Unlike the black and white magpies of the American West, the Indochinese Green-Magpie is vivid green with bright red wings and a red beak. The Sri Lanka Blue-Magpie is rich rusty-brown and dark blue. Altogether, there are five blue-feathered magpies and four green, all living in warm zones…

With its awe-inspiring vistas and eons of geologic time on display, the Grand Canyon also offers a unique habitat for birds. What you're likely to see first is this Bronzed Cowbird, strutting on the lawn of a lodge or restaurant. Common Ravens call and squabble. If you're lucky, you may…

The Ramsey Canyon Preserve in the Huachuca Mountains of Arizona is famous for the clouds of hummingbirds that swarm around its feeders in late summer. But the rare and spectacular Elegant Trogon is also found here. A native of Mexico and Central America, it breeds in the United States only…

Where some noises — like TV, traffic and random conversations — can make it hard to concentrate, birdsong may make it easier. In Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, England, the sweet sounds of birdsong carry along the hallways. In an Amsterdam airport, a lounge plays bird sounds…

What’s the reddest bird in North America? In the East, the Scarlet Tanager or maybe the Summer Tanager. But neither is seen nearly as often as the Northern Cardinal. In the Southwest, another candidate pops out like a bright red flare on the tip of a branch: the Vermilion Flycatcher. This…

Did food play a role in your courtship? Well, Arctic Terns share a food-related ritual. Early in the breeding season, a female Arctic Tern perches near a possible nesting site. The male appears carrying a small fish in its bill. The female pauses for a few minutes to “check him out” before…

The song of this Field Sparrow was the first bird song Aldo Leopold awoke to on his Wisconsin farm in the 1940s. Sadly, Field Sparrow populations are declining rapidly. You can learn more about "The State of the Birds" from National Audubon, and the plight of the Field Sparrow in…

The Vulturine Guineafowl is a striking bird. It lacks feathers on its head and neck and has a blue breast with silvery plumes. The species has a complex social structure. Distinct groups, similar to high school cliques, mingle but don’t change membership. Such a multilevel society was…

The drumming of the male Ruffed Grouse is one of the most evocative sounds of the North American forest. Familiar as these accelerating burps are to hunters and hikers, the origin of this bizarre sound was long a mystery. It took the advent of wildlife cinematography to solve the riddle…

After hatching, baby robins spend up to 15 days in the nest. By July, many young American Robins have left the nest, or fledged. But they aren't ready to make it entirely on their own yet, and they follow their parents around, learning to fend for themselves. Outside of the breeding season…