 2023

A rare Bible, George Clinton's colorful wig, Disney World history and Japanese ghosts debut this year

A high-ranking adult male chimpanzee rests in the dry and open woodland vegetation that dominates the Issa Valley savanna-mosaic habitat.

Human Ancestors May Have Evolved to Walk Upright in Trees

Research on wild chimpanzees suggests searching for food in tree branches drove bipedalism

Darwin's signature on the note

Charles Darwin's Rare Autographed Manuscript Could Sell for $800,000

The English naturalist was responding to a magazine editor who had asked for a handwriting sample

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