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The Sword-billed Hummingbird
To out-sip their competition, Sword-billed Hummingbirds have a distinct adaptation: these birds’ beaks are longer than their bodies. Found in temperate forests from Venezuela to Bolivia, these hummin…
Published on 2 years ago
Feathered Females in Charge
Male birds are often the larger, flashier sex that courts choosy females, who in turn raise their chicks. But not always. Female phalaropes -- like this Wilson's Phalarope -- challenge each other ove…
Published on 2 years ago
Great Black-backed Gull, North Atlantic Predator
Great Black-backed Gulls have a reputation as serious predators of other birds. During the nesting season, they’ll prey on eggs and nestlings of other seabirds. They’ll also hunt adult seabirds inclu…
Published on 2 years ago
Sanderlings
Here and there along winter shorelines, little flocks of pale, silvery shorebirds probe at the water's edge, keeping pace with each wave's ebb and flow. These are Sanderlings, small sandpipers that s…
Published on 2 years ago
How Birds Fly
The secret to birds’ flight starts with the shape of their wings. They’re curved in a way that causes air to flow more slowly under the wing than above it. That creates an area of low pressure just a…
Published on 2 years ago
Seabirds, Trees and Coral
Palmyra Atoll is a ring-shaped island encircling a lagoon in the South Pacific. The atoll lost many native trees due to U.S. military activity during World War II. Conservationists have worked to res…
Published on 2 years ago
Christine Okon on Accessible Bird Events
After Christine Okon was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012, she found herself falling behind on birding walks when the group trudged across hills and valleys – something she once really enjoy…
Published on 2 years ago
Great Horned Owl Duet
The 22-inch Great Horned Owl has two tufts of feathers that stick up from the top of its head. This owl is difficult to see, but it's often heard during dark winter evenings and pre-dawn mornings. A …
Published on 2 years ago
Kererū: Pigeons That Get Tipsy
Kererū, green-blue pigeons native to New Zealand, like to sun themselves after dining on fruit. But in warm summer months, the bird’s sunbathing has a surprising side-effect. A part of their digestiv…
Published on 2 years ago
Listening to Nuthatches
Nuthatches rank high on the list of favorite backyard birds. Compact and stub-tailed, they climb down tree trunks and along the underside of branches with comical ease. One at a time, they flit in fo…
Published on 2 years ago