Mother Goose was sometimes illustrated as an old country woman wearing a tall hat and riding on the back of a goose. Or sometimes as just a big, motherly goose wearing reading glasses and a bonnet, a friendly figure children could trust. Support comes from Wild Delight Bird Food, offering…

In April 1915, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius wrote in his diary about seeing 16 Whooper Swans overhead. He was entranced by both the sight and the sound of the swans. He watched them depart, “like a gleaming silver ribbon,” and declared the image one of the great experiences of his life…

Las aves no solo desarrollaron alas, sino muchas otras adaptaciones que les permiten volar. Las plumas les brindan aislamiento, impermeabilidad y un medio ligero para elevarse en el aire. Sus huesos son huecos o con una estructura interna tipo panal, lo que reduce el peso corporal. Y en…

The variety of bill sizes and shapes among the sandpipers is astounding! Many sandpipers have sensitive nerve receptors in their bill tips, so they can find unseen prey through touch, odor, and pressure changes. Those sandpipers with long, straight bills — like the Long-billed Dowitcher —…

Marbled Godwits stand a foot and a half tall, on slender, dark legs. Their exquisitely long bills are pink, tipped in black, and just slightly up-curved. Altogether, a stunning bird. In April, godwits are on their way north. They have wintered along the coasts, including the Texas Gulf…

The savanna country of northern Australia is one of the most fire-prone natural habitats in the world, and its plants have evolved to thrive with frequent, low-intensity blazes. As flames sweep across the savanna, Black Kites watch for prey like grasshoppers and lizards that flee the fire…

The Canyon Wren and Cactus Wren share common ancestry — and they’re close neighbors in the desert southwest. Yet their songs evolved along divergent acoustic lines. The rough trilled phrases of the Cactus Wren song pulse through the dense cactus, while the clear tones of the Canyon Wren…

The Tui is one of New Zealand’s most remarkable birds, intelligent and with iridescent feathers. Its down-curved beak fits perfectly into native flowers. But the Tui is best known for its voice. Each Tui’s complex song is slightly different, a colorful mix of musical notes and offbeat…

Los ojos de un loro están ubicados a los lados de la cabeza. Así que, si el ave quiere ver algo — como un delicioso pedazo de fruta — tiene que ladear la cabeza hacia un lado o hacia el otro para hacerlo. Y si el loro observa con el ojo izquierdo, usará su pata izquierda para agarrar el…

The Cinereous Mourner is a small, ashy-gray bird that lives in the forest understory of the Amazon Basin. And it’s taking mimicry to the next level: when viewed from above, lying alone in its cup-shaped nest, its chick is a near match to a highly toxic caterpillar — one that snakes and…