The skull of Oculudentavis, found encased in amber, provides new clues into the transition from dinosaurs to birds and may be smallest of either ever found.
A passenger pigeon flock being hunted in Louisiana. From the ‘Illustrated Shooting and Dramatic News’, 1875.
(Wikimedia/Smith Bennett)
For decades, the extinction of passenger pigeons has been explained by two theories of human impact. New research shows one of these theories is now more compelling than the other.
Yellow trout lily flowers nearly a week earlier now than in previous decades in the Appalachian Mountains.
Katja Schulz/Wikipedia
Climate change has advanced the arrival of spring by as much as several weeks in some parts of the US. This can mean major crop losses and disconnects between species that need each other to thrive.
Kea were able to correctly guess the most probable scenarios, by evaluating various physical and social cues. Previously, only great apes and humans were known to be able to understand probability.
Costa’s Hummingbirds are frequent visitors at feeders in Arizona and southern California.
Julian Avery
Millions of Americans feed wild birds, especially in winter and spring. Studies show that this can influence birds’ health and behavior in surprising ways.
North America’s prairies once were home to millions of wild animals. Today, most of that land is farmed or developed, but some grasslands have never been plowed and could be rewilded.
In the real world, new diseases emerge from complex environments. To learn more about how, scientists set up whole artificial ecosystems in the lab, instead of focusing on just one factor at a time.
Male pileated woodpecker.
FotoRequest/Shutterstock.com
While Hail Mary conservation efforts can pull birds back from the brink, an extinction wave still looms.
Leaving water out for wildlife is important during droughts and bushfires but if it’s not changed regularly it can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Roger Smith/Flickr
Temperatures are soaring and bushfires are decimating Australia’s wildlife. So how can we avoid creating a breeding ground for mosquitoes when putting water out for thirsty birds and animals?
Magpies have a few clever tricks to help them find food.
Gisela Kaplan
This 20th century ornithologist earned the respect of her contemporaries for her animal behavior research that went against the grain of traditional science.
Australia’s threatened birds have declined by 59%, on average, between 1985 and 2016 based on 400,000 surveys at more than 17,000 locations according to Australia’s world-first Threatened Bird Index.