Everybody’s heard of a gaggle of geese and a covey of quail. But what’s a group of penguins called? And a “conspiracy” of ravens? Maybe the way we label birds says more about us than it does about them.

With his brilliantly colored plumage fanned out in display, this tom (male) Wild Turkey is a handsome sight to behold. He has a bright red head, long spurs, and… a beard. This “beard” is a small cluster of bristles that sprouts from the bird’s chest plumage. It looks like a misplaced…

Common Poorwills don’t sing much when the mercury drops. But they can do something else that is remarkable. As the winter cold deepens, these petite members of the nightjar family can enter a hibernation-like state — and stay like that for hours — or even weeks! Scientists call it torpor…

With its rubbery-sounding rattles and clownish red eyebrows, the ptarmigan is quite the stand-out northern bird. As winter approaches, the ptarmigan’s feet grow feathers, and its claws grow longer. All that added surface area means the ptarmigan practically has its own set of snowshoes…

In this story from Nimiipuu culture, Meadowlark is likened to the ‘reporter’ of Western grasslands, singing its song from the tops of fenceposts and trees. This story takes place before the time of people. Meadowlark warned Coyote about a Monster that was eating all the animals in the…

During winter, the Greater Sage-Grouse is wholly reliant on its namesake species — sagebrush — for both shelter and for food. Scientists call this bird "sagebrush obligate," meaning it needs this plant to survive. In the spring, its diet shifts to insects and plants, as it gets ready for…

In north-central Idaho, Kas Dumroese is restoring retired agricultural land to native Palouse Prairie, an ecosystem that’s been almost entirely wiped out. Kas seeds native plants like lupine. Some grassland birds, like the Savannah Sparrow, can thrive in agricultural landscapes, but other…

In north-central Idaho, Kas Dumroese is restoring retired agricultural land to native Palouse Prairie, an ecosystem that’s been almost entirely wiped out. Kas seeds native plants like lupine. Some grassland birds, like the Savannah Sparrow, can thrive in agricultural landscapes, but other…

Research biologist Heather Hayes of the Intermountain Bird Observatory takes us to a Long-billed Curlew nest she’s been monitoring in an alfalfa field. Before the West was settled, curlews nested in rich, diverse native grasslands. An alfalfa field has a totally different species…