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.

Justine E. Hausheer

The Ten Creepiest Spiders of North America

Spider, spider on the wall, who's the creepiest of them all? Scientists share their picks for the best spiders on the continent -- the most aggressive, the rarest, the most venomous, even the prettiest. Yes, the prettiest.

Christine Peterson

Why Everything You Know About Bluegill Management is Wrong

Every angler knows that if you don’t remove enough bluegills from a pond, they’ll overpopulate and become stunted. But new research says that idea is usually wrong, and the opposite may be true.

Matthew L. Miller

Big Battles, Big Gonads: The Crazy World of the Bluegill Spawn

The common bluegill is easy to take for granted. But come spawning season, a bluegill colony is one of the wildest scenes in nature: part barroom brawl, part cheesy ‘80s romantic comedy.

Matthew L. Miller

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.

Joe Smith

It’s Time to End the Gar Wars

Imagine anglers piling hundreds of dead trout they've killed along stream banks. Not gonna happen, right? But it's still happening with gar, and outdoor magazines celebrate it. Why it's time to end the gar wars.

Matthew L. Miller

You Won’t Believe What Porcupines Eat (And No, Not Bigfoot Bones)

Sure, much of the time, the porcupine dines on trees. But it also has a need for salt, and it's coming for your cars, your homes, your guns. And your face.

Matthew L. Miller

You Won’t Forget the Mega-Footed Malleefowl

Ever heard of a malleefowl? You’ll never forget it after reading about their big feet, huge nests, and chicks born fully feathered that can fly within 24 hours.

Lisa Feldkamp

Big Gulp: How Often Do Trout and Grayling Eat Mammals?

Many anglers know that trout eat the occasional mouse or shrew. But how often does this actually occur? New research from Bristol Bay on the dietary habits of rainbow trout and grayling suggests this answer: More often than you think.

Matthew L. Miller

Do the Rumble-Rump with Peacock Spiders

Meet the tiny spider with one of the wildest mating displays in the animal kingdom. Jon Fisher takes you into the realm of the peacock spider and its unbelievable "dance moves."

Jon Fisher

Coyote Scat and Native Plant Conservation

Cultivating native plants for conservation requires the perfect water, sunlight, nutrients and pollinators. And in at least one case, it needs coyote poop. And lots of it. A story of an observant naturalist, palm seeds and hungry coyotes in South Texas.

Matthew L. Miller

Marsupial Mystery: Who Poos Cubes?

In Tasmania, blogger Alison Green came across a strange sight: poo cubes, and lots of them. What animal might have left this sign? Join her as she tracks down this fascinating creature.

Alison Green