Bird migration is one of the most amazing phenomena in the natural world. Many birds travel from the Northern to the Southern Hemisphere and back every year, following food resources and friendly climates. But how do seasonal migrants — and other birds such as seabirds undertaking lengthy oceanic foraging trips — find their way? Young … Read More>>

Bluebirds are among the most-beloved songbirds in North America, and it's easy to see why. These musical birds brim with so much color and charm that they've come to embody happiness and hope for many. To celebrate these charismatic birds, we've compiled 25 fantastic pictures of bluebirds, which we've broken down by species below. Before … Read More>>

If you've ever gotten a glimpse inside the beak of a bold duck or goose that approached you at a local park or elsewhere, you may have done a double take. Were those…teeth?! Ducks don't have teeth — or do they? What exactly are ducks up to when they tip forward and submerge their front … Read More>>

Around 1 billion pounds of conventional pesticides are sprayed and scattered each year in the United States, applied to everything from the food we eat, to the grass we walk on, to the plants in our gardens. Although invisible, many of these chemicals remain in soil and water for months or years, killing far more … Read More>>

What is a bird beak? Is it just a funny-looking version of a nose, or is it something else entirely? Birds use their beaks for a wide variety of functions, including communication and defense, as well as eating. These amazing appendages might seem simple, but they hold plenty of surprises. If you want to learn … Read More>>

More than 450 bird species have been found in Michigan. Such impressive diversity is natural given the state's size and proximity to four of the Great Lakes — and the fact that it supports an array of outstanding bird habitats, including boreal and hardwood forests, prairies, dunes, and aquatic systems, including the Great Lakes' open … Read More>>

Migration season is an incredible time for birdwatching in North America, as billions of birds fly across the continent to reach their breeding and wintering grounds. But the journey is not without its dangers. In the United States alone, up to one billion birds are killed each year after colliding with buildings. While window collisions … Read More>>

While the color green is commonly associated with parrots and parakeets, it's actually found in a range of birds throughout the Western Hemisphere and the wider world. Some of these species, like the Green-winged Teal, sport small gem-like green patches, whiles others, such as the Glistening-green Tanager (see below) radiate an emerald glow from head … Read More>>

The bird world is full of majestic hunters like eagles, hawks, and falcons, but when the sun sets, one group of avian predators reigns supreme. Owls have many adaptations that make them excellent at stalking prey at night, including specialized wing feathers for silent flight, asymmetrical ears for triangulating the locations of sounds made by … Read More>>

These days, the conservation community is grappling with two monumental and interrelated crises: climate change and biodiversity loss. The catastrophic threat they each pose to birds has been shown in two landmark studies. The first, published in the prestigious journal Science in 2019, found that nearly 3 billion birds have been lost in the U.S. … Read More>>