When a Northern Saw-whet Owl spreads its wings, many birds can see something our human eyes can’t: the owl’s flight feathers glow with ultraviolet light. It’s invisible to humans without the help of a UV blacklight. While the glowing feathers on parrots might help them attract mates, the…

In Lafayette Park in St. Louis, Missouri, a dozen or so Eurasian Tree Sparrows from Germany were released. But unlike other introduced species such as the similar-looking House Sparrow, they did not spread very far and remained in a limited area in the Midwest. It’s not fully clear why…

In this episode, the Private Eye tells his saddest story: his nemesis bird. That’s what birders call a species that keeps giving you the slip. His nemesis is the Painted Bunting, a colorful gem of a bird. When word of the species being spotted nearby reaches the PI, he rushes off to see it…

Birds called prions have an especially creative approach to getting their food. They pass seawater through their mouths and filter it to catch tiny animals such as krill and other small crustaceans. It’s similar to how baleen whales feed, leading to the prion’s nickname: the whale-bird…

When climate scientist Sofia Barboza was living in New York City, she found it challenging to connect with the outdoors the same way she had growing up in Pennsylvania. Returning to live in Pennsylvania as an adult, Sofia brought along her new awareness of birds and their effects on mental…

Cuando la experta en cambio climático Sofía Barboza vivía en la ciudad de Nueva York, le resultó difícil conectarse con el exterior de la misma manera que lo había hecho cuando era niña en Pensilvania. Al regresar a vivir ahí de adulta, Sofía trajo consigo una nueva conciencia sobre las…

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…

Rosa Malagón creció creyendo que las aves tienen un significado espiritual, gracias a las enseñanzas de su herencia mexicana de su madre. Rosa, que ahora trabaja para la Hispanic Access Foundation, ayuda a conectar organizaciones sin fines de lucro dirigidas por latinos con fondos del…

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…

Hummingbirds use their long tongues to sip nectar from flowers. They’re able to roll their tongues into a tube-like shape. Since the 1800s, scientists thought those tongues worked through capillary action, like how water instantly rises into a straw in a full cup. But when scientists spent…