About Birds

A group of male and female Wild Turkeys foraging close together.
Native Americans Domesticated Turkeys Long Before the Pilgrims Arrived
November 15, 2023 — Indigenous societies in the Americas valued the birds so highly that they tamed them at least twice, including in the U.S. Southwest. Turkey feathers still have abundant uses to tribes there today.
Birds and History
What This Gruesome Stork Taught Us About Bird Migration
October 30, 2023 — Long before tracking technology, the most concrete testament to bird migration was a stork impaled by a spear.
Bird Migration
A mottled brown whip-poor-will with squinty eyes sits perfectly camouflaged on a tree branch.
Revealing the Mysteries of Whip-poor-wills—and What It Might Take to Save Them
September 29, 2023 — Recently uncovered secrets long held by species in the elusive nightjar family, and those still waiting to be unraveled, could provide information vital to curtailing their recent losses.
Conservation News
Close up of a brown and white bird with a long curved yellow beak looking at the camera, held in someone's hands.
A Migrating Cuckoo Named Hummus Makes a Tasty Case for Land Conservation
August 31, 2023 — On its international journey south, one federally threatened bird has passed through at least six protected areas.
Bird Migration
Three sparrows with colorful bands on their legs forage for seeds on the ground.
Golden-crowned Sparrows Prefer to Spend Winter With Their Buddies
August 29, 2023 — A decade-long bird monitoring program found that the songbirds are more likely to live and travel with their friends.
Bird Migration
A bright red cardinal flies just above the snow-covered ground, against a sparkling white snow-covered background.
10 Fun Facts About the Northern Cardinal
August 07, 2023 — What’s in a name? Who knows, but this bird has a whole bunch of them.
Bird Questions and Facts
A bird nest made with hundreds of metal spikes in the fork of a tree branch.
Apparently Magpies and Crows Are Using "Anti-Bird Spikes" to Make Their Nests
July 13, 2023 — Birds often incorporate human-made materials while nest building, but a new study shows European corvids are taking the idea to the extreme.
Bird Nests and Breeding
A small brown and gray bird perches at the entrance of its dome-like, moss-and-lichen nest, holding plant material in its beak.
Bird Nests Tell Extraordinary Stories, If You Learn How to Read Them
March 29, 2023 — Casey McFarland, author of “Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests,” describes how paying attention to nests can improve your birding.
Bird Nests and Breeding
A round globular nest made of twigs and dry grasses with a hole for entry built in a cactus in a desert landscape.
Appreciate These Magnificent Avian Nests—and the Next One You Find in the Field
March 06, 2023 — Birds build an amazing variety of nest types, and each construction is a work of art.
Bird Nests and Breeding
10 Fun Facts About the Wild Turkey
November 17, 2022 — Super vision? Flowing beards? Spiral poo? There's lot to gobble about with this American icon.
Bird Questions and Facts