Discover 探花精选 Magazine

Where the latest news about birds and conservation takes flight.
On Florida's Marco Island, families of Burrowing Owls live among the locals. Photo: Karine Aigner

探花精选 delivers essential news, advice, and reporting on birds and bird conservation.

Pairing compelling journalism with stunning photography and design, each quarterly issue helps readers grow their appreciation of birds and learn how to help them thrive. Our editorial team also reports and publishes stories on 探花精选.org daily, including science and conservation news, birding tips, photo galleries, and interactive reader experiences. In print and digital, through stories and visuals, 探花精选 emphasizes the importance of a diverse and inclusive science and conservation effort to help meet the challenges facing both birds and people today.

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Read the Entire Summer 2025 Issue
Two covers of 探花精选 magazine side by side. The left features a Brandt's Cormorant and the right shows a Ringed Kingfisher.
Read the Entire Summer 2025 Issue

Inside: Tracking tiny songbirds to new heights. The 2025 探花精选 Photography Awards鈥攏ow featuring winners from Chile and Colombia. Get to know the resilient, befuddling Wild Turkey. How do these three brothers keep winning the federal duck stamp contest? Chasing a Snow Geese explosion across the continent. Learn to love squirrels (while keeping them out of your feeders). Read these stories and more.

Highlighted Feature Stories
North Carolina's Cape Fear River Is a 鈥楩orever Chemical鈥 Hotspot鈥擶hat Does That Mean for Its Birds and People?
North Carolina's Cape Fear River Is a 鈥楩orever Chemical鈥 Hotspot鈥擶hat Does That Mean for Its Birds and People?

Amid mounting global health concerns about PFAS, communities living along the waterway must grapple with how contamination is affecting life on the river. Yet as hard as it is to conduct health studies on humans, it鈥檚 even harder with wild animals.

Latest News and Articles
The 2025 探花精选 Photography Awards: The Top 100
September 24, 2025 — Marvel at the beauty of birds and learn the stories behind our favorite images from this year鈥檚 contests鈥攆eaturing, for the first time, photographers from Chile and Colombia.
探花精选 Photography Awards
A flock of Black-necked Stilts fly closely to the water.
Meeting the Moment
September 22, 2025 — 探花精选 takes its cues from birds to address the climate and conservation challenges of today鈥攁nd tomorrow.
探花精选 View
Two magazine covers with different photos, one of a cormorant and one of a kingfisher.
Which Cover of Our Fall 2025 Issue of 探花精选 Magazine Did You Receive?
September 22, 2025 — Now in its 16th year, the 探花精选 Photography Awards doubles the awe.
Editor鈥檚 Note
A woman wears an ornate feather cape made with beads and turkey feathers.
Wild Turkeys Once Again Feature in Traditional Native Fashions
September 19, 2025 — Tribes across the continent have long valued the species鈥 feathers. Over the last few years, several artists have created modern works that showcase these cultural garments.
Arts & Culture
Grid of three photos showing physical features of Wild Turkeys.
Get to Know a Wild Turkey's Weird Anatomy
September 19, 2025 — Snoods, beards, and wattles鈥攐h my!
Bird Questions and Facts
A group of male turkeys, feathers puffed out, walk side by side in a suburban front yard.
How to Defeat a Bully鈥擨f That Bully Is a Wild Turkey
September 19, 2025 — Our step-by-step guide to fending off an aggressive gobbler about town.
About Birds
A mother Wild Turkey hen perches on a sturdy branch with her wings spread, protecting her small chicks.
The Wild Turkey Is a Comeback Bird We Can鈥檛 Take for Granted
September 19, 2025 — From bustling towns to rural woodlands, turkeys seem to be everywhere these days. But despite being an undeniable conservation success, questions still loom about the fate of this beloved yet confounding bird.
Feature Stories
A red helicopter hovers over a large flock of Snow Geese in a flat landscape.
Can Anything Stop the Explosion of Snow Geese in the Western Arctic?
September 19, 2025 — When a threatened species rebounds, it鈥檚 usually an unequivocal conservation success. When it comes to Snow Geese and their habitat-destroying ways, it鈥檚 complicated.
Feature Stories
A portrait of the author standing in a pine forest in Maine.
This Psychologist Wants to Hear About the Moment You Fell in Love with Birds
September 19, 2025 — By collecting 鈥渟park bird stories,鈥 Jenn Lodi-Smith aims to understand why people get hooked on birds鈥攁nd how to encourage those experiences.
Birding

Find a Read

探花精选 magazine publishes a variety of story types in print and online. Peruse鈥攁nd enjoy鈥攋ust a sampling of our work below. 

Investigations
A New Plastic Wave Is Coming to Our Shores
A New Plastic Wave Is Coming to Our Shores

A glut of natural gas has led to a U.S. production surge in tiny plastic pellets, called nurdles, that are washing up on coasts by the millions.

Profiles
The Remarkable Life of Roxie Laybourne
The Remarkable Life of Roxie Laybourne

From deep within the Smithsonian, the world鈥檚 first forensic ornithologist cracked cases, busted criminals, and changed the course of aviation鈥攎aking the skies safer for us all.

Essays
What a Songbird Lost at Sea Taught Me About Survival
What a Songbird Lost at Sea Taught Me About Survival

Aboard a mission to explore the alien life of the deep ocean, a chance encounter with a migratory bird offered a point of connection鈥攐ne that has felt poignant this past year. 聽

Remembering Toni Morrison, the Bird Whisperer
Remembering Toni Morrison, the Bird Whisperer

A year after Morrison鈥檚 passing, a journalist and birder reflects on how her time with the cherished author changed her relationship with birds鈥攁nd with herself.

The 探花精选 Guide to Climate Action
The 探花精选 Guide to Climate Action

Feeling like you can鈥檛 make a difference? That couldn鈥檛 be further from the truth. Our award-winning guide shows you where to begin and how to 颅amplify your efforts to make lasting change in the world.

Dispatches
An Anna's Hummingbird perches on a twig in the center of the frame against a blurred background of blue, yellow, and green.

The 2025 探花精选 Photo Awards: Top 100

Revel in the staggering beauty and surprising behaviors featured in this gallery of our favorite images.

Photo Essays
Birding Advice and News
Bird Books and Culture
The 探花精选 Bird Guide
Greater White-fronted Goose
Ducks and Geese
Bonaparte's Gull
Gulls and Terns
Colima Warbler
Wood Warblers
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Kinglets