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
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 woman in winter gear walks through deep snow down a hill surrounded by evergreen trees, a vast snowy mountainous landscape in the background.
As Stands of Whitebark Pine Disappear, Could the Clark's Nutcracker Soon Follow?
November 18, 2023 — A intrepid researcher faces steep odds as she attempts to study nutcrackers in the Cascade Mountains. But the birds鈥攁nd the singular trees they help sustain鈥攁re too important for her not to persist.
The Bone-Eating Bearded Vulture Is Reclaiming Europe鈥檚 Skies
November 17, 2023 — Once widely persecuted, the majestic scavenger is making a remarkable rebound in Europe, but new threats could undermine a full recovery.
The Power, Limits, and Evolving Uses of the Endangered Species Act
November 17, 2023 — Close to 1,700 animals and plants have been listed under the policy, each with its own rich, complex history. These nine case studies represent benchmark moments in the act's history.
Illustration of a prairie chicken walking on a farm with cows, a tractor, and an oil well in the background.
How to Fortify the Endangered Species Act for the Next 50 Years
November 17, 2023 — In the years ahead, flora, fauna, and the ecosystems they depend on will face many hazards, both old and new. These actions could strengthen the act鈥檚 ability to meet evolving challenges.
A Force of Conservation, the Endangered Species Act Faces a Fraught Future
November 17, 2023 — Fifty years after its passage, the powerful policy has proven effective at preventing wildlife from going extinct. Only with innovation and advocacy can it continue to do so for decades to come.
A nuthatch standing on wood covered in suet dough holds a chunk in its beak.
This Addictive Homemade Suet Will Keep Your Birds Returning for More
November 17, 2023 — Give feathered visitors a dietary boost with Zick Dough, an energy-rich delicacy made by nature writer Julie Zickefoose.
A group of people sitting on lawn chairs and blankets in the grass, all looking in the same direction with binoculars and cameras.
A New Book From the Feminist Bird Club Offers a Fresh Framework for Birders
November 17, 2023 — Not your typical birding guide, the book explores how we can promote the well-being of birds alongside the people that care for them.
A whimsical, surreal oil painting of a towhee perched on a branch in a snowy, mountainous landscape with a bright blue sky filled with swirling clouds.
A Surreal Spin on An Abundant Sparrow
November 16, 2023 — In "Spotted Towhee" artist Phyllis Shafer depicts a widespread bird of the West in a rapidly changing landscape.
An Evening Grosbeak with a GPS tag on its back, held in someone's hand with a snowy forest behind it.
A Beloved Winter Finch Is In Decline鈥攁nd Scientists Want to Know Why
November 15, 2023 — Feeder visits from Evening Grosbeaks are rarer than in the past, and a new initiative is trying to understand the root causes.
A group of male and female Wild Turkeys foraging close together.
Native Americans Domesticated Turkeys Long Before the Pilgrims Arrived
November 15, 2023 — Indigenous societies in the Americas valued the birds so highly that they tamed them at least twice, including in the U.S. Southwest. Turkey feathers still have abundant uses to tribes there today.

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
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Kinglets
Black Storm-Petrel
Northern Storm-Petrels
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Tyrant Flycatchers
Red-billed Tropicbird
Tropicbirds