Science

Silhouettes of large birds fly across the a pink and gray sky in a line. A large full moon in centered in the frame behind them.
A Brief History of How Scientists Have Learned About Bird Migration
April 13, 2022 — Researchers today can follow birds' paths as they fly thousands of miles. But it wasn't always that way. Scroll through more than two centuries of advances in understanding this natural wonder.
A Lunar Eclipse Sheds Light On a Fascinating Behavior In Birds
April 11, 2022 — Recent research reveals that Black Swifts ascend to remarkable heights when the moon is full. Why they do so is more of a mystery.
News
Many Birds Are Shrinking and Growing Longer Wings as the World Warms. Why?
February 07, 2022 — A growing body of research suggests a warming world could mean smaller birds with longer wings, but nothing about the findings is settled.
Climate
A Magnetic ‘Stop Sign’ Tells These Birds Where to Nest
January 27, 2022 — Nearly eight decades of banding data help dissect how songbirds return to the same breeding territory year after year.
News
Climate Change or Habitat Loss? New Study Weighs Which Influences Birds More
January 21, 2022 — Ninety years of Christmas Bird Count data tease apart the effects of habitat loss and warming temperatures on winter bird distributions.
Christmas Bird Count
The ‘Big Boom Theory’ That Could Help Conserve Common Nighthawks
January 14, 2022 — New research confirms that males’ wing-boom sound marks hard-to-find nesting sites—a boon for efforts to save these mysterious, declining birds.
News
The ‘Kill Bill Tanager,’ a Species New to Science, Finally Has a Real Name
November 16, 2021 — A bird sighting on Kosñipata road in southeastern Peru led to a 20-year quest to confirm the new species: the gloriously yellow Inti Tanager.
International
Newly Recorded Condor ‘Virgin Birth’ Is Another Way Birds Are Like Reptiles
November 10, 2021 — Zoo researchers discovered that two female California Condors had reproduced without males, a phenomenon known as parthenogenesis.
Another Reason to Stop Global Warming: Save Millions from Air Pollution
November 10, 2021 — A new study underscores the scale of disease and death industrialized societies have accepted in exchange for fossil fuel energy.
Climate
A grid displays photos of eight birds—all of the remaining Kaua'i forest birds. They come in shades of yellow, red, and brown.
Mosquitoes to the Rescue! The Last-Ditch Effort to Save Kaua‘i’s Endangered Birds
November 04, 2021 — A modern twist on controversial biocontrol methods aims to make disease-carrying mosquitoes in Hawaii turn on themselves.
News