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Sean Hill on Nature, Place, and Black Life
Poet Sean Hill performs three poems that encapsulate his dynamic relationship to birds, travel and life as a Black wanderer in the great outdoors. First is The Western Tanager or Why Montana, a villa…
Published on 2 years, 7 months ago
A Lost Hummingbird is Found Again
The Santa Marta Sabrewing is a hummingbird species so rare, they’ve only been documented twice in recent years. Native to the mountains of Colombia, they were officially described in 1946. No one rep…
Published on 2 years, 7 months ago
White-throated Swifts
A pair of White-throated Swifts twists and turns, sailing through the air. Dashing headlong across the canyon toward an unyielding wall, the birds disappear at the last second into a slender crevice.…
Published on 2 years, 7 months ago
The Early Bird
We've all heard that the early bird gets the worm. But research shows that birds dining early and heavily may lower their life expectancy. Socially dominant birds stay lean (and agile at avoiding pre…
Published on 2 years, 7 months ago
The Legendary Phoenix
The ancient Greeks and Egyptians described a mythical bird called the Phoenix, a magnificent creature that was a symbol of renewal and rebirth. According to legend, each Phoenix lived for 500 years, …
Published on 2 years, 7 months ago
What’s a Field of Grass to a Bird?
Although a field of grass might not seem like valuable habitat at first, many birds have adapted to nest in grassland habitats and nowhere else. In North America, birds such as the Bobolink seek out …
Published on 2 years, 7 months ago
House Wrens and Dummy Nests
There may be no busier bird during the nesting season than a male House Wren. Just a day or so after completing his spring migration from the tropics, the male House Wren claims a territory and check…
Published on 2 years, 8 months ago
Raising the World’s Deadliest Bird
You might think the first bird species that humans raised in captivity would be a relatively small one, like a chicken. But evidence suggests that people in New Guinea reared the cassowary, often cal…
Published on 2 years, 8 months ago
Spring Migration Across the Globe
Each spring, millions of birds head north. From Ecuador, beautiful Scarlet Tanagers fly to the eastern US and Canada, many traversing the Gulf of Mexico, an arduous journey. Across much of southern E…
Published on 2 years, 8 months ago
Great-tailed Grackle
Great-tailed Grackles live up to their name. The glossy black males trail their long, V-shaped tails behind them as they fly, almost like a plane towing a banner ad. And while not quite as flashy, th…
Published on 2 years, 8 months ago