Discover stories in Birds
Introducing the Australian Brushturkey
It's hideous, follows tourists around for snacks, and lays its eggs in a giant pile of rotting leaves like a dinosaur. Happy Thanksgiving from Down Under.
Move Over Turkey: Meet the World’s Other Bald, Be-wattled Birds
Have you ever actually looked at a turkey? They’re cool, weird, and impressively ugly. But American Wild Turkeys aren’t the only ugly birds out there ⎯ with 10,000 avian species on Earth, the possibilities for ugly are endless.
Beyond Birding by Ear: Understanding Bird Alarm Calls
Birders know the value of recognizing bird calls. Now it’s time to add another dimension: understanding bird alarm calls. Ornithologist Joe Smith explains the complex and fascinating ways that birds cry “Danger!”
Migratory Songbirds Transport New Ticks & Pathogens Across the Gulf
New research reveals that neotropical songbirds are transporting an estimated 19 million ticks and tick-borne pathogens to the United States each year.
Kumuls on Camera: Photographing Birds-of-Paradise in Papua New Guinea
Two birders set out to capture camera trap footage of a bird-of-paradise. The anticipation nearly kills them both.
Extreme Birding: Entering Un-Birded Territory in Papua New Guinea
The Papua New Guinea rainforest isn’t your grandpa’s birding. Science writer Justine Hausheer enumerates the trials, travails, and thrills of birding in un-birded territory.
Angry Birds: Why Molting Makes Our Feathered Friends Grumpy
For birds, “bad feather days” – what we call molting – are a part of life. And those days can make birds downright grumpy.
Scientists (Re)Re-discover the Australian Night Parrot. Now What?
Now that scientists have confirmed that Night Parrots do indeed still roam the spinifex-covered Australian outback, where does that leave conservationists?
Epic Birding Fails: Lyrebirds in Australia
Birders Justine E. Hausheer and Tim Boucher set out to find the Albert's Lyrebird in Australia. One of them succeeds, and the other adds another nemesis bird to their list.
Your Field Guide is Wrong: A Bird’s Eye View of the World
Birds see the world differently than we do, seeing a whole range of colors that are literally unimaginable to us.
The Lessons of Epic Birding Failures
One birder recounts the lessons of epic birding failures.
Consider the Catbird: The Surprising Secrets of a Common Backyard Bird
Take a look outside and you may well see a gray catbird. But this common backyard bird is full of surprises.
