Shorebirds such as these Pacific Golden-Plovers have a built-in map and a built-in compass. Many night-flying migrants use star patterns to orient themselves, and the fact that the sun always sets in the west makes it a compass point for a bird about to take off on a night flight. Perhaps…

Artist and naturalist, Tony Angell, describes his communication with Macaw, a raven that came into his life and home. "I would say, 'Hello, Macaw,' and his communication to me was often to lean over for preening. Eventually, the arrangement became so routine to Macaw that something had…

Barn Swallows are heading south by now, many headed for South America. Birding guide Harry Fuller says: "Just think! You got this tiny little brain, smaller than a walnut, and you spend the summer in Oregon and you've got to go to Chile for the winter, 'cause you're a Barn Swallow, and you…

Willow Flycatchers nest across the northern two-thirds of the U.S. and southernmost Canada. A subspecies, known as the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, nests in the Southwest, as far east as Texas. The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher was listed as endangered in 1995. It's just one of 300…

Ken Jacobsen is a retired senator in Washington State who’s a keen birder. When he was on the campaign trail, Jacobsen often advised constituents on ways they could improve conditions for birds in their yards and neighborhoods. You won’t believe what happened when he encouraged one…

If you’re a biologist and you want to save habitat for birds such as this Savannah Sparrow, how do you do it? You talk to people, says Ros Renfrew of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. And you listen. Ros meets with landowners in Vermont, New Hampshire, and across New England. “We might…

In her book Out of the Woods, Lynn Darling describes an account of way-finding through the thick fog of coastal Greenland. An Inuit hunting party was kayaking close enough to shore to hear breaking waves, but the land was lost in mist. Darling writes: “After hours of steady paddling, the…

Native to the Southeast across to East Texas, Red-cockaded Woodpeckers differ from most woodpeckers. They remain in cooperative family groups throughout their lives. And they excavate nests in living trees rather than dead ones, often reusing the same cavities for decades. The federal…

Lester Franklin is a student in coastal Maryland. He's also a writer and a coastal steward, working to encourage people of color to get involved with birds, conservation, and the environment. For Lester, becoming more aware of nature was a step-by-step process that started with peaceful…

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have official birds. To become a state bird, it helped to be familiar, colorful, and have a punchy song. The Northern Cardinal perches as state bird in seven eastern states, the Western Meadowlark in six western states. Bluebirds - like this…