Audubon Magazine

Highlighted Features

Overwhelmed and Understaffed, Our National Wildlife Refuges Need Help

Birds need them. People love them. But without more money, these vital sanctuaries can't serve wildlife or the public like they're supposed to.

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From Audubon Magazine

How Migrating Birds Could Warn Us of the Next Pandemic

In 1918, an avian flu virus became a devastating human contagion. Scientist studying shorebirds and waterfowl are hoping they can foresee such events and possibly even prevent them.

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Science

The Remarkable Life of Roxie Laybourne

From deep within the Smithsonian, the world’s first forensic ornithologist cracked cases, busted criminals, and changed the course of aviation—making the skies safer for us all.

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News

Where Burrowing Owls Are Your Neighbors

On Florida's Marco Island, families of the small owls live among the locals, who keep a close eye on the birds to ensure they will always feel welcome.

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News

The Parrot King

Over the past 14 years, Martin Guth has built a monopoly on some of the world's rarest birds. Will his secretive organization ultimately help the parrots—or push to them closer to extinction?

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News

Inside the Race to Save China's Mysterious ‘Bird of Legend’

The Chinese Crested Tern was written off as extinct decades ago. Since its rediscovery in 2000, scientists have been working to ensure that Asia’s rarest seabird keeps a firm foothold in reality.

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Recent Stories

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News

In California's Parched Central Valley, Habitat Restoration Lags Promises

By Alastair Bland

To mitigate water diversion projects, state agencies pledge to restore wetlands that birds and fish use. But these projects can take so long to come to fruition that they are sometimes 'double counted.'

From Audubon Magazine

Can This Critically Endangered Bird Survive Australia's New Climate Reality?

By Paul Bogard

Efforts to save Regent Honeyeaters seem to be working, but scientists and Aboriginal conservationists are on edge as another bushfire season begins.

From Audubon Magazine

How Migrating Birds Could Warn Us of the Next Pandemic

By Carrie Arnold

In 1918, an avian flu virus became a devastating human contagion. Scientist studying shorebirds and waterfowl are hoping they can foresee such events and possibly even prevent them.

Investigations

News

A New Plastic Wave Is Coming to Our Shores

A glut of natural gas has led to a U.S. production surge in tiny plastic pellets, called nurdles, that are washing up on coasts by the millions.

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News

This Brutal Pesticide Creates a 'Circle of Death.' So Why Is It Making a Comeback?

Carbofuran, a century-old chemical, is increasingly being weaponized against birds and other wildlife, decimating entire food webs.

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Investigation

The Same Pesticides Linked to Bee Declines Might Also Threaten Birds

Neonicotinoids are washing off of their host seeds and into water bodies—threatening not just aquatic insects but the birds that rely on them.

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Profiles

News

How an Acclaimed Composer Found His Musical Voice Through Birdsong

Decades after a songbird's whirling melody set him on a new artistic path, John Luther Adams is more determined than ever to help us hear the planet's power and wild beauty—and fight to protect it.

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News

A Naturalist With a Checkered Past Rediscovered a Long-lost Parrot . . . Then Things Got Interesting

When John Young, Australia’s “Wild Detective,” proved that the Night Parrot hadn’t gone extinct, both man and bird got a shot at a comeback.

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News

Birds Saved Debi Shearwater. Is She Really Going to Call it Quits?

After 40-plus years of leading sold-out pelagic birding tours off the California coast, the trailblazing conservationist says it’s time to retire.

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Audubon Magazine

Explore Our Archives

Find new and old issues of Audubon magazine from the past decade.

Essays

News

Remembering Toni Morrison, the Bird Whisperer

A year after Morrison’s passing, a journalist and birder reflects on how her time with the cherished author changed her relationship with birds—and with herself.

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COVID-19

Sheltering in Place in Manhattan—With 18 American Chestnut Saplings

Disease and logging nearly wiped out the towering trees in the early 20th century. Now the pandemic endangers a one-man operation trying to help the species endure.

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Journal

A Bird Worth the Chase, Even After Death

Dan Koeppel had seen plenty of Mountain Quail—until it became the lone bird on his dad's North American life list. Then it became his nemesis, too.

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The 2020 Audubon Photography Awards: Top 100

Take a scroll through this year's spectacular, artistic, and playful avian images, while reading the story behind each.

Indigo Bunting. Photo: Scott Suriano/Audubon Photography Awards

Dispatches

News

Scientists Race to Uncover the Secrets of Madagascar’s Treasure-Filled Forests

The rediscovery of a long-lost duck spurred the creation of two protected areas in the country. Now researchers are scouring these spots for other endemic species before it's too late.

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Dispatch

Can the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Be Found in Cuba?

A birder, ornithologist, writer, and photographer set off on an extreme adventure through the muck and memories of eastern Cuba.

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Dispatch

In Search of the Stunning—and Possibly Extinct—Edwards's Pheasant

No one has seen the elusive bird in the wild in nearly two decades, but it might still inhabit Vietnam's war-ravaged mountain valleys.

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Dispatch

Meet the Brave Bodyguards Protecting Belize’s Scarlet Macaws From Poachers

To keep macaw chicks safe, a team of rangers spends night and day watching over the birds’ nests and homes.

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Dispatch

Land of the Lost Birds: Searching for Life in the Forests of Bioko

A crew of American scientists is venturing into remote Equatorial Guinea, even as rampant development threatens its bird-filled wilderness.

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News

Can These Seabirds Adapt Fast Enough to Survive a Melting Arctic?

On a remote Alaskan sandbar, under the watchful eye of a devoted scientist for more than four decades, climate change is forcing a colony of seabirds into a real-time race: evolve or go extinct.

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Climate

The Audubon Guide to Climate Action

Feeling like you can’t make a difference? That couldn’t be further from the truth. Our award-winning guide shows you where to begin and how to amplify your efforts to make lasting change in the world.

Birding More Tips and How-Tos >>

More Tips and How-Tos >>

Birding By Ear

How to Start Identifying Birds by Their Songs and Calls

Part one in our new series to help you build your birding skills—and love of birds—by learning how to bird by ear.

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News

How to Use eBird

A powerful tool for tracking sightings can change the way you bird.

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News

How Twitter Can Make You a Better Birder

Harness the power of the tweet and up your rarity-finding success.

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Binocular Guide

The Audubon Guide to Buying Binoculars

Seeking your first set of bins, or just looking for an upgrade? Our guide features excellent options for every budget.

Photo Essays

News

Meet the Dipper, North America's Only Aquatic Songbird

A photographer spent years on rushing streams in the Rocky Mountains documenting the remarkable American Dipper.

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From Audubon Magazine

Guardians of the Grebes

To protect climate-threatened Hooded Grebes, volunteers camp out at remote, high-elevation lakes in Patagonia for the entire breeding season.

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News

These Photos Reveal the Pollination Secrets of Florida’s Most Elusive Flower

Despite extensive efforts, nobody had ever definitively documented the pollination of the ghost orchid, a mysterious plant that grows in the towering trees of the Everglades—until now.

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Photography

Windows Into Another World: Take a Tour of Bird Blinds Across the Country

What compels birders to hunker down in dark, often cramped structures? An intimate view of avian lives. But as with birds, every blind has its own character—and story.

The Future of North American Birds

Audubon’s new climate report warns of massive avian losses if we don’t change course and stabilize global carbon emissions.

Blackburnian Warbler. Photo: Shirley Donald/Audubon Photography Awards

Birding Culture

News

When Is a Bird a ‘Birb’? An Extremely Important Guide

The internet meme has been around for seven years now, so it's high time we establish some ground rules.

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News

Birding Is its Own Reward, But ‘Lifer Pie’ Makes it Even Sweeter

We’ve got the recipe for one of Brenda Lowe’s scratch-made pies that have become a staple for successful birders in Ohio and beyond.

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News

What’s the Difference Between a ‘Borb’ and a ‘Floof’?

Now that we know what constitutes a birb, it's time to break down the internet's other two nicknames for birds.

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Books

Read an Excerpt From David Sibley's New Book 'What It’s Like to Be a Bird'

In his latest offering, the renowned avian expert explores birds’ remarkable adaptations and abilities, and how their experiences are far richer and more complex than even he realized.

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Books

Searching for Elusive Blakiston's Fish Owls in the Ancient Forests of Primorye

Jonathan Slaght ventures into far-east Russia to locate the enormous raptors in this excerpt from his new book 'Owls of the Eastern Ice.'

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News

Read an Excerpt From Jennifer Ackerman's New Book 'The Bird Way'

In the follow-up to her hit "The Genius of Birds," Ackerman reexamines bird behavior, revealing fascinating new insights into avian activity.

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Illustrated Aviary

Reimagining John James Audubon's “Birds of America”

For every issue of Audubon magazine, we ask a new artist to reinterpret one of Audubon's original watercolors using their own unique style. Peruse all of the works here.