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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
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
Two bluebirds perch next to each other, one holding a bug and the other a bunch of grassy material in their beaks.
Spring Into Action
March 26, 2024 — Migration reminds us of what we鈥檙e all collectively working to build: a world where birds thrive.
Why Is it So Hard to Keep Cats Indoors?
March 26, 2024 — When a neighbor鈥檚 pet entered her life, our writer devised a plan: Put a GPS tracker on it and delve into why we let our beloved felines wander outside despite the risks they pose to birds and themselves.
A fluffy orange cat stands in a long, elaborate wood and mesh enclosure outside.
DIY: Treat Your Cat to the Perks of the Outdoors鈥擬inus the Pitfalls鈥擶ith a Catio
March 26, 2024 — Build an enclosed oases that allows your feline to enjoy time outside without posing a danger to wildlife or encountering hazards himself.
A person holds a tall plastic pole beside a lake with mountains in the background.
Saline Lakes Are Dying鈥擲cientists Hope This Unusual Shorebird Can Help Save Them
March 26, 2024 — An international team of researchers is conducting fieldwork from Canada to Argentina to help tell the story of the Wilson鈥檚 Phalarope, a species in peril whose essential habitats across the hemisphere are at risk from overuse and drought.
A bird flies between skyscrapers, the fading moon overhead.
The Surprisingly Long History of the Movement to Make Buildings Safer for Birds
March 26, 2024 — Documenting the birds injured and killed by flying into buildings is difficult, emotionally draining work. One New York City 探花精选 volunteer looks to the past to find hope for the future.
A massive beaver lodge at the edge of a foggy pond.
Life Support
March 26, 2024 — We鈥檝e constructed a world that caters to humans. There鈥檚 still time to learn how to share it.
A black and white cat sits in a clear box sticking out of a window in a brick building.
Ready-made Catios Ensure the Purr-fect Fit for Any Owner
March 26, 2024 — The wide range of structures available for purchase means everyone can find one that鈥檚 the cat鈥檚 meow.
A black and white print of a Hooded Merganser illustration next to awls on a printed table cloth.
A Printmaker Dives Into the Aquatic Domain of a Regal Duck
March 25, 2024 — Artist Meg T. Justice provides a fresh perspective on the habitat that sustains the Hooded Merganser.
The sun is just above the horizon, and it casts light across a field with purple blooms in the foreground
7 Destinations For Viewing Spectacular Wildflower Blooms
March 25, 2024 — Catch the bonanza of color unfurling in mountain meadows, lush forests, and desert dunes across the United States鈥攁nd see some birds, too.
A floating grid abuts a building atop a vast plane of water. Fish are grown inside nets being held aloft in this grid.
Conservationists Urge Caution as the Federal Government Promotes Fish Farming
March 22, 2024 — Aquaculture comes in many forms and can be done sustainably, but a push for more offshore operations raises concerns, environmentalists say.

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
Black Francolin
Pheasants and Grouse
Short-tailed Hawk
Hawks and Eagles
Emperor Goose
Ducks and Geese
White-cheeked Pintail
Ducks and Geese