• Ruby-throated Humminbirds can live for upwards of nine years.

    Hummingbirds Lead Intense Lives: How Long Do They Live?

    The ornithologist James Welty once said that “birds lead intense lives.” Perhaps no avian group embodies that phrase better than the hummingbirds. With wings beating so fast they’re a blur, these tiny birds fuel their super-high metabolisms with sugary flower… Read More »

  • Kentucky Warbler by Bryan Calk, Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

    Kentucky Warbler

    The furtive, beautiful Kentucky Warbler is a sought-after springtime sighting throughout the eastern U.S. Like the Wood Thrush and Ovenbird, this inhabitant of deep, damp forests is more often heard than seen.  A patient observer may eventually track the song… Read More »

  • Yellow Warbler by Agnieszka Bacal

    Yellow Warbler

    The Yellow Warbler is the most widespread American wood-warbler. It nests from Alaska to northern South America (including the Galápagos Islands), and in much of the Caribbean, and winters as far south as Peru. Tail tip to forehead, this is… Read More »

  • Western Tanager by Greg Homel, Natural Elements Productions

    Western Tanager

    The male Western Tanager’s glowing yellow and red plumage lights up the coniferous and mixed forests of western North America each spring. The female, a drabber mix of olive-green, gray, and light yellow, virtually disappears into this habitat. Even males… Read More »

  • Pileated Woodpecker, Orhan Cam, Shutterstock

    Bird-friendly Garden Tips for Fall

    The tanagers, orioles, and hummingbirds of summer are gone, but despite what chilly weather portends, this is a great time to intensify efforts to help birds in your garden. What you do today to provide food, shelter, and nesting opportunities… Read More »

  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird

    Create a Feeder-Free Hummingbird Paradise in Eight Steps

    Hopped up on sugar, wings moving too fast to see, hummingbirds are winging their way to your part of the United States, if they’re not there already. In the East, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird prevails, but out West, more than a… Read More »

  • Indigo Bunting

    A male Indigo Bunting in breeding plumage is a glorious symphony of shimmering blues, turquoises, and purples. But these beautiful colors are illusory: Like the iridescence of hummingbirds and the blue plumage of other species such as Eastern Bluebird,  the… Read More »

  • 'Akeke'e by Stephen Lorenz, Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

    ‘Akeke‘e

    The ‘Akeke‘e, a small greenish-yellow Hawaiian honeycreeper with a blackish mask, is named for its asymmetric bill. Its name likely derives from the Hawaiian word ke‘e, meaning "crooked" or "bent." Its genus name Loxops derives from the Greek for "twisted… Read More »

  • Downy Woodpecker by Gerald A. DeBoer, Shutterstock

    Downy Woodpecker

    Famed ornithologist John James Audubon remarked that the Downy Woodpecker "is perhaps not surpassed by any of its tribe in hardiness, industry, or vivacity." Other noted naturalists, from Alexander Wilson to Edward Forbush, sang its praises, with Forbush calling this… Read More »

  • Cactus Wren

    The Cactus Wren is the largest wren found in the United States — about the size of a Spotted Towhee. Its curious nature and loud, chattering calls make this bird one of the most well-known species of the southwestern desert.… Read More »

  • Song Sparrow. Photo by Kenneth Coleman.

    Song Sparrow

    At first glance, the Song Sparrow is a typical "little brown job," a term sometimes bestowed by frustrated birders on species in the large, often look-alike sparrow family. But a closer look at this familiar bird reveals a species as… Read More »

  • Blue Grosbeak. Photo by Mike Parr.

    Blue Grosbeak

    Although the male Blue Grosbeak is colorful, this chunky, finch-like bird of brushy habitats is often first detected by voice. Once seen, a male Blue Grosbeak is distinctive, with deep-blue plumage set off by two rust-colored wingbars. Like the Black-throated… Read More »

  • Migrating Birds Could Use a Helping Hand

    10 Ways People Can Protect Birds This Spring Birds migrating. Photo: © FWS (Washington, D.C., March 31, 2010) As warmer temperatures begin to arrive and we spend more time outdoors, we hear the many, familiar sounds of spring, including the… Read More »

  • Feral Cat Resolution on Hold in Hawai'i's Kaua'i County

    Contact: Robert Johns, 202-234-7181 ext.210, Hawaiian Petrel by Jim Denny (Washington, D.C., June 28, 2011) Advocates for Hawai'i's imperiled native birds are applauding a decision by the Kaua'i County Council to set aside a resolution that would have endorsed a… Read More »

  • 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 »

  • Tufted Titmouse, StevenRusselSmithPhotos/Shutterstock

    Top Five Holiday Gifts to Help Birds

    Looking for holiday gifts to help birds? With 45 million Americans who enjoy bird watching, there certainly is a demand for bird-inspired presents. The experts at American Bird Conservancy have five suggestions that can help solve that gift-giving dilemma and… Read More »

  • Searching for Inspiration for Your Bird City Application? Here Are 5 Ideas

    Beach cleanups like this one along the Texas Gulf Coast are a great way to help qualify as a Bird City. Photo by American Bird Conservancy With the recent launch of Bird City Network, you and your community might be… Read More »

  • A colonial brick house decorated with a skull and halloween decorations during the fall.

    Spooky Tips to Ensure Only Treats and No Tricks for Birds This Halloween

    Halloween decor can be festive, but it’s important to keep birds in mind so that it’s only treats and no tricks for everyone. Photo by Kosoff/Shutterstock. You may have noticed it. The chill in the air. The leaves crunching under… Read More »

  • The Art of Waiting on St. Lucia's White-breasted Thrasher

    By Kate Freeman While the Caribbean island of St. Lucia has many aspects of a tropical paradise, working in this forest is not exactly white sand and turquoise water. Snake chaps are a critical part of my field gear, as… Read More »

  • Amid Powerful Storms, Bahama Oriole Clings to Existence

    Editor’s note: As Hurricane Irma tore through the Caribbean this week, leaving a path of devastation across several islands, biologist Kevin Omland had his eyes on the Bahamas. The critically endangered Bahama Oriole, the focus of Omland’s research, survives only… Read More »