Rosa Malagon grew up believing that birds hold spiritual significance, thanks to teachings from her Mexican heritage that her mother would share. Now working for the Hispanic Access Foundation, Rosa helps connect Latino-led nonprofits with funding from the U.S. Forest Service. She also…

Brown-headed Cowbirds have a sneaky approach to parenthood. They lay eggs in the nests of other songbirds, and the songbird hosts often raise the cowbird chick as their own. It’s called nest parasitism. But sometimes the hosts throw out the odd-looking egg. And when that happens, the…

For birds, learning starts early. Birds listen to their parents’ songs and calls from inside the egg. Recent findings have shown that calls from Zebra Finch parents can even prepare their chicks for warmer temperatures before they hatch. Researchers noticed that Zebra Finches make a…

When woodpeckers drum, they slam their beaks against bark many times per second. Scientists have long hypothesized that woodpeckers have a way of protecting their brains from injury. However, more recent work provides a different picture. High-speed cameras showed scientists that…

Broad-tailed Hummingbirds are small but hardy creatures built for life in the mountains. They survive freezing cold nights by slowing their heart rate and metabolism. And they perform a death-defying stunt for potential mates. Male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds begin their performance by…

There are promising signs that a native Hawaiian bird called the ulūlu is on the way to recovery. Also known as the Millerbird, this small gray songbird nearly disappeared when invasive species including rabbits destroyed most of their habitats on the island of Laysan in the early 1900s…

Great-tailed Grackles are known for their long, expressive tails, and their wide vocabulary of odd sounds. But this bird has another special trait. A researcher named Jessica Yorzinski has shown that Great-tailed Grackles can look at two different objects at once. In a careful experiment…

Birds were one of the earliest subjects for human artists. A cave painting in France over 30,000 years old shows the unmistakable outline of an owl. Paintings on Ancient Egyptian palaces and tombs feature birds with intricately detailed flight feathers, colors, and postures, allowing…

When a hawk is about to capture a songbird, the songbird has one last trick: a fright molt. It’s when a bird loses feathers due to sudden stress. This usually involves feathers near the tail or rump, where they’re most likely to be attacked as they flee. It can be a saving grace when the…

Over the last few years, writer Emily Raboteau has been going out and photographing a series of bird murals found throughout New York City commissioned by the National Audubon Society. One day, she came across an artist finishing up a Gray Hawk mural in west Harlem. The artist explained…