Red flowers, and of course red feeders, are often rich sources of food for hummingbirds, including this Broad-tailed Hummingbird. Nectar is high-octane fuel for their intensely active way of life. The hummingbirds' sense of color is due to the dense concentration of cones in its retina…

As the sun sets on a northern Midwest forest, an American Woodcock walks slowly from the cover of the forest to a nearby clearing. Then, the woodcock takes off on a courtship flight. At the apex of its flight, the woodcock circles, then descends in a slow spiral, putt-putting like a tiny…

A male Montezuma Oropendola holds forth in a tree bedecked with twenty or more hanging nests. The nests are intricately woven sacks hanging three feet or more from the branches. Oropendolas favor trees that are separate from other trees and often build near large nests of wasps, whose…

At a display area, known as a lek, the male Greater Sage-Grouse perform for mating rights, while the smaller females look on. Today, the Greater Sage-Grouse is seriously endangered, its fate intertwined with the loss of sage habitat. Millions of acres have been converted to cropland, and…

What an amazing noise! Whistles and trills, squeaks, rattles, and gurgles that suggest an orchestra of birds tuning up in the urban forest. You look around – not a bird in sight. The sounds waver in intensity, but with no clear pattern. Perplexing, but strangely wonderful! Suddenly, a…

A chill wind ruffles the feathers of a male Sagebrush Sparrow (formerly known as the Sage Sparrow), as he sings atop a tall sagebrush. It is late February, a few miles from the Columbia River in Central Washington. Sagebrush Sparrows are arriving north from wintering in the Southwestern…

American Bird Conservancy and other organizations are working to make Hawaiian birds a top national priority for conservation. Of all the endangered bird species in the United States, more than one-third are found only in Hawaii. Biologists on Hawaii's Big Island are working to restore…

Here's a remarkable story about a bird that survived Superstorm Sandy. A Northern Gannet was flying over the Atlantic Ocean near New Jersey’s south shore, just as Sandy reached the coast there. Coincidentally, the gannet wore a tiny GPS transmitter on a tail-feather, so scientists were…

The Tower of London has a long and notorious history of murderous political intrigue, dungeons, and famous beheadings. And for more than 300 years, the tower has also been home to a set of royally maintained ravens. Since the time of Charles II, at least six ravens have - by royal decree -…

The Northern Shoveler's oversized, spoon-shaped bill helps it stand out in even the most crowded pond. And while it doesn't actually use its bill to shovel, the Northern Shoveler skims tiny plants and animals off the water's surface and filters out the edibles with the help of tiny comb…