The Canyon Wren's eloquent song soothes the soul. Naturalist Ralph Hoffman likened it to "the spray of a waterfall in sunshine." Its close cousin, the Marsh Wren, wound up with a harsh, ratcheting song - about as musical as a tiny machine-gun barrage. Birds' songs mirror their environments…

Helen Trefry, a wildlife biologist in Edmonton, Alberta, wanted to know where the Burrowing Owls in her part of Canada migrated to. How long did it take them to get to their destinations? Where and how did they spend their stopovers? An amateur radio operator from Texas, along with a…

The Sky Lark is a bird whose songful brilliance inspired English poets, and gave its name to the phrase "an exaltation of larks." To glimpse a singing Sky Lark, look high up, where the male flutters and circles perhaps 100 feet off the ground, broadcasting its complex song. Around 1902…

How do birdwatchers identify a particular species? Like fishermen who know how to "read the water," it helps to understand habitat. At a wetland full of cattails, for example, you're likely to find a Red-winged Blackbird, because it requires dense marsh vegetation to nest. If you take…

To feed their young, Black Guillemots search for food at the edge of pack-ice. In 1972, this was a just short trip from Cooper Island. Now it's more than 25 miles. Unable to find sufficient food close by, they're abandoning their chicks in order to save themselves and try again the next…

For birds, a brain that can function while literally half-asleep is important to survival. In flocks of birds at roost, those at the outer edge of the flock often have one eye open. Such birds are truly half-asleep: one brain hemisphere snoozes as the other remains awake and alert. The eye…

May 12 is Limerick Day, the birthday of Edward Lear, author of nonsense verse and limericks. In honor of the day, a limerick written by Dixon Lanier Merritt in 1910: A wonderful bird is the pelican. His bill will hold more than his belican. He can take in his beak, Food enough for a week…

Do you know someone who's ready to start birdwatching, but is uncertain how to go about it? Burt Guttman, Professor Emeritus of The Evergreen State College, has written a book that can help. In Finding Your Wings, A Workbook for Beginning Bird Watchers, Burt explains: Find a good place…

Have you ever wondered if a hummingbird can recognize colors other than red, or if other birds see color? What about this male Scarlet Tanager? Some male birds literally shimmer with brilliant colors-the Wood Duck and peacock, for instance. But color is probably lost on nocturnal birds…

It is an ancient music. The mating song of the male American Woodcock. To hear it, step out into the dusk of a quiet spring evening in the Connecticut countryside. In the twilight, or in the moonlight, you may hear him more than see him spiral high in his sky dance. The air rushing past…