The United States is home to more than 550 National Wildlife Refuges – havens for wildlife, including the Canvasback. But only one refuge can claim the distinction of being international: the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. It hosts millions of migratory ducks annually in the…

In a clearing where an ancient Mayan city once stood, the Montezuma Oropendola perches and sings. His courtship display is astonishing: he swings by his feet and sings, his tail describing a golden pendulum – the very source of his name in Spanish – oropendola.

The White-vented Storm-Petrel is a small black and white seabird found off the coasts of Chile and Peru. Storm-petrels spend their entire lives at sea, except when nesting. Scientists had long been mystified about just where this species nests. A search lasting eight years led them to a…

Algunas noches despejadas en septiembre, cuando el aire es claro, ¡puedes mirar aves cruzando la luna amarillenta! Septiembre es el pico de la migración para millones de aves cantoras dirigiéndose hacia el sur, de América del Norte a latitudes más tropicales. Migrantes nocturnos de las…

How does a robin know a worm is in one exact spot? Does it see the worm or hear it? Smell it? Sense its movements through its feet? To find the answer, researchers buried worms in soil in a tray. They covered the soil with a thin but opaque sheet of cardboard, followed by more soil, so the…

Para inicios de agosto, el amarillo brillante de las plumas de la Reinita de Wilson parece destellar en cada matorral del bosque. A pesar de los depredadores y el clima, muchas parejas de adultos han criado cuatro jóvenes, que ahora revolotean por sí mismos. Los jóvenes machos que nacieron…

A slim, sleek bird with a spiky crest, Phainopepla comes from the Greek for “shining cloak.” The name refers to the male’s glistening, inky black feathers, which are set off by piercing red eyes. And if the Greek name isn’t helping you picture it, a common nickname might: the goth cardinal…

El arao común se encuentra entre las pocas especies de aves que pueden "volar" bajo el agua. El arao tiene que aletear frenéticamente para mantenerse en el aire. Pero debajo de las olas, con sus alas en forma de aletas parcialmente extendidas, es un nadador magistral y aerodinámico. Los…

A young crossbill starts life with a wedge-shaped beak. As it grows up and starts to feed itself by removing conifer seeds from their tough packaging, the tips of its bill begin to grow rapidly — and then they cross. By the time the bird is a month and a half old, the tips of its bill…

Horned Larks rival meadowlarks as the most colorful birds of North American grasslands. They live in prairies, fields, and tundra, but agriculture and development now intrude on many of the Horned Lark's traditional nesting areas. The farmland Conservation Reserve Program encourages…