Discover Audubon Magazine

Since April, Madison Bygrove and Natalie Emerick have been setting up a cutting-edge, continent-wide Motus Audio network to record migrating birds—and having a grand adventure.

Yep, we're doing this. And you'll probably have opinions.

Dancing is the main event at powwows, inter-tribal celebrations filled with Indigenous food and art. Styles and inspiration vary widely, but many are influenced by the natural world—including birds.

You might think that the neotropics are one big mating party, but even in places that stay green and vibrant year-round, raising chicks comes with trade-offs.

From geese and pelicans to cranes and cormorants, many birds use a V-shaped flock to master the aerodynamics of long-distance flight. Here is the science behind this clever energy-saving strategy.

With no formal scientific background, Oregonian Beverly LaBelle has likely discovered more Anna’s nests than any other individual, and all in a once-neglected Portland park. In the process, she created a rich and invaluable dataset.

We invite you to enjoy the winners of Audubon’s annual photo awards—featuring stunning moments with birds across the hemisphere.

Catastrophic wildfires are stalling decades of clean air progress. Now scientists are asking: How can we help birds navigate a hazier future?

Wading alongside gators and cottonmouths, the conservation photographer uses striking imagery to protect the Southeast’s most underappreciated—and imperiled—wetlands.

Fewer Americans are taking up hunting, which means fewer dollars for conservation. But a growing community of women are stepping up with fresh approaches to sustain the age-old practice.

After a spectacular comeback from DDT, the Osprey population has plummeted within the watershed and is showing signs of trouble elsewhere. The birds’ fate may once more rest on collective action.

Scientists are using artificial intelligence to analyze troves of images and audio, gaining unprecedented insight into the lives of birds and how to more effectively protect them.

An investigation into the state of corvid–human relations.

With a new project about their search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, the irreverent, road-tripping filmmakers behind “Listers” are going for more than laughs.

By thinking globally and acting locally, Conserva Aves, an unprecedented partnership of hemispheric scale, is filling in the map of conservation efforts.

To create resilient landscapes and restore healthy ecosystems, public land managers need seed, but not just any seed will do.

Conservationists have made progress working with Ecuadorian fishing communities to reduce seabird bycatch. But a rising tide of violence on the open ocean has created new risks and challenges.

By studying Great Gray Owls, scientists hope to help more people see that snags offer vital habitat.

The beautiful, politically complicated Mediterranean island continues to play an outsize role in Europe’s songbird-poaching problem. Despite numerous dangers and even threats against their lives, a group of dedicated conservationists are trying to turn things around.

How online sales of highly regulated, super-toxic rodenticides exploit gaps in the law and imperil wildlife.

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.

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

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

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.

A biologist traced mercury from a company spill to contamination in songbirds, and devised a new way to hold polluters financially accountable.

In concerts, YouTube videos, and books, Esteban Valdivia shares how musical artifacts can reveal long-lost knowledge of avian species.

The Minnesota painters have achieved unrivaled success in the federal government’s conservation-boosting art competition. They insist technical know-how has little to do with it.

In his work, ecologist and author Ethan Tapper explores and chronicles what it takes to help nature recover—including plenty of tough love.

Buteo Books has sold titles for bird and nature lovers since 1971. Recently Lyzy Lusterman took a risk in opening its first brick-and-mortar location.

As Audubon magazine’s Field Editor for 45 years, Frank Graham, Jr. brought the beauty and resilience of nature into focus—as well as the tenacity of those striving to save it.

Across the region, conservationist Mara Silver’s kiln-fired clay homes are helping dwindling species endure—and encouraging people to share their spaces with wildlife.

In less than a decade amateur photographer and Hummingbird Spot founder Carole Turek has photographed more than 250 hummingbird species, including one that was long considered extinct.

As conservationists seek to save endangered species on the Hawaiian Islands, Bret Nainoa Mossman is on a mission to restore cultural links to birds collected from his homeland long ago.

Preston Cook’s love of the iconic raptor has led to a collection of 40,000 objects and, now, a quest to finally bring the bird the recognition that it deserves.

The beloved cartoonist and writer teases humor (and wonder! and poignancy!) out of the avian world (and beyond!).

The Michigan educator’s long-running program, Birding by Ear and Beyond, fits within a growing movement to make the outdoors more accessible.

Best-selling author and ecologist Carl Safina has made a career out of his deep explorations of the animal world. But his recent relationship with a rescued owl caused him to go even deeper.

The pigeons and other misfit species Nia Williams helped to treat at a Manhattan wildlife hospital showed her how much unwanted animals and marginalized New Yorkers have in common.

With watercolors and borrowed binoculars, a non-birding mother-and-daughter duo slow down and follow their curiosity on Audubon’s Hog Island.

After an inspiring pigeon encounter with her son, a mother discovered a new appreciation for birds and the everyday wonders around us.

After a chance beach encounter with a banded Herring Gull, cartoonist Rosemary Mosco dug deep into the surprisingly popular bird's life and adventures.

In our rescue attempt, I thought I was giving my young daughters a lesson in compassion. It ended up being the reminder that I needed.

Mother, daughter, and granddaughter take joy in learning the spring migrant birds who show up to their annual May ritual.

I was feeling discouraged in life, when I began volunteering at a local park. That’s when the project’s leader, Eleanor Osgood, changed my outlook.

The seasonal movements of birds have captivated humans for millennia. Now we know enough about their flights to make surprising connections.

Aboard a mission to explore the alien life of the deep ocean, a chance encounter with a migratory bird offered a point of connection—one that has felt poignant this past year.  

It took a pandemic for me to see what my mother had been trying to show me my whole life.

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.

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.

Inspired by naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace’s visit nearly two centuries ago, an isolated Indigenous community in Brazil worked with scientists to survey local birds and document cultural traditions. In doing so, they flipped the script of how research gets done.

When a threatened species rebounds, it’s usually an unequivocal conservation success. When it comes to Snow Geese and their habitat-destroying ways, it’s complicated.

Indigenous communities in Ontario are leading a campaign to protect critical portions of a vast inland sea that people, migratory birds, and other wildlife all rely upon. Can they conserve the coastline and carbon-storing peatlands, too?

In Colorado and New Mexico, scientists put in long days scouring the high country for signs of how well White-tailed Ptarmigan can adapt.

Amid mounting global health concerns about PFAS, communities living along the waterway must grapple with how contamination is affecting life on the river. Yet as hard as it is to conduct health studies on humans, it’s even harder with wild animals.

Last fall, an international team arrived on a small Papua New Guinea island to look for the elusive Black-naped Pheasant Pigeon. To track it down, they needed help from the experts: the island’s Indigenous hunters.

A young bird expert is among the scientists racing to document Brazil's ancient and understudied biome—while simultaneously raising the alarm about what’s being lost.

Raising the world’s entire population of Bermuda Petrels, or Cahows, requires undivided attention—and a relentless drive to see them succeed.

Much has changed since F.D.R. called for a great transboundary conservation area spanning the Rio Grande, but the vision lives on. Is it an idea whose time has come—or come and gone?

As industrial pressures mount, the photographer has dedicated himself to documenting—and protecting—the remote refuge, among the world’s most important bird-breeding grounds.

Colombia’s rice fields may seem like an unusual place to seek out Lesser Yellowlegs, but these croplands could play an important role in safeguarding the dwindling species.

Home to the world’s largest known Adélie Penguin population, the Antarctic islands recently gained protected-area status. Now researchers say the seas around the archipelago also need protection to safeguard the breeding colony’s food supply.

The proposed U.S. Air Force project could disturb unique nesting habitat for multitudes of birds, including 10,000-plus Red-footed Boobies and more than a third of all Red-tailed Tropicbirds.

Scientists must journey to remote islands in the middle of the Bering Sea, braving uncertain conditions, to reach the breeding grounds of McKay's Buntings.

Hatched and raised in captivity, the young bird has defied the odds, returning more than a year later to a wild flock still reeling from disease and lead poisoning.

Scientists are racing to figure out why a widespread blackbird is disappearing.

Seventy years after Audubon ornithologist Robert Porter Allen’s efforts led to the discovery of the cranes’ mysterious nesting grounds, we unearthed images of his trailblazing conservation work.

In our attempts to restore kelp forests, hungry sea urchins should not be villainized, says Kate Vylet. “Everything’s just trying to survive.”

Beguiled by the birds’ courtship ritual, wildlife photographer Noppadol Paothong makes a difficult journey to document their glory so that others can appreciate it.

In Minnesota, a boreal forest ecosystem could shift north over the Canada border this century. Local photographers, scientists, and land managers are grappling with what that means—and how to respond.

Keen to hit the high seas for elusive seabirds and rarities? From what to wear to how not to hurl, follow this expert advice before shoving off.

Set your sights on coasts around the country for exciting offshore excursions.

Here are the visual cues—and behaviors—to look for among drab, quiet autumn migrants.

In the field, blending in and avoiding certain colors might improve your birding—but evidence is limited, writes Audubon Field Editor Kenn Kaufman.

Follow these three easy tips to create a DIY outfit that will impress no matter the occasion.

Potoos, Oilbirds, Frogmouths! Feast your eyes on some of the world's most bizarre-looking nocturnal bird species.

While birds take it easy during the hottest months, set your sights on smaller wonders: insects and other arthropods all around you.

Although most of America’s historical prairies have been plowed under, these remnants are big enough to make you feel small.

Visible at dusk, the species is more readily seen than its more elusive nocturnal cousins, but all of these oddballs are worth the effort of seeing—or at least hearing—writes Kenn Kaufman.

Many of the skills and tools of bird photography translate well to smaller subjects, but getting great pictures of insects and other arthropods can also require special considerations.

They can tell one another apart, so you’ve got a shot.

Owen and Quentin Reiser take us behind the scenes of “Listers” and preview their next project.

A lot of musicians use wild sounds in their work. Some are now splitting their profits with the planet.

Two new oracle decks look to birds to deliver spiritual guidance. For thousands of years, cultures across the world have done the same.

The annual “Birds in Art” show at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with the biggest, most impressive exhibition yet. Take a behind-the-scenes tour with Audubon magazine Field Editor and avian artist Kenn Kaufman.

Bird expert Kenn Kaufman shares his experience as a consultant for the birdy new Netflix series.

The celebrated actor can now add author to her list of accolades after publishing “Turning to Birds,” a memoir-in-essays about falling in love with the avian world.

From a gynandromorphic grosbeak to feathers collected at a murder investigation in Florida, biographer Chris Sweeney shares six unusual artifacts he found while researching his new book about the world’s first forensic ornithologist.

Tribes across the continent have long valued the species’ feathers. Over the last few years, several artists have created modern works that showcase these cultural garments.

The beloved bird has wailed its way through decades of hits. It’s time we give the species its royalties.

Sarah T. Dubb’s debut rom-com, “Birding With Benefits,” celebrates love, new beginnings, and a really great checklist—all under the Tucson sun.

In 50 poems and plenty of birds, the collection, titled “You Are Here,” aims to expand expectations of what a nature poem can be.