Birds

Brown goo coats several sticks with leaves and other debris trapped in it.
Poaching Birds Is Big Money for the Mafia in Cyprus—but a Brave Few Are Fighting Back
May 22, 2024 — 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.
From Audubon Magazine
Five piles of assorted bird seed on a white background.
Mixology: Breaking Down 5 Common Birdseed Blends
March 06, 2023 — With all the products available these days, sometimes the jargon and claims can get confusing. Here’s a quick primer.
News
A man with glasses, wearing a blue t-shirt, stands in a forest.
Best-Selling Author Jeff VanderMeer Finds That Nature Is Stranger Than Fiction
September 21, 2022 — The novelist attained fame with gripping works of eco-fiction. How hard could it be to rewild his own backyard?
From Audubon Magazine
Left: A peacock spreads its brightly colored feathers. Right: One peacock walks on the roof of a home with a blue door. Another struts along the brick entryway beside a large plant.
California Has a Peacock Problem
July 08, 2022 — Feral peafowl have turned neighbor against neighbor in Los Angeles, where they claw up gardens, peck at car fenders, and belt out their songs at all hours. Is a more harmonious coexistence possible?
News
A researcher uses a wooden tool in one hand to collect a fecal sample to put in a plastic tube the other hand is holding. A fuzzy Common Tern chick sits between the two hands.
Bird Poop: The Next Frontier of Avian Conservation
July 07, 2022 — Far from waste, a splotch of feces contains valuable information about a bird’s diet.
From Audubon Magazine
On Oneida Wetlands, Bird Surveys Affirm Tribal Conservation Success
December 16, 2021 — A recent collaboration between Wisconsin birders and the Oneida Nation demonstrates how the tribe's decades-long habitat restoration paid off.
From Audubon Magazine
Mysterious illness Affects Birds in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia
June 22, 2021 — Here's what we know so far about the disease and what you can do to help your birds.
Bird-Friendly Communities
Periodical cicadas from Brood X during their last emergence in 2004. Michael Ventura/Alamy
Birds May Hold Clues to the 'Bizarre' Life Cycle of Brood X Cicadas
April 19, 2021 — Billions of cicadas will emerge in the eastern United States this spring, presenting a once-in-a-17-year opportunity for scientists to understand how they shape populations of birds and other species.
Science
Rare Photos Reveal the Secretive Life of the Banded Ground-Cuckoo
April 07, 2021 — A photographer and scientist collaborated for over a decade to capture stunning images of the endangered bird
Photography
10 Fun Facts About the Baltimore Oriole
June 10, 2020 — From their brief taxonomic hiatus to their intense sugar cravings, there’s a lot to know about these brilliant birds