Binge on Turkey with One of the Greatest Nature Movies, Ever

Tired of parades and football? How about enjoying a little more turkey – with a movie that shows these birds as you’ve never seen them before.

Joe Smith

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.

Justine E. Hausheer

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

Can Helicopter-deployed Toad Sausages Save Australia’s Northern Quoll?

Australian scientists are teaching endangered northern quolls to avoid deadly cane toads by feeding them toad sausages laced with nausea-inducing chemicals. Yes, really.

Justine E. Hausheer

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!”

Joe Smith

Restoring the Reef on Lake Michigan Benefits Native Fish

Reef restoration calls to mind corals and colorful fish. But Lake Michigan has reefs too — and they're also vitally important to native fish. A new effort is looking to bring them back.

Matthew L. Miller

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

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.

Justine E. Hausheer

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

Recovery: Alewives, the Little Fish with a Big Role

Conservationists are prone to referring to alewives in the past tense, the fish long considered a victim of dams. But they’re back. Ted Williams has the story.

Ted Williams

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.

Justine E. Hausheer