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The Women Who Fought the Feather Fad
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the human fascination with bird feathers went a little too far. Women’s hats and dresses featured extravag…
2 years, 1 month ago
The Surprising Secret of Hummingbird Tongues
Hummingbirds use their long tongues to sip nectar from flowers. They’re able to roll their tongues into a tube-like shape. Since the 1800s, scientist…
2 years, 1 month ago
Spark Bird: Walter and Patch
Sculptor and musician Walter Kitundu first became enraptured by birds in 2005 when a Red-tailed Hawk flew four feet above his head. He named the bird…
2 years, 1 month ago
Birds as Pollinators
Birds are part of the complex web of Nature, and each fits into this web in its own way. Some even pollinate flowers! While feeding at a flower, this…
2 years, 1 month ago
Ridgway's Rails on San Francisco Bay
Once abundant around San Francisco Bay, the Ridgway’s Rail — formerly known as the California Clapper Rail — is now endangered. In the 19th Century, …
2 years, 1 month ago
Truffle-Hunting Birds
With their excellent sense of smell, pigs are renowned for sniffing out truffles, a fungus that grows underground and is prized for its taste. But it…
2 years, 1 month ago
Are Birds Nests Reused?
Let’s talk about nests. Every spring, robins build their cup-shaped nests using grass and mud. Orioles weave a hanging sack. It’s hard work, and yet …
2 years, 1 month ago
The Secret Lives of Goldfinches
American Goldfinches are one of our most familiar birds, but they lead lives that are anything but ordinary. These birds will sometimes raise two bro…
2 years, 1 month ago
How Studying Turkey Hens Helps Conservation Efforts
Mike Chamberlain is a wildlife ecologist at the University of Georgia and co-founder of the Wild Turkey Lab. He’s spent the majority of his 30-year c…
2 years, 1 month ago
Migration: Long, Short, and In-Between
In September, this Arctic Tern flies from Alaska all the way to Antarctica. Rufous Hummingbirds follow pathways of mountain wildflowers, from as far …
2 years, 1 month ago