birds

A flock of wood storks mingles with egrets as they stand in a retention pond along a road in Atlantic Beach, Fla., on Aug. 12, 2015.

National

After a big recovery, the wood stork may soon fly off the endangered species list

6:08pm February 14, 2023

by The Associated Press

The ungainly yet graceful wood stork, which was on the brink of extinction in 1984, has rebounded dramatically in Florida and other Southern states, officials say.

Sam Van Wassenbergh and his team filmed this black woodpecker at Alpenzoo Innbruck, Austria, for their study.

A woodpecker's brain takes a big hit with every peck: study

3:47pm July 14, 2022

by Jon Hamilton

A new study refutes the popular idea that a woodpecker's brain is cushioned from the violent impacts of pecking. It offers a different reason the birds avoid brain damage.

Waterfowl and the raptors that dine on them, like this bald eagle and snow goose, have both been killed by the new bird flu virus.

A worrisome new bird flu is spreading in American birds and may be here to stay

3:09pm April 09, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists are tracking a deadly bird flu outbreak that has infected wild birds in more than 30 states. Purging the nation's poultry supply may not be enough to keep the virus from sticking around.

Queue Listen Now

A roadrunner rests at Avian Haven, a bird rehab facility on Sunday in Freedom, Maine. The bird hitched a ride in the storage area of a moving van from Las Vegas.

National

A stowaway roadrunner hitched a ride in a moving van from Las Vegas to Maine

2:02pm November 16, 2021

by The Associated Press

A wayward roadrunner is on the mend at a bird rehabilitation facility in Maine after traveling across the country for four days in a moving van.

A bald eagle perches on a tree at Sunset Park in Rock Island, Ill., in March. A new study says that many species of birds increasingly moved into urban areas as human activity waned during the pandemic.

Science

Birds Thrived Where Humans Feared To Tread During The Pandemic, Scientists Say

3:54pm September 22, 2021

by Scott Neuman

A new study shows that as people mostly remained indoors during lockdowns last year, many bird species found less noisy and polluted cities more inviting.

Veterinarian Belinda Burwell began receiving reports of sick songbirds in Virginia last month. This male blue jay was completely blind and was hopping in circles because of dizziness. He had to be euthanized.

A Mystery Illness Is Killing Mid-Atlantic Songbirds

5:20pm July 02, 2021

by Jeff Brady

Wildlife officials are asking people not to feed birds or provide bird baths amid dozens of reports of mysterious songbird deaths.

Left: Nicole Jackson is co-organizer of Black Birders Week, and founder of Black in National Parks Week. Right: Tykee James is founder of Freedom Birders and the government affairs coordinator at the National Audubon Society.

National

Monuments And Teams Have Changed Names As America Reckons With Racism. Birds Are Next

9:34am June 05, 2021

by Jeff St. Clair

As America tries to come to terms with its complicated racial past, efforts are underway to remove all eponymous bird names and to "decolonize the birding experience" to include more Black people.

U.S. bald eagle populations have more than quadrupled in the lower 48 states since 2009, according to a new survey from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Once Imperiled, America's Bald Eagle Populations Are Soaring

3:11pm March 25, 2021

by Nathan Rott

The number of bald eagles in the lower 48 states has quadrupled since 2009, according to a new survey. The findings are a bright spot in an otherwise troubling picture for American birds.

A male vermillion flycatcher perches atop an open branch on one of the many charred mesquites on our land, La Isla.

Arts

Learning To Love Bird Photography, Thanks To A 'Competitive Collaboration'

12:07pm January 24, 2021

by Gemina Garland-Lewis

Over just 10 days in November, Gemina Garland-Lewis photographed 42 bird species with her partner on their land in Mexico. It wasn't until recently, she writes, that birds made her "tick."

An American bald eagle flies over Mill Pond in Centerport, N.Y., in 2018. The bald eagle is one of the birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Eagles And Mockingbirds Catch A Break As Judge Strikes Down Trump Bird Opinion

5:54pm August 12, 2020

by Gabriela Saldivia

In 2017, the Trump administration scaled back protections of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. A federal judge has now struck down the rule change — and cited To Kill a Mockingbird in so doing.