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Birds, Bees, and Aquatic Life Threatened by Gross Underestimate of Toxicity of World's Most Widely Used Pesticide
(Washington, D.C. March 19, 2013) As part of a study on impacts from the world’s most widely used class of insecticides, nicotine-like chemicals called neonicotinoids, American Bird Conservancy (ABC) has called for a ban on their use as seed treatments… Read More »
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Bird Conservancy Asks California to Ban Neonic Use on Public Lands
Contact: Cynthia Palmer, Director of Pesticides Science and Regulation, American Bird Conservancy, 202-888-7475, or Trent Orr, Staff Attorney, Earthjustice, 415-217-2000 (Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2017) On behalf of American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nonprofit environmental law organization Earthjustice today petitioned the… Read More »
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Eastern Kingbird
"Bold" and "fearless" are words often used when birdwatchers describe the dashing Eastern Kingbird. This big flycatcher is a member of the tyrant flycatcher family, a huge group of New World species that includes the Great Crested Flycatcher, Many-colored Rush-Tyrant,… Read More »
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House Wren
As implied by its common name, the small, active House Wren is often found near people’s homes. This bird's genus name Troglodytes means "hole dweller," and refers to its mouse-like tendency to pop in and out of crevices while foraging… Read More »
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Fading Symbols: These Five State Birds Are in Trouble
U.S. grasslands that once resounded with the boisterous song of the Western Meadowlark are growing silent as numbers of the famed singer decline. This situation, distressing as it is, isn’t unique: A number of state birds have experienced major population… Read More »
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EPA Signals Continued Use of Insecticides Dangerous to Birds
(Washington, D.C., March 15, 2022) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making major decisions on the regulation of malathion and neonicotinoids — insecticides that pose major threats to birds, such as the Common Yellowthroat, as well as bees and other… Read More »
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10 Gorgeous Green Birds of the Americas
Green Kingfisher. Photo by Bildagentur ZoomGMBH/Shutterstock. 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… Read More »
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EPA Decision Maintains Dangerous Regulatory Loophole for Pesticide-Coated Seeds
Eating a single neonic-coated seed can kill a Red-winged Blackbird. Photo by Terry Straehley/Shutterstock The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today denied a petition request from American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and other parties seeking to change a dangerous regulatory loophole for… Read More »
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Finches of the United States: A Photo List of All Species
There are 17 North American finch species. These include crossbills, Evening and Pine Grosbeaks, redpolls, and siskins. Birds in the Fringillidae family all have compact bodies, conical bills, and short necks with large jaw muscles. They also have relatively pointed… Read More »
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Dickcissel
The male Dickcissel resembles a big sparrow or miniature meadowlark, with a black, V-shaped throat patch contrasting its bright yellow breast. The female is duller overall, lacking the throat patch and having only a faint hint of yellow on the… Read More »
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Horned Lark
The Horned Lark is the only lark species native to North America. It is also found across much of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, at one season or another. This bird’s namesake “horns” are actually curled tufts of black… Read More »
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Northern Pintail
The handsome Northern Pintail is one of North America’s most widespread ducks, especially in the West, though it is not nearly as abundant as the more familiar Mallard. This species is distinctive both on the water and in flight. Both… Read More »
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Northern Bobwhite
The Northern Bobwhite, also known as Virginia quail or partridge, is a New World quail species in the same family as the Montezuma and Scaled Quails. Like its relatives, the bobwhite has a short, curved bill; a chunky, roundish body;… Read More »
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Brown Pelican
“A wonderful bird is the pelican; his bill can hold more than his belly can,” begins the limerick by Dixon Lanier Merritt. And it’s true — a pelican’s pouch can hold up to three times more than its stomach. This… Read More »
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3 Billion Birds Gone
The biodiversity crisis has come to our backyards. In less than a single human lifetime, 2.9 billion breeding adult birds have been lost from the United States and Canada, across every ecosystem and including familiar birds: The Dark-eyed Junco has… Read More »
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Poisoning by Rodenticide Played a Part in Flaco the Owl's Death
A memorial to Flaco the Eurasian Eagle-Owl was started after his death in February. Photo by Rhododendrites, courtesy of WikiCommons. A necropsy on the body of Flaco, the famous Eurasian Eagle-Owl that captivated New Yorkers, has revealed a grim and… Read More »
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EPA Issues Landmark Decision to Prohibit Deadly Pesticide Carbofuran Residues on Food
(Washington, D.C.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a proposed decision that residues of carbofuran, a toxic pesticide that is used on a variety of crops, will no longer be allowed on food. This effectively means that carbofuran… Read More »
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House Bill is Worst Government Assault on Birds and Wildlife in a Generation, Says Bird Conservation Group
MEDIA RELEASE Contact: Robert Johns, 202-234-7181 ext.210, Endangered Kirtland's Warbler is one of many migratory birds that will be negativly impacted if bill H.R. 2584 passes. Photo: Kirtland's Warbler and chicks, Ron Austing (Washington, D.C., July 25, 2011) The U.S.… Read More »
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Members of Congress Dining on Food Contaminated with Bird- and Bee-Killing Insecticides
Contact: Cynthia Palmer, 202-888-7475, Email click here A study by American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health issued in 2015 found bird- and bee-killing insecticides in nearly every food eaten by the nation’s Senators,… Read More »
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How Does Climate Change Impact Birds?
Bird populations are declining around the world. And while many factors contribute — from habitat loss to pesticides, outdoor cats, and window collisions — it is increasingly clear that climate change is an important driver behind this worrying trend. Climate… Read More »
