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Winter Romance - Common Goldeneyes
Most duck species court and form pair bonds in winter. In the icy waters of Vermont’s Lake Champlain, Common Goldeneyes are getting hot! This male is displaying his signature move, the “head-throw-ki…
Published on 1 year, 11 months ago
Ptarmigan in Winter
Both the Willow Ptarmigan and these White-tailed Ptarmigan, feathered mostly brown in summer, are utterly transfigured by an autumn molt. As snow begins to mantle their world, both species, now all w…
Published on 1 year, 11 months ago
Dove or Pigeon?
The word “dove” might make you think of an elegant bird symbolizing peace, while the word “pigeon” might bring up images of rowdy flocks of city birds. But there’s no formal distinction between doves…
Published on 1 year, 11 months ago
Treeswifts: Exquisite Minimalists
The treeswifts of India, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and beyond make their nests out of bits of plants and feathers and hold it all together with some very sticky saliva. A treeswift’s whole nest is …
Published on 1 year, 11 months ago
Pinpointing a Bird in a Forest by Ear
Juan Pablo Culasso is a nature recordist based in Colombia. Here, he describes how he uses a parabolic microphone to record a singing bird. Juan Pablo is blind, so he uses his hearing to pinpoint a s…
Published on 1 year, 11 months ago
Why Some Birds Sing in the Winter
By late January, some resident birds, such as the Northern Mockingbird, are beginning their spring singing. When you step outside on a particularly sunny day this winter, a Fox Sparrow like the one p…
Published on 1 year, 11 months ago
How Did Bobwhites Get to Cuba?
Cuba is home to a unique population of Northern Bobwhites, with plumage patterns and short bills that set them apart from bobwhites on mainland North America. But where these quail came from has been…
Published on 1 year, 11 months ago
Why Birds Eat Snow
In the depths of winter, when open water is frozen over, it can be challenging for birds to stay hydrated. Some birds eat the frozen water all around them. Cedar Waxwings catch snowflakes in mid-air.…
Published on 1 year, 11 months ago
Graylag Goose
The goose of today’s farmyards was domesticated about 3,000 years ago from the Graylag Goose, the wild species found today throughout much of Europe and Asia. To ancient Egyptians, the goose symboliz…
Published on 1 year, 11 months ago
How Feathers Insulate
A single Canada Goose has between 20 and 25 thousand feathers. Some are designed to help the bird fly or shed water. Many are the short, fluffy kind, the down that insulates the bird from the cold. B…
Published on 1 year, 11 months ago