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.

To receive our award-winning print publication, become a member of the National 探花精选 Society.  For our full editorial statement, masthead, pitch guidelines, and pay rates, please visit here

Read the Entire Summer 2025 Issue
A plover chick peeks out from under its parent's feathers on a rocky beach.
Read the Entire Summer 2025 Issue

Inside: Using hi-tech trackers to spy on Mallards. A decades-long campaign helps Piping Plovers reach new heights. How smart feeders connect us to local birdlife鈥攁nd each other. The Native-led raptor center protecting sacred species and traditions. In Alaska, a push for more industry threatens irreplaceable habitats. You, too, can have a hummer summer. 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
A drab white and brown bird stands on a branch giving side-eye.
Yes, You Can Identify Flycatchers. These New Field Guides Are Sure of It.
June 13, 2024 — The creators of a series of meticulous but approachable flycatcher guides advocate鈥攁nd teach鈥攁 鈥渉olistic鈥 approach to the seemingly impossible task of distinguishing these enigmatic avians.
A large, drab-colored hummingbird perches on the spike of a cactus.
Scientists Discover World's Largest Hummingbird Hiding in Plain Sight
June 07, 2024 — Groundbreaking research has resulted in a surprising split of the species known as the Giant Hummingbird, and one of the birds just happens to be slightly bigger than the other.
A Eurasian Eagle-Owl sits on a tree branch looking off to his right, with a squirrel on the branch behind him.
City Life is Hard for Raptors. Can Removing Rat Poison Make it Easier?
June 06, 2024 — Birds of prey have long been casualties in the war on rodents. In the wake of celebrity bird deaths like Flaco the Owl's, advocates are pushing for us to be better neighbors.
Portrait of Sarah T. Dubb looking out over wetlands at sunset.
Twice-Shy Lovebirds Open Their Hearts in This Steamy (and Birdy!) Romance Novel
June 04, 2024 — Sarah T. Dubb鈥檚 debut rom-com, 鈥淏irding With Benefits,鈥 celebrates love, new beginnings, and a really great checklist鈥攁ll under the Tucson sun.
A flock of Tricolored Blackbirds alight in a field of tall plants.
Tricolored Blackbirds Once Faced Extinction鈥擧ere's What's Behind Their Exciting Comeback
May 30, 2024 — For a decade 探花精选 California and partners have worked with farmers to delay harvests where the birds nest, solving what was once the biggest threat to the species.
A crow stands on an out-of-focus man-made surface with its beak open, presumably cawing.
Crows Can Count Aloud Much Like Toddlers, New Study Finds
May 28, 2024 — How smart are corvids? We can count the ways鈥攁nd so can they.
Black and white image of three distant Whooping Cranes in a field.
These Historic Photos Show the Groundbreaking Campaign to Save the Last Whooping Cranes
May 22, 2024 — Seventy years after 探花精选 ornithologist Robert Porter Allen鈥檚 efforts led to the discovery of the cranes鈥 mysterious nesting grounds, we unearthed images of his trailblazing conservation work.
Person with binoculars on ladder leading to rooftop with clouds in the background (left). Wooden chick shelter that reads "探花精选" in green paint (right).
Coastal Birds Are Ditching the Beach to Nest on Rooftops
May 22, 2024 — Each summer, conservationists around the country protect birds that nest atop buildings as development and sea-level rise erase natural beach habitat. But is this a long-term solution?
Collage of words and photos of wind turbines, corn kernels, a flock of birds, a moth, and a comic, cut out in shapes of birds.
5 Themes That Defined 探花精选's Conservation Coverage, Then and Now
May 22, 2024 — These topics have shaped our magazine鈥檚 reporting for decades鈥攁nd will remain prominent in our pages for years to come.
Brown goo coats several sticks with leaves and other debris trapped in it.
Poaching Birds Is Big Money for the Mafia in Cyprus鈥攂ut a Brave Few Are Fighting Back
May 22, 2024 — The beautiful, politically complicated Mediterranean island continues to play an outsize role in Europe鈥檚 songbird-poaching problem. Despite numerous dangers and even threats against their lives, a group of dedicated conservationists are trying to turn things around.

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

The 2024 探花精选 Photo Awards: Top 100

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

Hooded Merganser. Photo: Edwin Liu/探花精选 Photography Awards
Photo Essays
Birding Advice and News
Bird Books and Culture
A New Book Explores Our Disdain for Pests
A New Book Explores Our Disdain for Pests

Journalist Bethany Brookshire argues that the idea of a 鈥減est鈥 is more about humans鈥 view of unwanted animals than the critters themselves.

The 探花精选 Bird Guide
European Golden-Plover
Plovers
Red-necked Grebe
Grebes
Black-headed Grosbeak
Cardinals, Grosbeaks and Buntings
Orange-crowned Warbler
Wood Warblers