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
Hundreds of dead birds laid out in rows on a large metal table.
More Than 1,000 Birds Collided With a Single Chicago Building in One Night
October 06, 2023 — Weather conditions, a pulse of migrating warblers, and bright lights combined to create a wave of bird death across the city Thursday morning.
Six black and white ducks with pink beaks with wings spread out land in an agricultural field in Colombia.
We Go Where Birds Go
October 03, 2023 — Colombia is a major biodiversity hotspot in the Americas, and the successful work we do there can serve as a model for effective conservation across the Western Hemisphere.
Close up of a condor chick with wrinkly, bald, pink head and neck and a fluffy, gray, downy body, sitting in a wooden enclosure with a feather on the floor in the foreground.
Mixed Emotions
October 03, 2023 — Giving birds the best chance requires dedication鈥攁nd a dose of resilience.
A cracked white egg with a chick's beak breaking through the shell sits on a towel in a clear box against a dramatically lit black background.
As Avian Flu Ravaged Wild Condors, One Chick Became a Ray of Hope
October 03, 2023 — Helpless to stop the virus, biologists did everything in their power to protect the endangered species amid the deadly crisis鈥攊ncluding trials of an avian flu vaccine never before used on U.S. birds.
Illustration of a crowd of people in a park looking at and photographing an owl in a tree with the Manhattan skyline in the distance.
Social Dilemma: What鈥檚 at Stake When We Propel Wild Birds to Stardom?
October 03, 2023 — Manhattan Bird Alert, a New York-based social media account, has fueled the rise of celebrity birds while attracting droves of new birders. But like many a story of unchecked fame, the phenomenon is also a cautionary tale.
Illustration of an egret holding a postcard in its beak.
Send a Child鈥檚 Imagination Soaring With This Migration-Themed Activity
October 02, 2023 — Use the Bird Migration Explorer to learn about the journeys of different species鈥攖hen write a postcard from a place one has visited.
Lush greenery along two rivers in a desert landscape.
A Proposed Reset for Public Lands Could Be a Big Boost to Conservation
October 02, 2023 — The agency responsible for one-tenth of the country鈥檚 terrain aims to make healthy habitat a more prominent priority.
Fire takes over a grassy forest floor, leaving black ash and smoke in the already burned area.
Meet the Fire Starters Restoring One of North America鈥檚 Greatest Forests
October 02, 2023 — In the Southeast, the fates of longleaf pines and Red-cockaded Woodpeckers are inextricably tied. To save both, we must remember how to embrace fire.
A huge cactus towers above other cacti and plants in a landscape.
A Bold Bet to Ensure the Future of Desert Birds: Plant Thousands of Cacti
October 02, 2023 — Can saguaro cacti that take root today survive the next century of extreme wildfire and drought? Tucson 探花精选 aims to find out.
White storks sit on a large stick nest they've made on a utility pole next to an old-looking brick house.
How the War in Ukraine Takes a Devastating Toll on Nature
October 02, 2023 — As the collateral damage to the nation鈥檚 environment and wildlife mounts, conservationists, scientists, and birders do what they can to continue their work and help each other.

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
Dickcissel
Cardinals, Grosbeaks and Buntings
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Hummingbirds
Thick-billed Murre
Auks, Murres, Puffins
Spotted Owl
Owls