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Bird Science

Juvenile bird resting on egg
Silver Lining for Shorebirds: New Study Shows Arctic Nesting Species Are Cued into Climate Change
July 28, 2025 — Attentive long-distance migrants are following environmental cues better than expected, showing some shorebirds to be surprisingly adaptable.
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A collage of two taxidermied bird specimens, a cloacascope, a book, and two documents on a black background.
鈥楩eather Detective鈥 Roxie Laybourne鈥檚 Career in Six Objects
July 22, 2025 — From a gynandromorphic grosbeak to feathers collected at a murder investigation in Florida, biographer Chris Sweeney shares six unusual artifacts he found while researching his new book about the world鈥檚 first forensic ornithologist.
Books
A gull walking on pavement holding a piece of green baked good in its beak.
This Researcher Wants Your Photos of 鈥楪ulls Eating Stuff鈥
July 21, 2025 — A community science project examines how gull diets are shifting amid population declines.
A female mallard is harnessed with a tracking device.
To Solve the Mallard's Mysterious Decline, Researchers Turn to Hi-Tech Trackers
June 20, 2025 — Biologists are using the devices to better understand the bird's behavior and, ultimately, what might be driving our most common duck's population drop.
A male Anna's Hummingbird perches on a red hummingbird feeder.
This Hummingbird Rapidly Evolved a Longer Beak to Slurp More Nectar from Feeders, New Study Finds
May 29, 2025 — The 20th century expansion of nectar feeders drove Anna鈥檚 Hummingbirds to spread across California鈥攁nd transformed the birds along the way.
Shorebird feeding in mud
Let Them Eat Mud: How Biofilm Can Change Shorebird Conservation
May 05, 2025 — And how the biofilm 鈥渇ilm鈥 documents this scientific breakthrough for Western Sandpipers while highlighting a dangerous development project on a crucial stopover site.
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Clear liquid trickles out of a hummingbird hovering in midair.
Do Birds Pee? Hummingbirds Do鈥攁 Lot
April 23, 2025 — Unlike most other avians, hummers urinate in a stream much like mammals, releasing liquid waste often and out of necessity.
Bird Questions and Facts
Three bird-of-paradise specimens appearing to glow green under UV light on a black background.
Birds-of-Paradise Feathers Are More Than Flashy鈥擳hey Glow
March 07, 2025 — Researchers recently discovered that dozens of species in the flamboyant family are biofluorescent, emitting a gleaming light that could enhance their mating displays.
Milagra, Condor 1221, perches on a rocky cliffside overlooking a valley during sunset.
Witness the Inspiring Release of Milagra, the Condor Rescued as an Egg After Bird Flu Killed Her Mother
October 09, 2024 — Hatched and raised in captivity, the young bird has defied the odds, returning more than a year later to a wild flock still reeling from disease and lead poisoning.
Conservation News
Portrait of a mottled brown Rock Ptarmigan looking straight on at the camera.
It鈥檚 One of the Biggest Events in a Bird鈥檚 Life. Scientists Can鈥檛 Agree How to Talk About It.
September 12, 2024 — Every species replaces its feathers by molting, but a passionate debate among ornithologists about what to call the plumage swaps spans oceans and generations.